Augusta at Payne's with Rometty

Jabbed, prodded and poked repeatedly about a topic that never really goes away, Billy Payne wouldn't budge.

Faced with questions at his annual news conference about when a woman would become a member at the home of the Masters, the Augusta National chairman kept giving different variations on the same answer: That's our business, not yours.

The topic was on the front burner again Wednesday, on the eve of the year's first major, because one of the club's longtime sponsors, IBM, has a new female CEO -- Virginia Rometty. The past four CEOs at IBM, all male, have been invited to be members.

Payne's polite-but-firm responses were in direct contrast to those of his predecessor, Hootie Johnson. When faced with the issue 10 years ago, Johnson famously declared female membership would come on the club's timetable and "not at the point of a bayonet."

"As has been the case whenever that question is asked; all issues of membership have been and are subject to private deliberations of the members," Payne said when the inevitable question was asked for the first time Wednesday. "That statement remains accurate and that remains my statement."

Asked to expand on his refusal to comment, he gave two reasons: "Number one, we don't talk about our private deliberations. Number two, we especially don't talk about them when a named candidate is part of the question."

He did not say whether Rometty was that specific "named candidate."

The issue first came up in 2002, when Martha Burk, then the chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations, campaigned for Augusta National to end its all-male membership and threatened to boycott companies whose executives belonged to the club.

Johnson responded by cutting loose corporate backers and the Masters was televised without commercials for the next two years. A planned protest before the 2003 Masters was a dud and the issue slowly receded.

When Payne replaced Johnson as chairman of the club and of the Masters tournament in 2006, he said there was "no specific timetable" for admitting women. The question was raised at the 2007 and 2010 Masters. Both times, Payne said membership issues were private.

These days, in addition to IBM, Exxon Mobile and AT&T are also sponsors of the Masters.

Contacted after Payne's news conference, Burk said she didn't pay attention to it and had no plans to protest this year because "we saw that didn't work."

It's not her job to pressure the club, she said, but rather, IBM's.

"If they're willing to diminish the company's image, and to discredit in a certain way their new CEO, that's a loud and clear statement," Burk said. "I would regret to see that very much. I think it's astounding that one of the largest corporations in the world is having their strings pulled by a bunch of old guys in Augusta."

Rometty is said to play golf sparingly. She is more passionate about scuba diving.

IBM spokesman Ed Barbini said the company had no comment.

Because the secrecy level at Augusta National is so high, there already could be a female member that nobody knows about. Though members are visible during the Masters because of their iconic green jackets, not every member is in attendance this week.

Several reporters, trying to get a clearer picture of what goes on inside these gates, came at the question from different angles. Each time, Payne graciously swatted them away, preferring to talk about the weather, developments of the club's digital platforms and other issues surrounding the tournament that starts Thursday.

Among the more awkward exchanges came when two reporters teamed up and accused Payne of sending a mixed message. Payne repeatedly talked about the club's efforts to grow the game, yet the possible absence of a female member creates the perception that half the population is excluded.

"That is a membership issue that I'm not going to ... thank you for your," he said, being interrupted with another question along the same lines. Payne then interrupted that reporter: "Thank you for your question, sir."

Another reporter, taking a page from the interviews with Johnson from 2003, tried to frame it not as a membership issue, but as a kitchen-table topic: What would you tell your granddaughters?

"Well, my conversations with my granddaughters are personal," Payne said.

Asked whether it takes away from the tournament when the issue of female membership surfaces in the lead-up, Payne also offered very little.

"There's certainly a difference of opinion on that," he said. "I don't think I've formed an opinion on that. But certainly people have different opinions on that subject."

Rejected time and again, the reporters then moved to a safer topic: The weather.

Payne talked about the 1.4 inches of rain that came overnight, toppling trees and washing out bunkers. But he reassured people the course would be fine by tee time on Thursday morning, when Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit their ceremonial tee shots.

Rometty Revives Hootie Headache

The appointment of a new chief executive at IBM has revived the debate over Augusta National's all-male membership just one week before the Masters.

IBM hired Virginia Rometty as its CEO this year, which could mean a break in recent tradition if Augusta sticks to its history of never having a woman as one of its roughly 300 members.

The last four CEOs of IBM all belonged to the club. However, a woman has never worn an Augusta green jacket since it opened in 1933.

``I think they're both in a bind,'' Martha Burk said Thursday evening from Washington.

It was Burk who led an unsuccessful campaign 10 years ago for Augusta to admit a female member, demanding that four companies drop their television sponsorship because of the discrimination. Hootie Johnson, club chairman at the time, said Augusta would not be pressured to take a female member ``at the point of a bayonet.''

``IBM is in a bigger bind than the club,'' Burk said. ``The club trashed their image years ago. IBM is a corporation. They ought to care about the brand, and they ought to care about what people think. And if they're not careful, they might undermine their new CEO.''

Augusta National declined comment, keeping with its policy of not discussing membership.

Billy Payne, who ran the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, took over as club chairman in 2006. He said that day the home of the Masters ``has no specific timetable'' for admitting women. The question was raised at the 2007 and 2010 Masters, and both times, he said membership issues were private.

Rometty succeeds Sam Palmissano at IBM, which runs the Masters' website from the bottom floor of the media center. According to a list published by USA Today in 2002, the previous three CEOs also were members _ Louis Gertsner, John Akers and John Open.

Johnson wound up doing away with television sponsorship for two years to keep the Masters' corporate partners out of the fray.

Burk doesn't believe it should be that simple this time.

``What IBM needs to do is draw a line in the sand _ `We're either going to pull our sponsorship and membership and any ancillary activities we support with the tournament, or the club is going to have to honour our CEO the way they have in the past,''' Burk said. ``There's no papering over it. They just need to step up and do the right thing.

``They need to not pull that argument that they support the tournament and not the club,'' she said. ``That does not fool anybody, and they could undermine their new CEO.''

Burk said she would not be surprised if IBM pressured Rometty to say she doesn't want to be a member.

IBM has not commented publicly, and did not immediately return a phone call Thursday night.

``Really, I don't think it's her responsibility,'' Burk said. ``It's the board of directors. They need to take action here. They don't need to put that on her. They need to say, `This is wrong. We thought the club was on the verge of making changes several years ago, and we regretfully end our sponsorship to maintain her credibility and the company brand.' `` 

The debate returns just in time for one of the most anticipated Masters in years. 

Tiger Woods finally returned to winning last week at Bay Hill and is considered one of the favourites, along with US Open champion Rory McIlroy. Eight of the top 20 players in the world ranking have won heading into the first major of the year, a list that includes world No. 1 Luke Donald and Phil Mickelson.

Now comes a sensitive issue that dogged the tournament a decade ago, and might not go away easily.

Augusta National does not ban women. They can play the golf course, but no woman has worn an Augusta green jacket, a status symbol in business and golf.

Rometty is said to play golf sparingly. Her greater passion is scuba diving.

The new CEO has been named to Fortune magazine's ``50 Most Powerful Women in Business'' for the last seven years, and was at No. 7 a year ago. She started with IBM in 1981.

``We have a face, we have a resume, we have a title and we have a credible reason to do it that doesn't involve Martha Burk,'' she said.

Burk said she is no longer chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations. She had planned to step down until the first flap with the Masters began in the summer of 2002. Now, she said she runs the Corporate Accountability Project for the council, a project born from her battle with Augusta.