Most contentious moments of Golf in 2016

Muirfield loses Open Championship privileges

Muirfield Golf Club in East Lothian, Scotland which is privately owned and run by the Honorary Company of Edinburgh Golfers, decided to remain a men-only club after the members voted against allowing women to join the golf club.

"Our club committee recommended that members should vote for the admission of women as members of the club," said Muirfield captain Henry Fairweather.

"A majority of members voted for women as members of the club, but the two-thirds majority that we require for a change in the rules was not met. The club, therefore, will retain its men-only membership policy.”

Muirfield announced today that women will still be excluded as members - more reaction on #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/dwqR77Ne9O

— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) May 19, 2016

The R&A reacted immediately by removing Muirfield from the Open Championship rota and announcing that the club will no longer be considered to host the tournament.

The R&A said: "Going forward we will not stage @TheOpen at a venue that does not admit women as members."

"The Open is one of the world's great sporting events and going forward we will not stage the Championship at a venue that does not admit women as members," said R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers

"If the policy at the club should change, we would reconsider Muirfield as a venue in future."

Many players defended the R&A’s decision to remove Murifield, which last hosted the Open in 2013 when Phil Mickelson won, with Rory McIlroy saying that Muirfield’s vote symbolizes Golf’s “stuffy old image” at a time when the game is trying to be more inclusive.