The Diary

Returning to the controversy of the week at the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club’s lack of female members, a lobbying group called change.org entered the fray yesterday, looking to further increase the pressure on the private club to review its membership policy.

The issue is an annual talking point that blooms during Masters week as regularly as the azaleas but which carried extra intrigue this year when long-time championship sponsor IBM appointed a female chief executive for the first time. IBM’s previous chiefs were each afforded membership of ANGC during their tenures.

Club chairman Billy Payne stonewalled questioning from journalists on Wednesday and Change.org took up the baton yesterday, issuing a press release which listed an email address and phone number of the director of membership services at “Augusta Country Club”.