AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — More than golf's first major championship of the year, the Masters represents unification. It will be the first time since July's British Open that the best players, regardless of tour, will compete on the same course, in the same tournament and on the same television network.
“I think we can all agree that there is excitement in the air this week,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday. “The best players in the world will come together again.”
It's still unclear how long Augusta National Stadium will remain open.
Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf has 13 players in the Masters, seven of whom are former champions, who can play as many times as they want. This is down from 18 cases a year ago. Depending on their performance at this year's majors, only nine LIV players are certain to return to Augusta National next year.
Ridley expressed little hope that LIV's path to Augusta National is about to get even wider.
He said the Official World Golf Ranking was a “legitimate deciding factor” in determining the best in golf, and said it was bad news for rival leagues that had not earned world ranking points. And although the Masters reviews its invitation criteria every year, Ridley has not announced any new changes.
Instead, he relies on the Masters being an invitation, with clubs solely deciding which players deserve to be mailed an elegant cream-colored invitation.
“If we feel there are players who deserve an invitation to the Masters, whether they play on the LIV Tour or another tour, we will exercise that discretion regarding special invitations,” Ridley said. .
It's a battle for the green jacket, but it may not be the only competition.
It would be difficult to look at the leaderboard without considering who is on LIV Golf. That hasn't changed since last year (the first Masters since LIV's inception), and LIV certainly showed that the 54-hole, uncut league hasn't affected them. He was one of three players in the top four of the final leaderboard.
And just like last year, there is no animosity within the ropes.
LIV Golf's Phil Mickelson and Joaquin Niemann played a practice round with Akshay Bhatia, who was the last player to compete after winning the Texas Open last week. Xander Schauffele talked about running into Dustin Johnson, and the two decided to play a practice round. It's no different from what was happening long before LIV lured players with big money guarantees.
However, the future remains uncertain.
Augusta National and the other three organizations that run Major League Baseball serve on the OWGR Board of Directors, which reviews LIV applications and earns world ranking points. There was a unanimous vote to not award points until certain enhancements were met.
Eventually LIV decided to withdraw the applicationand some players decried that world rankings no longer matter.
That's to Ridley and Masters. Players who finish in the top 50 at the end of the year and one week before the Masters will still receive invitations. Bryson DeChambeau said majors, including the Masters, should invite the top 12 players on the LIV points list.
Ridley didn't buy that.
“I think it would be difficult to establish any kind of point system that has any connection to the rest of the world of golf, because the world of golf is fundamentally – not completely, but largely – a closed system. Because it’s a shop,” Ridley said. “There is some relegation, but not that much.
“But I don't think that precludes subjective considerations based on the talent and performance of the players.”
That's why Augusta National extended the invitation to Niemann. The club does not mention his LIV achievements, but the Chilean has won twice at LIV this year, but outside of LIV he won the Australian Open and finished top at the Australian PGA. He did not mention his desire to do so.
Taylor Gooch did not receive an invitation. He won three LIV events last year and later hinted that he would put an asterisk next to Rory McIlroy's name if he won the Masters.
Scottie Scheffler aims for second green jacket, McIlroy chases Grand Slam of his life, Tiger Woods plays for the second time this year and many other tour participants at one of golf's most admired tournaments , so it's unlikely that Gooch will be missed. property.
The PGA Tour will then head to Hilton Head, and LIV Golf will head to Australia, but both will have to wait until the next major tournament, the PGA Championship, May 16-19.
“There are a lot of people who are much smarter than me and can figure this out in a much more efficient way,” Jon Rahm said. “But the obvious answer is that on any tour there has to be a way for certain players to qualify. That's all I can say. I don't know what that is. But there has to be a fair way for everyone to compete.”
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf