a year since an attempted military coup was put down, promising to punish his enemies. at least 260 people died in the coup attempt. in its wake, the government has sacked 150,000 state employees. thousands of people have marched through hong kong to remember chinese nobel peace prize winner liu xiaobo. he was buried at sea after a funeral service. mr liu died in hospital while serving a prison sentence for his activism. former british prime minister tony blair has suggested the european union could be willing to make concessions on the free movement of people to allow the uk to remain in the eu. spain's garbine muguruza has beaten venus williams in the wimbledon women's final. now on bbc news: with the women's us 0pen golf taking place this weekend, as part of the bbc women's season of sport, sarah mulkerrins travels to the us to examine the history of women's involvement in golf. driving change: golf's

battle for equality. i got a threat letters in my life. i couple of times they tried to run me off the highway as i was driving. i really did feel like my life was in danger. growing up, golf was not for us. you look like you don't play golf. what is the local golf? as far as they were concerned, we are trash, so that's all we deserve. golf — for many a hobby, for some a career, but not so long ago, if you were black or a woman, it

wasn't even an option. in the usa, until 1961, the professional golfers association had a caucasian—only clause. until then, black players had to play in their own events. for women, their first players association was set up in 1950, yet it was only in 2014 that one of the oldest clubs in the world, the royal and ancient, voted to admit female members. so how far has the sport come in embracing race and gender diversity? williamj powell, or bill as he was known, was born the grandson of slaves in alabama in 1916. he moved to ohio in a teenager and play golf at his school and college. in 1916 he returned from serving in the us air force during the second world war. but he was banned from the all—white public courses in the area. with the world of golf all the closed to william powell,

he had his own vision, a course open to all. in the 1940s this was an old dairy farm. he spent two years working at night as a security guard, and by day he hand seeded this course. in 19118 is opened. william powell was a pioneer, and he was watched on by his daughter renae. my first memories of hitting golf clubs were with my dad. i was around four years old, and was hitting golf balls and trying to hit them down to where the creek was, the water. this is a picture of my mum and dad. this was number three green, and number three comes down here. and we're standing on the first tee, and behind us is number three green. and your mother play golf as well, didn't she?

my mum did. my dad got us all involved in the game. my mum used to tease, she would say that when i was a little girl i used to run out and play and she would say, come back in! and then ijust continued to play the game. the lpga had not started until 1950. ijoined the tour in 1967. at that time there were a lot of tensions in our country. sometimes we would go into restaurants and they would serve everybody but me. and my partner on tour, a canadian pro, a few years ago she said, i used to wonder why would go to restaurants and they would serve everybody else but us. isaid, sandra, i didn't want to tell you it was because you were a canadian. ididn't want you to feel bad! but things like that. i remember going home crying telling my parents the first time i got a threat letter,

i thought they would tell me to come home, and they didn't! i thought, evidently they don't think somebody is quick to jump out from behind a tree and shoot me. is that what the letters were saying? no, they would just say, dear n, if you know what's good for you, you better get out of here. i went out a director and showed him the letters and he said, there is nothing we can do about it. ‘cos i really thought something would happen. but it didn't. one of the great players, and hall of famer ‘s, i had walked into the hotel and they had lost my reservation, and cathy said, we all stay, or we all walk. those individuals knew me before ijoined the tour, and everybody... i had no problems with players on the tour.

it was the outside. she was there in the heart of racism and discrimination. and, you see, that kind of thing had just become institutionalised in this country, because even the country set of laws against us. i had some inkling of probably the challenges that she would have had, but you never got a hint of that from her. she never talked about it until you fully set down and had a real heart—to—heart discussion. it was not something she would ever show, that that was part of her history or even her father's history. iadmired herspirit, but she was able to stay out there, because i'm aware of the cruelty that she experienced. i thought about so many people

that had come before me, and i always felt very strongly that we all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. there were people who did so much to allow others, to give others freedom. helen webb harris was one of those who paved the way. a schoolteacher and wife of a doctor, she was tired of staying at home while her husband played golf. so helen, along with 12 friends, founded the wake robin ladies club in 1937. the first african—american women's golf club in the usa. the only place they could play was a three—hole golf course down at the the washington monument. and they were taunted by white teenagers,

threw rocks at them. and of course they were called names, and all kinds of things. but they persisted. the battle began here in washington, dc. 80 years ago this was a rubbish dump, full of broken glass, rusty tins and old tyres. the ladies were campaigning for the desegregation of public golf courses, but in 1938, they were given this. they were collecting trash on this course, and even when they built the course, they had to play over glass bottles and cans. it's not so bad to me that it was put on a crash dump, they should have tried to take away the trash. but you see, as far as they were concerned, we were trash, so that's all we deserved. it was a dump, but they embraced that dump, and they were going to make that dump their own.

