The Open Championship is the biggest and most prestigious golf tournament in the world.
The best golfers in the world are gathered at Royal Birkdale this week looking to win the 154th edition of the Open Championship.
This year’s Open has all the makings of an absolute classic.
Scottie Scheffler will be defending the claret jug that he won last year at Royal Portrush.
Tommy Fleetwood has aspirations of winning the Open Championship at his hometown course, while Rory McIlroy is desperate to get his hands on another claret jug.
Then there are the likes of LIV Golf stars Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm trying to make a big statement at Royal Birkdale.
However, there is another storyline that would make the Open Championship even more of a must-see event – one that we have never had the chance to witness in the past.
R&A CEO says whether we could see a female play in the men’s Open Championship
It was 20 years ago now that the word ‘female’ was added to The Open entry form at regional qualifying, but we are still yet to see a woman even attempt to gain entrance into the tournament.
Mark Darbon, the CEO of the R&A, addressed the media on Monday afternoon and responded when asked whether we could one day see a female compete in the men’s Open.
“I think we’re a meritocracy,“ Darbon said.
“We have lots of open routes into our championship. The Open is just that, it’s an Open Championship.
“So I wouldn’t like to say that ship has sailed. We’ll see what the future brings, but a core ethos of our championship is that it is open and accessible.“
As Darbon said, the Open is exactly what its name suggests – open to anyone who actually wants to qualify.
The problem is, the males play golf courses at such lengthy yardages nowadays that it would be incredibly difficult for females to even get close to making the cut.
And that is absolutely no slight on the ability of female golfers – they are truly magnificent players in their own right.
Females playing in the men’s Open still a long way from becoming reality
As an example, the average length of a golf course on the LPGA Tour is 6,400 yards. The course this week at Royal Birkdale stretches out to more than 7,300 yards.
It’s also worth noting that the women have had their very own Open Championship to compete in since 1978.
There have been huge advancements made in the women’s game over the past 10-15 years.
Augusta National admitted its first female members in 2012 while the professional game has gone from strength to strength due to the emergence of incredibly gifted and marketable players like Nelly Korda and Charley Hull.
A female competing at the Open Championship one day would be a truly superb achievement and one that surely everyone involved with the game would want to see.
However, as things stand, it’s highly unlikely that it will happen anytime soon.
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