Muirfield in line to stage Women’s British Open as it waits for The Open

Muirfield appears to be in contention to host the AIG Women’s Open for the first time. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty

With Royal Troon having been named as the venue for the men’s major in 2023, the earliest Muirfield will get the event back for the first time since 2013 is now likely to be 2026.

That’s because the 2024 venue is probably going to be  Royal Portrush following the huge success of last year’s event in Northern Ireland, with St Andrews then in line for the 2025 slot.

Muirfield’s wait would appear to indicate it has been lined up for the Women’s Open, which is now under the complete control of the R&A, in the next few years. Royal Troon is staging it for the first time in August before it heads to another new venue – Royal Porthcawl in Wales – in 2021.

“I think that would be an interesting idea,” said R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers to being asked at a media briefing if it is possible Muirfield might be about to stage a Women’s Open.

That would be a significant step after the East Lothian club initially voted against a proposal to admit women members in 2016 before a second attempt proved successful.

That came after the R&A said the course, home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, wouldn’t be considered for The Open again unless it became a mixed membership club.

A new women’s locker room has been created over the past year or so and Slumbers gave a thumbs up when he was asked about Muirfield’s progress in terms of its inclusivity.

“They have 12 ordinary members, and I think they’ve done an extremely good job in moving that forward,” he said. “They’re continuing to embrace it, and Muirfield is helping us on a number of things to do with the women’s game.”

Addressing that figure of just a dozen, he added: “It’s a good starting point, a very good starting point, and I think a lot of people didn’t expect them to move as quickly as that, and I’m very pleased they did.”

Royal Troon also opened its doors to women members just before staging The Open in 2016, when Henrik Stenson beat Phil Mickelson in a thrilling title duel to become the first Scandinavian to win a men’s major.

“Troon are proving a little bit slower,” said Slumbers, pictured inset. “It was a big issue back in ‘16, and they’re moving forward on that basis. They’re now a mixed club and the women who are in are full members, but the waiting list at Royal Troon is closed at the moment for both men and women.

“What Troon is doing fantastically is Kieron Stevenson (the club’s head professional) is working with the local schools on junior programmes. He’s doing an absolutely brilliant job in engaging with young boys and young girls, and he and the club should be applauded.

“They rebuilt their academy area. They’ve rebuilt the championship practice round for us, and they’ve retrofitted it to be able to work with young juniors. So they’re really, I think, pulling their weight on trying to get the game moving in the right direction.” Meanwhile, Slumbers said he believes the professional game is “in a good place at the moment” in delivering a thumbs up to the existing traditional tours at a time when a new Premier Golf League is being proposed by a breakaway group.

“We try to stay over what’s happening in the game, so, yes, we have a watching brief on the Premier Golf League,” he said on that. “I don’t know any more than you do about the structure of it that’s been in the media in the last two weeks on that.

“But we have a very long and deep relationship with the Tours, so I think Jay [Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner] and Keith [Pelley, the European Tour chief executive] do an excellent job in delivering an increased member opportunities, playing opportunities and increased prize money.

“There’s a lot of talk that people would like to see the best players in the world playing together more often. I think I’m not the only one who loves seeing the best players playing together more often.

“But I think if you look at professional golf at the moment on the men’s side, it’s very healthy. There’s a great pathway from amateur golf into professional golf. There’s continual new players coming up. There’s plenty of playing opportunities. Prize money is going up. Quality of play is going up. So I think the professional game is in a good place at the moment.”