Hootie Johnson: I nominated Moore

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Former Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson infamously said in 2002 that the world-renowned golf course might someday have female members "but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of a bayonet," and according to him, that's the pace that was followed.

On Monday, Augusta invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first female members since the club was founded in 1932. On Tuesday, Johnson, who remains chairman emeritus of Augusta, told Bloomberg News he personally nominated Moore for inclusion.

Johnson and Moore are both University of South Carolina alums and share banking roots, having worked together on a $300 million capital campaign for their alma mater.

"She has a long connection with me," Johnson told Bloomberg News from his Columbia, S.C., home. "I've had her as a guest at the club a number of times along with her husband. She's a sweet lady."

When asked by the news organization about the process of nominating someone for Augusta membership, Johnson declined, saying, "That's a club matter that I'm not going to discuss."

Johnson did, however, note that he has golfed with Moore in the past and said she's "very good."

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