The First Minister of Scotland has attacked a golf club for refusing to change its membership policy to let women in.
Nicola Sturgeon, the nation’s most senior politician, said the decision by golfers at Muirfield was “simply indefensible”.
They defended the decision by pointing out that its members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, who run the club, are in charge and did not want to change.
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Members of the club’s committee had told members to vote to change the rules, which have been in place since the club’s foundation in 1891.
But the membership did not listen, and a ballot failed to return the two-thirds majority needed to reshape the policy.
The result was 64% for the change, and 36% against.
As punishment, Scotland’s R&A golf umbrella body said it would no longer hold The Open championship at the venue.
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A statement said: “The Honorary Club is a members club and the members decide the rules of the club, including its membership policy.
“Women will continue to be welcome at Muirfield on the course and in the clubhouse as guests and visitors, as they have been for many years.”
Sturgeon will presumably be pleased to hear that women are welcome as members of Donald Trump’s Scottish golf course, which she can join for just £2,500 ($3,600) a year.