The Royal and Ancient Golf club decided in September to end 260 years of male-only exclusivity by voting in favor of inviting women to join, according to PGA.com. Seven women were announced as honorary members in what R&A Captain George Macgregor called “an historic day for the club.” Joining Renee Powell (PGA/LPGA) as a member is professional golfer Annika Sorenstam.
“PGA/LPGA Members Renee Powell and Annika Sorenstam have always been trailblazers in the game of golf. Their historic honorary membership into the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews further exemplifies their commitment to changing the game for the better,” said PGA of America President Derek Sprague. “Renee and her family are pioneers in diversity and inclusion, while Annika has opened doors for young people to join our sport by emulating her Hall of Fame career and accomplishments. The PGA of America is proud to celebrate their achievements today as they join a most distinguished list of honorees at the Home of Golf.”
Ms. Powell was named First Lady of Golf (2003) and has also received an Honorary degree from University of St. Andrews.
“Renee is more than deserving of this honor. As a Black American woman involved in golf she has seen the game from all sides, from inside, and outside, of the ropes. As a businesswoman, a social activist, author, role model for young girls who are coming up behind her, and women veterans who look to her for strength and courage, Renee has more than demonstrated her skills successfully. I applaud the R&A for including Ms. Powell and they are to be saluted for extending this great honor,” said Debert Cook, publisher of the African American Golfer’s Digest who included Powell on its cover in Summer 2003 and in 2009 recognized Powell as one of its “Outstanding Leaders In Golf”.
Powell was the second African American to play on the LPGA Tour, competing in more than 250 events after joining in 1967. After leaving the LPGA Tour in 1980, she devoted her life to introducing life skills and growing the game among underprivileged children, members of the military and golfers from the United States to Great Britain to Africa.
In 1995, she became the first African American female Class A member of The PGA of America and the LPGA. In 2003, she was named the PGA of America’s First Lady of Golf, and in 2008, she was made an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the University of St Andrews.
Her father, William Powell – who in 1948 opened Clearview Golf Course, the first course completely designed and built by an African-American, in East Canton, Ohio – introduced her to golf at age three. She began her competitive career at age 12, and later played at Ohio University for two years before transferring to Ohio State, where she served as captain of the women’s golf team.
She competed on the LPGA Tour from 1967 to 1980, then began contacting embassies and companies to get involved in programs where she could travel to Africa and teach golf to indigenous citizens of all ages in Africa. She gained government contacts through African embassies in the U.S. and began her mission to teach golf in Africa. She returned to the U.S. in 1988, working to build inner-city youth programs in Cleveland and to establish a network of celebrity and pro-am charity events, and to tour historically black colleges where she helped attract new players to the game.
Powell was elected to PGA membership in 1996, a year after she established the Renee Powell Youth Golf Camp Cadre Program, designed to provide inner-city youth with an opportunity to learn and play the game of golf. In 1999, she was named an honorary member of the LPGA Teaching & Club Professional Division. She also has served as development and programming consultant for The First Tee Program and in 2000, began the LPGA Girls Golf Club in East Canton. In 2001, Clearview Golf Course was listed among the National Register of Historic Places.
Sorenstam, a 10-time LPGA major winner and World Golf Hall of Fame Member, was elected to PGA membership in 2013, the same year she was honored as the PGA’s First Lady of Golf.
One of the most successful golfers in history, Sorenstam is a former world No. 1 who won 89 events around the world. She was the LPGA Player of the Year award on eight occasions and represented Europe in the Solheim Cup eight times between 1994 and 2007 before serving as vice-captain for the victorious European side in 2011 and 2013. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003 and retired from competitive golf in 2008 to focus on establishing the Annika Academy and the Annika Foundation, which support aspiring junior golfers and help promote the health and wellness benefits of golf.
In recent years, Sorenstam has appeared on behalf of the North Florida PGA Section at several Golfest events across the region, including Orlando and Tampa. The Section and Sorenstam share a common interest in growing, enhancing and improving the game, especially in the areas of junior golf development, diversity and women’s golf.
The other women receiving R&A membership are:
LAURA DAVIES: Widely regarded as Britain’s greatest female golfer, Davies has won four major championships and 79 events around the world. She won the Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale in 1986 and the U.S. Women’s Open in 1987. She played in every Solheim Cup match from 1990 to 2011 and is the event’s leading all-time points scorer. A former world No. 1, she was the first non-American to finish atop the LPGA money list and also won the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit a record seven times. In 2014, she was appointed DBE for her services to golf and in July 2015 she will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame at a ceremony in St Andrews.
BELLE ROBERTSON: The great Scottish amateur won the British Ladies Amateur Championship in 1981 and the Scottish Ladies Close Amateur Championship on seven occasions. She represented Great Britain and Ireland in seven Curtis Cups and was part of the first team to win the match on American soil in 1986. She captained the team twice. She was voted Scottish Sportswoman of the Year on four occasions and Woman Golfer of the year three times. In 1973, she was appointed MBE for services to golf and was named as one of the 50 inaugural members of the Scottish Sport Hall of Fame in 2002.
LALLY VAGLIANO SEGARD: One of France’s greatest golfers, she won the British Girls’ Championship in 1937 and, as Vicomtesse de Saint-Sauveur, 14 international titles including the British Ladies’ Amateur in 1950. As President of the Women’s Committee of the World Amateur Golf Council (now the International Golf Federation) she helped found the Espirito Santo Trophy, the women’s World Amateur Team Championship. She was France’s non-playing captain from the inaugural event in 1964 until 1972. Segard is an Officer of France’s National Order of Merit and a Commander of the Order of Sporting Merit.
LOUISE SUGGS: A co-founder and former President of the LPGA, Suggs won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1947 and the British Ladies’ Amateur in 1948, before turning professional and winning 58 events, including 11 major championships. She was an inaugural inductee into the LPGA Hall of Fame, established in 1967, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award, given each year to the most accomplished first-year player on the LPGA Tour, is named in her honor. In 2007, she received the Bob Jones Award, given by the USGA in recognition of great sportsmanship in golf.
HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE PRINCESS ROYAL: The Princess Royal follows Their Royal Highnesses The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of York and The Duke of Kent in becoming an honorary member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club. Having herself competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, The Princess Royal is a member of the International Olympic Committee and was a member of the London Organizing Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games. The Princess Royal is a Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle in Scotland and has been Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1986.
“We could not be more proud also to welcome women who, who apart from the Princess Royal, have distinguished themselves in golf over many years and have been great players and champions,” said R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson. ” The reaction I have received from some of the seven ladies is that they are absolutely thrilled to be asked and very quick to say ‘yes’ as no one turned down the invitation. So the process of bringing women members into the R&A club has begun in earnest.”
