The new rules on eligibility conform to two guiding principles: that opening up the championship was based on ability and not on gender and that we kept the field as strong as possible. I would be absolutely delighted to see a woman qualify for the 2006 Open. |
We are restoring rather than changing the course, ... Modern equipment and the greater athleticism of the game's leading players has led to many of the Old Course hazards being taken out of play. |
We are restoring rather than changing the course. Modern equipment and the greater athleticism of the game's leading players has led to many of the Old Course hazards being taken out of play. |
We did not open it up to women hoping they would not enter. Having done that, it will be a shame if they do not take advantage of the opportunity. Having said that, it was never our intention to disrupt the women's tours. ... But the option is there. |
We didn't open the event up to women hoping they would not enter but the reverse. Having taken such a step it would be a great shame if the women golfers didn't take advantage of the opportunity. I would be surprised if they were unaware of the changes, given the publicity they received around the globe, but we could write to the individuals concerned reminding them. |
We don't believe the women are at the level of the male European Tour player who is taking part in local final qualifying. No woman has made the cut in a men's event, after all. But, if it turns out that women dominate regional qualifying, then we will review the situation. |
We have nine venues that are active for us and the way it seems to work is that the Open comes to St Andrews about every five years and to each of the others about every 10. |
We said earlier in the year that we were not opposed to the principle of women competing and that this was something we were going to do, |
What we've seen is that he went ahead of the pack very early in his career. There was an element of catching up by other players. He raised the standard. And now, he seems to be stepping forward again. We'll see if the others step up to the challenge. |
You wait until the forest fire is on your front step before you step up. |