and they came out here with much pride and conviction to make this work for them. after langston, the wake—robin ladies continue to push for the opening of all courses in washington, dc, and in1941, the district confirmed they would do so. their battle for equality and then just there. they were also part of the movement to force the pga to drop its whites only rule, which it did in 1961. knowing where it started, all of the historical individuals who have come through this course, and i think i probably have ridden by langston many, many times before becoming a member of wake—robin, and not fully knowing all the history of langston. my name is elizabeth rice mcneill. and i've been in clubs 60 years. i came to washington,

dc from pennsylvania. i lived with my auntie, and she took me to church. and the church i went to was sarah smith's church, and she was a golfer. one of the charter members of wake—robin golf club. i went to her house to a meeting, and she had a big piano with these huge trophies on it. and i was fascinated by that. so we got a bunch of young girls together, and we formed a little club. they called us "robinettes, and we had about 18 young girls who started out playing golf. i had never heard of golf before, and i got hooked on it. elizabeth rice mcneill is a unique individual all her own. is it right you have

six holes—in—one. i've had six holes—in—one in my golfing career. that's phenomenal! it is, it is. we don't have any weak women in this club. we've had good, principled women, good leaders, that have kept this club going all these years. eight decades after that first meeting, inclusion and support are still at the heart of their mission. the helen webb scholarship honours the memory of their founder by supporting young woman dreaming of turning professional. as a girl, as a young female trying to play, it is difficult because there aren't that many, especially african—americans. itjust tears me apart, you know, that there really aren't any, and just not what happened between the time of renee and on. they kept pursuing even

when it was tough, and that's what i'm trying to do, as hard as i can. these ladies just helped me so much. in 1962, tennis great gibson became the first african—american woman to complete any lpga tour. renee powell followed in 1967. it took another 28 years for the next black player to arrive in 1995. since then others, most recently mariah stackhouse, have all made it. eight african—american women in 67 years. there are situations where you just genuinely feel uncomfortable, and you feel you need to get out of that situation. people staring at you, wondering whether you work there, not actually golfing in the adjournment, or asking where you're from. i get the occasional,

"are you tiger woods' niece?" it's not that they don't mean to be discriminating or rude or anything, but sometimes people will think, oh, just because you're african—american... but thankfully i'm in a generation where it's not too horrible as to what renee had to go through all those years ago. it's making strides. i believe it has a long way to go, because still i go into a store and i have a golf outfit on, and you meet people that say," i didn't know that minorities play golf. like, you look like you don't play golf." well, what is the look of golf? you're right, it is a male, caucasian—dominated sport. and i think that right now it is getting better, which is inclusion. i think that's the big thing.

inclusion and having access to the game. and not onlyjust getting started, but continuing to have the opportunity to go ahead and think, you know what? i want to do this professionally. and if it works out, great, if not, i will work on the golf industry. so i think it's getting better. it's slow progress, but it is progress. playing out here, with a course that is so much history, and playing with renee, it is so inspiring to me. every time i see her and the others, sadena parks, mariah stackhouse and the others, it is great to be around them because first off there are great people, they have great characters, and we all have something in common. being the next one to make it onto. in 2015 renee powell was again making history. after the breakthrough vote to allow female members into the royal and ancient, she was one of the first women to be invited. to me it is the highest

honour one can ever get, the old course! the royal and ancient, where golf began, right there! to be one of the first seven women that was selected from around the entire world was absolutely amazing. and to me also it was a win in a sense for women. it was a win in a sense for african—americans and my family. so when i actually walked through the door as a bonafide member, it was like all these other women were walking with me and my whole family was going with me. it's just amazing. i'm so appreciative of that membership. but it is all due to all the sacrifices that my family had to make to be a part of something that is real history, and the fact that it was your family

or your parents, your brother that made that history, yeah. and i'm the one that really gets a chance to benefit from it. 0n the face of it, golf has come a long way to ridding itself of the explicit barriers towards minorities and women. but how many implicit barriers remain? let's say you managed to play the sport as a youngster and perhaps go to college on a scholarship. you're good enough, so you look to make it a career and turn professional. how difficult is that? for anya alvarez, it proved very tough. for me personally it was a struggle just to find sponsors. that was one main reason that i decided to stop playing was because i was just exhausted of having to ask people for money.

i had played decent, i had finished third at a european tour event of the year, i had made the cut at the us open, so i felt like i had proved myself as a player in many regards where i was hoping that someone would take a chance on me, and i was barelyjust covering my expenses. it is several thousand dollars a year just for entry fees. and then you are looking at paying your caddy, up to $2000 a week, and then flights, rental cars, hotels if you cannot find host housing. it can range from $50,000 to $75,000 a year, just the expenses itself. and that puts much pressure on me, and took away the joy of playing because i was constantly worrying how to pay for the next element. if i don't pay well,

how will i pay rent? how will i live outside my golf expenses? and ijust decided for my mental health and wellbeing it was better to step away from it rather than put myself into debt as i know other girls had done. in 2016, 15 female golfers earned over $1 million in prize money on the lpga tour. 110 male golfers crossed that mark on the pga tour. the biggest chance of earnings comes in the majors. combined, they offer $17.8 million in prize money, with the us women's open offering the largest amount. this year it has increased to $5 million in total that is one of the most important events of the year. 80 years after helen webb harris founded the first black women's golf club in the usa, the oldest major for women, the us open, is being criticised for being held here.

