ST. ANDREWS -- The Royal & Ancient Golf Club will vote in September on whether to have women as members for the first time in its 260-year history. A statement from the club Wednesday said all committees are "strongly in favour of the rule change and are asking members to support it." The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews has about 2,400 members from around the world and dates to 1754. The clubhouse is among the most famous buildings in golf, overlooking the Old Course at St. Andrews. Pressure has been building in recent years on the R&A to change its men-only policy, especially after Augusta National Golf Club announced in August 2012 that it was inviting two women to join -- former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore. The British Open last year was held at Muirfield, one of three links courses on the Open rotation that does not allow female members. "This is welcome news from the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and I urge its members to follow their committees recommendations and vote yes for women members," British sports minister Helen Grant said in a statement. "It would mark a step in the right direction for the sport and I would hope encourage the remaining golf clubs that still have anachronistic single-sex member policies to follow suit." It was unclear how a favourable vote would affect whether golf clubs that host the Open would change their policies. The next Open at a male-only club is in 2016 at Royal Troon. The R&A governs golf everywhere in the world except for the United States and Mexico. It also organizes the British Open and other championships. However, it shifted responsibility for the Open and administering the Rules of Golf to a separate entity in 2004 known as The R&A. 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Cuddyer has played 179 games over the past two seasons, hitting .331 with a .928 OPS, but those numbers are, not surprisingly, tilted towards the Rockies’ home field. HOME-ROAD SPLITS 2013-2014 LOCATION AB HR AVG OPS Home 305 17 .367 1.061 Road 374 13 .302 .815 Three of Cuddyer’s four highest home-run-to-flyball rates have come in the past three years, while playing for the Rockies, including last season’s career-best 22.7%. All this while swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone than ever before, something that would seem to be a nasty habit when the confines of the home park aren’t so friendly. Even if we can rest assured that Cuddyer will no longer receive the Colorado boost to his offensive numbers, there is still the opportunity that he could be a productive hitter. The trouble is, at his age, he’s not much more than a hitter. Whie he can still run a little bit (stealing 32 bases in 39 attempts over the past four seasons), Cuddyer is a liability in the field. In right field, where’s he’s spent most of his outfield time, he hasn’t had a positive Defensive Runs Saved ratting since 2005, and is minus-18 runs in that metric over the past two seasons.dddddddddddd. His Ultimate Zone Rating has been similarly negative and now that he’s in his mid-30s, there’s no reason to believe that it’s going to get better. In New York, Cuddyer figures to shift to left field, which could help mitigate some of his fielding woes, but will also mean that CF Juan Lagares and RF Curtis Granderson will have to be prepared to cover a lot of ground. Over the past two seasons, Cuddyer has, cumulatively, been good for three-to-four wins above replacement (3.0 BBRef WAR, 3.9 fWAR) and that makes him a useful player and two years, at a total of $21-million isn’t unreasonable for solid bat, when healthy. Whether that makes him worth forgoing the 15th pick in the first round of next year’s draft – the compensation that the Mets owe for signing him – is another matter entirely. Colorado is already rather crowded in the outfield, with young inexpensive options like Corey Dickerson, Brandon Barnes and Charlie Blackmon pushing for bigger roles, so they can afford to lose Cuddyer. Getting a first-round pick out of the deal is a reward for being willing to make a $15.3-million qualifying offer to Cuddyer in the first place. Verdict: Cuddyer could be a solid bat for the Mets, but he’s played 280 (of a possible 486) games over the past three seasons and health questions for a player in his mid-30s don’t figure to go away. Mix in expected decline with a change in home park and it is hard for the Mets to justify the long-term impact of giving up a first-round pick. Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '