Winner of latest Rose Ladies Series event calls for greater understanding in golf on Black Lives Matter movement and barriers facing women
Saturday 27 June 2020 17:20, UK
Meghan MacLaren believes more can be done to improve diversity in golf and has drawn similarities between dealing with gender and racial inequalities in the sport.
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The #BlackLivesMatter movement has gained significant global momentum since the killing of black American George Floyd, by a white policeman, on May 25, with golf among the sports looking at solutions to stop social injustices.
The PGA Tour have said they want to "be part of the solution" and a number of players have spoken out about the lack of black professional golfers, while MacLaren feels more education is needed about the issues within the game.
"I think golf, like pretty much every industry, has to take a hard look at itself and see what it can do better," MacLaren told Sky Sports. "It's not an easy situation for anybody.
"For me, being a woman in golf speaking about the opportunities and the access issues we've had, I know that as well-meaning as males can be in this situation, they can't necessarily understand it from the same perspective.
"I think as white people, we need to address the Black Lives Matter movement and racial inequality in a similar way. We can emphasise and we can listen, but we can't actually understand what it's like. I think we need to take the time to do that, before we can instigate any meaningful change."
MacLaren has featured in the first two events of the Rose Ladies Series, a new tour for British female professionals that has been sponsored by Justin Rose and his wife Kate.
A tied-seventh finish in the opening tournament, won by Charley Hull, was followed by a two-shot victory in Thursday's event at Moor Park, with MacLaren grateful for the chance to be competing again.
"I still find it hard to get my head around and obviously we've already played two of the events!" MacLaren added. "It's something that we, as female golfers, have talked about for a long time.
"I think it's just the acknowledgement, just as much as the money and the opportunity. It's the acknowledgement that 'yeah, you're here as well and doing the same thing we do, but you don't necessarily have that same platform'.
"For us to get that gesture from him means a great deal from all of us."
