Muirfield Golf Club Picks Discrimination Over the British Open; New York Times, 5/19/16

Karen Crouse, New York Times; Muirfield Golf Club Picks Discrimination Over the British Open:

"Golf’s return to the Olympics this summer after a 112-year absence is rooted in inclusiveness. As Tim Finchem, the PGA Tour commissioner, noted last week, golf’s power brokers showed little interest in joining the Olympic family until they commissioned a study that showed that dozens of countries that invest government money in sports invest only in sports that are in the Olympic program.

“We agreed to go into the Olympics primarily focused on growing the game and recognizing that overnight there would be coffers from governments opened up to provide financial support to grow the game,” he said.

But it’s duplicitous to expect to grow the game through the biggest multisport spectacle on the planet even as one of the game’s most affluent and influential clubs refuses to expand its membership. It’s like building a new course in the middle of a drought. No matter how impressive the blueprint, if the ground, or base, is arid, the project is doomed."