The Muirfield Golf Club took advantage of a mulligan, and, in its second vote in 10 months, straightened out enough of its wayward members to surpass the two-thirds majority needed to admit women.
Tuesday’s victory was perhaps more about pragmatism than principles. Just over 80 percent of the men of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh, which runs Muirfield, determined that it is better to have to share membership privileges with the occasional woman than to be excluded from hosting a British Open.
Of the 621 members who voted, 498 were in favor of admitting women.