138-Year-Old Golf Club Votes to Admit Women for the First Time: ‘It Is the Right Decision’

The Royal Troon Golf Club voted “overwhelmingly” to accept women members in advance of the British Open, which will be held at the course, the club said Friday.

“It is important for golf clubs to reflect the society in which we exist and the modern world that looks to us,” Royal Troon official Martin Cheyne said in a statement. “It is the right decision for the Club today, and for the generations of golfers that will follow.”

The club—founded in 1878—will be the last in the rotation of British Open courses to admit women. Muirfield Golf Club, the host of 16 previous British Open tournaments, was prohibited from hosting more after the club’s membership voted to continue a ban on women in May, according to a New York Times report.