R&A CEO PETER DAWSON has "led the internal and external transformation of what was widely viewed as one of sport's last bastions of stuffiness," according to John Huggan of GOLF WORLD. The makeup of the R&A, the organizing body for the British Open, "definitely isn't the same" as in the past, and "what was just a golf club as recently as 2003 is now a massive company." Dawson noted the organization seven years ago made a decision to "switch all of the external stuff into a corporate structure, leaving the club as it is now." The biggest reason behind the split "was to take away the risk of legal action against" Royal & Ancient Golf Club members. Golfer PADRAIG HARRINGTON: "The organization as a whole has changed hugely during Peter's tenure. Today, the R&A is very progressive. The old 'fuddy-duddy' image of the club no longer applies to the R&A. They have moved on, largely, I'm sure, due to Peter's influence." Huggan notes one thing that "has not yet evolved is the single-sex makeup of the membership, although, unlike his predecessors, Dawson does not dismiss the notion out of hand." Dawson: "I can see things changing. It is a generational thing." Huggan notes Dawson's "most recently high-profile role outside of the Open Championship ... has been in the ultimately successful bid to get golf into the 2016 Olympics." As Int'l Golf Federation President, Dawson is, "at least as far as the International Olympic Committee was concerned, the public face of the game" (GOLF WORLD, 7/11 issue).
