Royal appointment for ladies

Davies, Sorenstam and Robertson are amongst first women to join St Andrews-based club

ALMOST five months after it reversed its male-only membership policy, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews has revealed the identities of its first honorary female members.

Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, Dame Laura Davies and Annika Sorenstam are joined by Renee Powell, Belle Robertson, Louise Suggs and LallySegard in joining the famous institution.

Announcing the news, George Macgregor, the captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, commented: “It is an honour and a privilege for The Royal and Ancient Golf Club to welcome these remarkable women as honorary members.

 “This is an historic day for the club and we could not be more proud also to welcome women who have distinguished themselves in golf over many years and have been great players and champions. They are extremely worthy additions to our roll of honorary members and will become ambassadors for the club as they have been for the sport of golf throughout their careers.”

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Reserving a special mention for the Princess Royal, Macgregor added: “The Princess Royal enjoys a strong bond with Scotland and has shown great energy and commitment to developing sport through her work in the Olympic movement.”

The Queen’s only daughter follows her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, her brother, the Duke of York, and the Duke of Kent, the Queen’s cousin, in becoming an honorary member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

In September, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club’s members voted by an 85% majority to admit women as members for the first time in its 260-year history. The announcement of the first female members followed that historic ballot and, in addition to the honorary members, a number of women were also admitted as members of the club with more set to follow in the coming months.

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