Kevin Pietersen fails in £92k bid for membership of secretive golf club as England cricket icon, 44, gets ‘veto threat’
KEVIN Pietersen has been denied membership at a prestigious £92,000-a-year golf club.
The former England cricket star was reportedly “blackballed” after attempting to join Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire.
Pietersen lives close to the exclusive course, which has previously hosted the British Masters and the Women’s Open.
According to The Telegraph, four existing Sunningdale members said they would reject Pietersen’s application.
Friends had proposed his membership, but Pietersen never reached the formal process.
A source told the publication: “All it takes is one difficult member to stop the process, so before a vote new members are verbally discussed by existing members.
“The formal process wasn’t even started because it was made clear there would be objections.”
Pietersen is a talented golfer, playing off a handicap of 2.
The source continued: “Kevin was effectively blackballed – I’ve no idea why.
“He’s a good golfer and wouldn’t have caused any problems.
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“I think he’s a member of Wentworth, so he will have to make do with playing there for now.”
Pietersen is playing at Wentworth this week in the BMW PGA Championship pro-am.
Sunningdale’s elite membership list is kept as a closely guarded secret.
Singer Harry Styles, England legend Gary Lineker and actor Sean Connery are all rumoured to be members.
According to the Daily Mail, Sir Andrew Strauss, Pietersen’s former England captain, is also on the books.
Strauss and Pietersen were embroiled in a text message row in 2012.
KP allegedly sent text messages about Strauss to South African players during a 2012 Test series between the two sides.
Pietersen, 44, was dropped following Textgate but reintegrated into the side under Alistair Cook’s captaincy.
He retired from cricket in 2014 and has since carved out a career in broadcasting for Sky Sports.