we are at trump national in newjersey, owned by donald trump. there have been calls to have the major moved or boycotted because of his derogatory comments towards women and minorities. i know from talking with some people within the uspga that they didn't want it there, and it was a really tough decision. there was a lot of backlash against it, and there still is. understandably so because a lot of people are justifiably upset it is being held there. the fact they say they can have this event at a trump course because they are apolitical and because trump is not technically violating the rules that they have established about eligibility for holding tournaments, and that is that the course does not have discriminatory policies or practices against minorities and women, and i maintain that what trump has done and said violates the spirit of the rule. in response, the us

golf association told us that: the association also wanted to pay tribute to renee powell, a pioneer of inclusion in the sport. when you look at women's sport in general, controversy seems to be the driving factor of when coverage is given, and this is something that is going to take away from just focusing on that playing of the players that week because it will be a huge part of the discussion that this

is donald trump's course and what that means, that it was held at his golf course. it is becoming a very political issue that i know a lot of players wish it had not become. if you're struggling to keep your tour card at that point and you're in the open, and you are dead last in the list, you have to do what you have to do. you've got to eat! that's the simplest way to say it. you have to look out for yourself, and at that moment make sure that you are still going to be able to live your dream. the battles for some continue, but now there is a generation enabled and inspired by helen webb harris and the wake—robin ladies, by bill and renee powell, by their vision and determination to open up the world of golf. i didn't have somebody to be inspired by that looked just like me. all i watched was tiger woods.

i feel that is great for young kids know that they have some girls to look up to that are still young and later down the load, maybe 30 years from now, they will be following in her footsteps. our own governing bodies don't tell stories, and in fact, they suppress a lot of history. stories of people overcoming, stepping up, doing what's right. making sure these kind of important stories about golf and about the evolution of golf need to be told. until we get the numbers up within the organisations of current golf, i don't think it's going to change dramatically. because i think a lot of things start from the top.

look at the board of directors for all the golf organisations, and they are mostly old white men. we need to be in those positions to actually advocate for change. but they are not asking us to be on the board, they're asking their buddies to be on the board with them. and as a result, not much changes. i truly feel that everybody should play golf. it is such an incredible sport and i have gained from it. we want the world to know what we are capable of. and not be denied the god—given rights that we all have. is saturday was a little cloudy for

your liking, most places can expect something brighter during sunday. it started to brighton in a couple of spots on saturday afternoon and evening. a little earlier in the day, when we saw cloud breaking up through the midlands and northern ireland, the temperatures lifted very readily, up to 2a or 25 degrees. echoes of the wedge of warm humid airthat degrees. echoes of the wedge of warm humid air that were sitting in place. fast forward to the start of sunday morning, that wedge of warm air is confined to the southern half of the country where it will be cloudy, misty murky drizzly and places. a warm start to the daily indeed that some in cooler and fresher for northern ireland indeed that some in cooler and fresherfor northern ireland in scotland. that will be where we see the best of the during sunday morning. northern ireland, scotland, a lot of sunshine although blustery winds of the north, gales and exposed spots ringing showers into the mix. across the north of

england, things will turn bright as oui’ england, things will turn bright as our weather front, this cold front slips further southward. along the line to the front and southee will be quite a cloudy start to the day. quite misty murky and drizzly for parts of wales and the south—west. cloudy across east anglia and the south—east but look at this 20 degrees in london, even at nine in the morning. anyway to the south of the morning. anyway to the south of the front, that is where we will have the warmest and the most humid conditions. equally, the most cloud. having said that, the cloud will start to break up a bilby, particularly towards the south—east. that could lift temperatures to 26 of 27 degrees. further north and west, a lot of sunshine, cool fresh deal with blustery showers across northern scotland. another wimbledon? it looks largely dry. things will brighten up a little bit of the day goes on. with that, the threat of a shower, perhaps 30% chance of a light shower as the front chance of a light shower as the fro nt m oves chance of a light shower as the front moves through during the latter pa rt front moves through during the latter part of sunday. through sunday might into monday, the front

clears away and allows an area reply pressure to build in. that means a beautiful start to the week if you like warm weather and sunshine, that is. there will be a lot of sunshine across the country with extra cloud close to the far south. easily 26 degrees and some spots. some spots could get close to 30. another one day on tuesday. most places dry with sunshine but notice down to the south, don't take this too little really, but there is an increasing chance that we will see thunderstorms spreading up from the south. there could be thunderstorms anywhere on wednesday as they clear away it will turn cooler and fresher for the end of the week. are this is bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: a huge rally for turkey's president, consolidating power a year after the attempted coup. tony blair says britain could win concessions on immigration — and stay in the european union. thousands march through hong kong

to mark the death of chinese dissident and nobel peace prize winner, liu xiaobao. in tennis, garbine muguruza is the new wimbledon women's singles champion after beating venus williams in straight sets. good morning. turkey's president, recep tayyip erdogan,