Armed Peace in Augusta National

Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson Dechambeau, Brooks Kupka, Sergio Garcia, Cameron Smith, Bubba Watson and Patrick Reed are all happy to report to Augusta National in early April to confirm their participation in The Masters. They are the core group of 20 LIV Golf players who have earned the right to compete in the first major tournament of 2023. It is almost certain that other majors will also accept the actual employees of the Saudi circuit.

A number of them, former winners Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzell, joined the Champions Dinner on the Tuesday before the tournament. It can be the coldest hour of the week and all golf enthusiasts love to get their feet wet A fly on the wall Want to be in the Augusta National Club? “Of course I want to be there,” said Bubba Watson, the man who won the Masters in 2012 and 2014. “I’ll sit where Scotty wants me. If necessary on the porch. Scotty, of course, is Scotty Scheffler, the Texas who won in 2022. He’s the host of the Dinner of Champions.”
At the DP World Tour, the race management – on behalf of CEO Keith Bailey – is trying to hide the qualifying men from LIV Golf in the all-star list. Only if there is no other choice does the player appear occasionally. The question is what the Augusta National Championship Committee will do. Patrick Reid and rival Rory McIlroy for as long as possible? Do we only watch groups with LIV golfers? Or is it classified as taking place under normal circumstances?

Participation requirements

Augusta National was anxiously awaiting the announcement of its entry requirements. Will the Lords – and a few ladies – be banned from the host club side with the PGA Tour site every LIV golfer? Since its inception in 1934, the purpose of The Masters Tournament has been to make golf for the best. Every April, The Masters brings together the world’s best golfers to play for the Green Blazer and a place in history. It provides fans with a stage to experience moments of dramatic competition on the field. top level and promote the sport at home and abroad.For example, just before Christmas, Augusta National President Fred Ridley opened his statement on invitation policy for the 2023 Masters. He went on to say, “So, since invitations are being sent out this week, we will not include those who Qualify according to our current criteria. To participate in the 2023 Masters Tournament. As we have said in the past, we look at every aspect of the tournament every year, and any adjustments or changes to the invitation criteria for future tournaments will be announced in April. We have reached an important point in the history of our sport. At Augusta National, we are confident that golf, which has overcome many challenges over the years, will stand up again.”

The bottom line is that former winners of The Masters as well as major champions in recent years, players who are now in the top 50 in the world rankings and winners of PGA Tour competitions will be allowed to compete at the Augusta National at least this year. .

How do you explain the decision of one of the most powerful organizations in golf? Fred Ridley and his board of directors kept their mouths shut in vague terms. Because what needs to be done “At Augusta National, we are confident that the game of golf, which has overcome many challenges over the years, will hold its own again ‘? This statement is suspiciously similar to what R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said: “The Open Championship must move away from current differences of opinion and ensure that we remain true to our principle, which is the participation of the best players in the world.” This translated as “Past champions, major winners of recent years, players from the top 50 in the world rankings and qualified players are welcome”. So R&A won’t be messing around with the share requirements right now.

The USGA, as the organizer of the US Open, is expected to adopt the position of the R&A and Augusta National. This may already have happened.
The PGA of America’s stance could be different. The organizer of the PGA Championship to be played in May has a much stronger relationship with the PGA Tour and is also the US organization that sets Ryder Cup policy with the Europeans. But the US PGA is unlikely to deviate from the policy of the other big three.

on a collision course

LIV Golf, of course, celebrates all of this as a huge win. But instead of showing appreciation, ten members of Augusta National were included in the long list of “conspirators” against Greg Norman’s project and the Saudi crown prince’s investment fund. LIV Golf wanted to solicit all communications between all Augusta National members and the PGA Tour regarding a “new tour”, not just LIV Golf. In addition, Norman charged swiss cum Members Condoleezza Rice – former US Secretary of State – and Warren Stevens said they “apparently attempted to influence the Department of Justice’s investigation into PGA Tour dealings”.

But judge Suzanne Van Keulen, who presides over the entire process for LIV Golf vs. the PGA Tour (and vice versa) — and now everyone in golf — found that disproportionate in late January and threw LIV Golf’s applications into the trash.

You wonder what LIV Golf wants to achieve with this. It seems that there are only differences, and this is not in the interest of the 48 players who competed in fourteen championships in 2023.

The question is whether the Saudi collision course is not limited to Augusta National as far as the MA is concerned. It wouldn’t be surprising if the USGA, R&A, and PGA of America were also engaged by LIV Golf in the trawler approach.

But it’s not just LIV Golf that’s aggressive. There are also a lot of players who are constantly whining, accusing and irreconcilable.

classification

The key point, of course, is the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). LIV Golf and its staff – one who studies some players’ contracts can only conclude that they should be called that – repeatedly express their anger, insult and sadness that LIV Golf’s tournaments still do not deserve world ranking points. According to the players, even points should be given retroactively, and according to them, now the rank is worthless anyway.

First of all, the process always takes a long time. LIV Golf submitted the application last July and the question is when will the OWGR Board of Directors make a decision. The top executives of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, Guy Monahan and Keith Bailey, will serve on the board, but will have no say in the entire process. Officially then, because no one knows what goes on behind the scenes.

The truth is, the whole concept of LIV Golf does not comply with most of the OWGR rules. This means when a file exemptions From major winners to expire and others to no longer be in the top 50, very few LIV Golf guys can play in the major tournaments.

In January, Phil Mickelson, who will play his first Major since the 2021 Open in April, decided to start tweeting again. He thinks he should still be considered capable of winning a major or two in the next few years. Mickelson hadn’t had a top 10 finish in nearly two years. Then there was the cynical claim that a team of LIV golfers would make mincemeat for their fellow PGA Tour players, including Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy.

Suck, moan and charge. This seems to be the motto of LIV Golf. But the world of golf is no better. And before the lawsuit between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour begins in the United States in January 2024, there will be no improvement.