Local Member Applauds Augusta National Golf Club Including Women
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For years, Augusta National Golf Club, the iconic setting for The Master's tournament, has faced pressure to allow women into its ultra-exclusive membership ranks.
That pressure has apparently worked. The Augusta, Ga., private club announced Monday that it would now allow female members, starting with invites former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore.
It's a move that is being lauded by a Minnesota member of Augusta.
"Everything changes in life, and certainly it was inevitable that women would become members," said Wheelock Whitney, local businessman and philanthropist. "I never really thought it would happen in my lifetime, but it did. The club will be better off because of it."
NewsRadio 830 WCCO's Chad Hartman Reports
Podcast
Whitney was a guest of WCCO Radio's Chad Hartman on Monday. He said the decision to invite women into the club was the decision of Club Chairman Billy Payne.
Whitney said women have been playing the golf course for years as guests, so he thinks it was only a matter of time before they were invited to be members. He said he thinks one of the only reasons holding up the decision was an ongoing debate over whether or not women's tees would be added to the course.
Whitney joked that he hopes that women's tees are added.
"I can't wait to play on them when they do," Whitney said.
