ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (PA) -- The door has officially been opened for the likes of women's world No. 1 Annika Sorenstam and teenage sensation Michelle Wie to play at next year's British Open at Hoylake near Liverpool -- providing they can qualify.
For the 135th staging of golf's oldest major, the all-male Royal and Ancient Golf Club has agreed to lift its total ban on females.
After discussions that began early last year, R&A officials have decided that any player finishing in the top five at each of the women's four majors can enter the first of two British Open qualifying stages. They will play alongside the men, on the same courses and from the same tees.
Coincidentally, the announcement came on the very day that the 16-year-old Wie began her professional career -- in which she hopes to compete against the men as well as the women.
Wie and Sorenstam are already able to file their entries if they choose, because the 2006 Weetabix Women's British Open takes place after the 2006 British Open, and so the top five at from the 2005 Women's British Open are eligible to take part in the 18-hole regional qualifying.
Korean Jeong Jang won the Women's British Open title, with Sophie Gustafsson second, Wie and Young Kim tied for third and Sorenstam, Christie Kerr and Liselotte Neumann tied for fifth.
How many of them even fill out the Open entry form remains to be seen. But if they do and come through regional qualifying, there would be a further 36 holes of final qualifying to negotiate before they line up at Hoylake.
Previously, the event was restricted to "any male professional golfer" or "male amateur golfer whose playing handicap does not exceed scratch."
In addition to the top five in the majors -- the other three are all in the United States and are the Kraft Nabisco Championship, McDonalds LPGA Championship (Wie was runner-up to Sorenstam in that this year) and the U.S. Women's Open -- any women meeting the entry requirements for international qualifying, final qualifying and the Open itself can enter at these stages directly.
For instance, if Wie was again invited to the John Deere Classic and was the leading non-exempt player, she would go straight to the British Open.
"I really do welcome this. I think it's an important step forward for women's sport," said British Sports Minister Richard Caborn. "The Open really is now truly open. Everybody can play in it regardless of their sex. I think the R&A have listened to what people think and I'm very pleased they are changing the rules."
Darren Clarke was one of the first top men players to react to the news.
"If they qualify, good luck to them," said the Ryder Cup star from Northern Ireland. "If they're good enough to get in, they deserve their chance like everybody else. It is the Open."
But 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie, asked, "Are we into the regional qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open now?" Not that he is interested in entering even if he could, he added.
Soon after the announcement, the R&A admitted it had made a mistake in scheduling the 2006 regional qualifying tournament that the women now can enter for July 3 -- the day after the 2006 U.S. Women's Open in Rhode Island.
But after that was pointed out to R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson, he agreed some of the qualifiers would be pushed back to later in the week.
"I have to confess we have made a mistake on that," stated Dawson. "We could stand accused of making it totally inconvenient for players competing in America, so we are going to adjust the dates but they will be that week."
The new eligibility rules conform to two guiding principles set down by the R&A Championship Committee that entry to the Open "should be based on playing ability irrespective of gender" and "the strength and qualify of the championship and qualifying fields should be maintained at the highest level."
Some other changes also have been made to the British Open entry rules. R&A officials have decided to exempt the leading non-exempt player at the French Open, European Open and Scottish Open on the European Tour as well as the Western Open and John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour -- providing they finish in the first 10 at the event.
Also, the controversy that erupted last year over withdrawals from qualifying has been clarified.
England's Greg Owen was furious when he was overlooked for a place in the British Open at St. Andrews last summer off his world ranking because he had pulled out of international qualifying in America.
He was told he was deemed to have scratched from the British Open, although the entry form did not state that would happen. Now it does -- any player who withdraws from a qualifying event "will not be considered an entrant."
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