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national security adviser under former President George W. Bush and became secretary of state in his second term. The first black woman to be a Stanford provost in 1993, she now is a professor of political economy at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Rice recently was appointed to the U.S. Golf Association’s nominating committee. (AP)
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Augusta National accepts female members for first time in its history =eb\ For the first time in its 80-year history, Augusta National Golf Club has female members. The home of the Masters, under increasing criticism the past decade because of its all-male membership, invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first women in green jackets when the club opens for a new season in October. Both women accepted. “This is a joyous occasion,” Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said Monday. The move likely ends a debate that intensified in 2002 when Martha Burk of the National Council of Women’s Organizations urged the club to include women among its members. Former club chairman Hootie Johnson stood his ground, even at the cost of losing Masters television sponsors
for two years, when he famously said Augusta National might one day have a woman in a green jacket, “but not at the point of a bayonet.” The comment took on a life of its own, becoming either a slogan of the club’s resolve not to give in to public pressure or a sign of its sexism, depending on which side of the debate was interpreting it. Payne, who took over as chairman in 2006 when Johnson retired, said consideration for new members is deliberate and private, and that Rice and Moore were not treated differently from other new members. Even so, he took the rare step of announcing two
ÇE^ co =eZ$ M[ med$ ?jÊi WXekj '& o[Whi jee bWj[ \eh j^[ Xeoi je Yec[ _dje j^[ (&j^ Y[djkho" d[l[h c_dZ j^[ ('ij Y[djkho$ 8kj _jÊi W c_b[ijed[ \eh mec[d _d Xki_d[ii$È — MARTHA BURK, OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN, WHO IN 2002 CLASHED WITH AUGUSTA OVER ITS REFUSAL TO ALLOW WOMEN INTO THE CLUB
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8WYaijeho Augusta National, which opened in December 1932 and did not have a black member until 1990, is believed to have about 300 members. While the club until now had no female members, women were allowed to play the golf course as guests, including on the Sunday before the Masters week began in April. The issue of female membership never went away, however, and it resurfaced again this year after Virginia Rometty was appointed chief executive of IBM, one of the Masters’ corporate sponsors. The previous four CEOs of Big Blue had all been Augusta National members, leading to speculation that the club would break at least one tradition — membership for the top executive of IBM or a men-only club. (AP)
of the latest members to join because of the historical significance. “These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership,” Payne said in a statement. “It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall. This is a significant and positive time in our club’s history and, on behalf of our membership, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome them and all of our new members into the Augusta National family.” A person with knowledge of club operations said Rice and Moore first
were considered as members five years ago. That would be four years after the 2003 Masters, when Burk’s protest in a grass lot down the street from the club attracted only about 30 supporters, and one year after Payne became chairman. Tiger Woods, who knows Rice through a mutual connection to Stanford, applauded the move. “I think the decision by the Augusta National membership is important to golf,” Woods said. “The Club continues to demonstrate its commitment to impacting the game in positive ways. I would like to congratulate both new members, especially my friend Condi Rice.” DOUG FERGUSON (AP)
first rose to prominence in the 1980s with Chemical Bank, where she became the highest-paid woman in the banking industry. She is vice president of Rainwater Inc., a private investment company founded by her husband, Richard Rainwater, and she was the first woman to be profiled on the cover of Fortune Magazine, In 1998, Moore made an initial $25 million contribution to her alma mater, the University of South Carolina, which renamed its business school after her. She pledged an additional $45 million to the school in 2004. And last year, she pledged $5 million to the college for a new aerospace center. She also pledged $10 million to Clemson University in her father’s name. (AP)