Wie missed the cut by one shot in a men's event in Hawaii

Top women pros such as Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie could qualify via an invite on the men's tour.

Peter Dawson, boss of the Royal and Ancient, said: "If a woman qualifies we'd have a difficulty because our entry form says male golfers.

"But we'd have to take it seriously if a woman does meet one of the criteria. It would be difficult not to."

Fourteen-year-old American Wie, playing on an invitation, missed the halfway cut by a single stroke in the US Tour's Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

A place in the Open at Troon this July is offered to the leading non-exempt player in both the Western Open and the John Deere Classic in America and Wie could be invited to play in them.

Our attitude is 'never say never' R&A chief Peter Dawson

Earlier this month Hootie Johnson, chairman of Augusta National, said that the club would be delighted to see Wie compete in the Masters if she qualified.

R&A chief executive Dawson added: "But Michelle Wie, a wonderful player, has done nothing yet which would have got her into the Open if she were a man.

"We've talked about it and I do think it's a long way off, but our attitude is 'never say never'.

"There are no women in the world rankings at the moment, but we are watching the situation.

"We've not had a situation in golf where equal competition between the sexes has been seriously considered in the past. In 35 Olympic sports, equestrianism is the only one, I believe, where men and women compete together."