Martha Burk worked hard to get Augusta National to admit a female member

"I think they're in a bind," Martha Burk told The Associated Press Thursday evening.

Ten years ago, Burk applied pressure on just about everyone connected with Augusta National along with the Masters, the most important championship that garners the highest TV ratings. She demanded that four companies drop their television sponsorship as a result of discrimination. She lobbied PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem to never recognize the Masters included in the tour schedule.

Hootie Johnson, chairman in the club at the time, said Augusta might some day have a very female member, but it would be about the club's timetable, and "not at the point of a bayonet." The protest callaway razr x irons fizzled inside a parking lot outside in the third round from the 2003 tournament.

"We did boost the issue," Burk said on CNN. "If there were not done that, this may not be shared now."

Now it's back, this also who's has a face -- Rometty, a 31-year veteran of IBM who has been ranked one of many "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" by Fortune magazine the past seven years. Rometty was not. 7 a year ago.

Augusta National has declined to comment, keeping with its policy of not discussing membership issues. IBM have not commented publicly, and didn't return a trip through the AP Thursday night.

"IBM is in a larger bind compared to the club," Burk said. "The club trashed their image in years past. IBM can be a corporation. They need to worry about the company, and so they really should value what folks think. And if they aren't careful, they could undermine their new CEO."

Augusta has a new chairman in Billy Payne, who ran the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. As he replaced Johnson as chairman in the club and also the Masters tournament in 2006, he explained there were "no specific timetable" for admitting women.

The question spent my youth at the 2007 and 2010 Masters. Both times, Payne said membership issues callaway x-24 hot irons were private.

"They must not pull that argument they keep the tournament and not the club. That will not fool anybody, and so they could undermine their new CEO."

Rometty succeeds Sam Palmissano at IBM, which runs the Masters' website through the bottom floor with the media center. Based on a subscriber base authored by USA Today in 2002, the last three CEOs also were members -- Louis Gertsner, John Akers and John Open.

Because the corporate sponsors took over as target, Johnson wound up eradicating TV sponsorship for 2 years with the Masters to help keep the organization partners -- IBM, Coca-Cola and Citigroup -- out of your fray. Only IBM returned being a TV sponsor to the 2005 Masters. The rest were SBC Communications and ExxonMobil.

Burk said she would not surprised if IBM pressured Rometty to state she doesn't want to be a member.

"Really, I would not think it's her responsibility," Burk said. "It's the board of directors. They must take action here. They don't really should put that for my child. They should say, 'discount golf clubs is wrong. We thought the club was near making changes several years ago, and that we regretfully end our sponsorship to maintain her credibility and the company brand.' "

Augusta National doesn't ban women. They could have fun playing the greens, but no woman has worn an Augusta green jacket, a status symbol running a business and golf. Rometty has been said the sport of golf sparingly. Her greater passion is deep-sea diving.