Ron Townsend, president of Gannett Television Group, has become the first black accepted for membership in the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club, the club said Tuesday.
Townsend, 48, has direct responsibility for six of Gannett`s television stations, the company said. Townsend was in Boston and was not immediately available for comment.
Civil rights leaders had announced plans to protest next spring`s Masters if Augusta National, all-white since its founding in 1932, was not integrated.
Augusta National`s action came in the aftermath of the controversy that centered on the racial policies of Shoal Creek Country Club near Birmingham, Ala., site of last month`s PGA Championship.
The Tour and the U.S. Golf Association adopted new guidelines requiring private clubs that want to host tournaments to demonstrate that their membership policies are not discriminatory. The Masters, however, is a private tournament not under the auspices of the PGA.
In Birmingham, Shoal Creek founder Hall Thompson said his club had been
”sorely abused” by the controversy.
”We may or may not have another championship because of this,” he said. ”Our membership doesn`t deserve to be treated as it has been.”
