After pressure by civil rights groups, the...

After pressure by civil rights groups, the head of the all-white club that plays host to the Masters golf tournament said he hopes the club will invite its first black member this year.

“That is our hope, yes,” said Hord Hardin, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club. “We haven’t completed the procedures we normally follow yet, but it certainly is our desire that we will do it. I have every reason to believe that we will.”

Augusta National has not had a black member since it was founded by Bobby Jones in 1932. But the club recently came under pressure to integrate after similar protests against the all-white Shoal Creek Country Club in Alabama that is scheduled to play host to next month’s PGA championship.

Last week, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference threatened to lead an advertising boycott against the Masters next year if Augusta National continues to exclude blacks.