"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 that the course would be fine by tee time Thursday morning, when Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit their ceremonial tee shots.
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AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.
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