NORTH Berwick golf star Catriona Matthew says she would be "honoured" to become the first female member at Muirfield, if the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers changes its policy on male-only membership.

The club, near Gullane, has announced it is to hold a second ballot of its members on allowing women to become members, just weeks after a first ballot fell just short of the required two-thirds majority for change.

That result was met with widespread criticism, including from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, while The R&A announced that Muirfield would no longer hold The Open Championship - which it last hosted in 2013.

However, The R&A said it would reconsider the club as a host venue for The Open if it changed its policy on admitting women as members.

Now former British Women's Open champion Matthew, who herself was heavily critical of the Muirfield members' decision, has said she is hopeful that the second ballot will produce a different result

She said: “[Those who wanted change] just lost out very narrowly.

“I don’t know if they realised the full impact of what the ‘no’ decision would have meant to the local area. Maybe some of them didn’t realise they would lose The Open if they said no.”

Matthew, who has been appointed vice-captain for next year's Solheim Cup, said she still held the view she previously expressed that The R&A had made the right decision not to consider Muirfield as a host for The Muirfield while it continued it's male-only membership policy.

“If they’re hosting an event like The Open it has to be equal,” she said.

“If they didn’t want the Open that’s fine, they can do what they want really, but when they’re hosting a worldwide event like that they can’t have inequality, I don’t think."

But she said that if the policy at Muirfield did change, she would be delighted if she was made the club's first female member.

“I’d be quite honoured,” she said.

“I’ve only maybe played it two or three times, but it’s a great golf course.”