By Fred Altvater
The membership at Augusta National has been very good at controlling anything and everything that could distract from the pomp and circumstance of this annual rite of spring. Corporate signage is not allowed and they even dictate the timing of advertisements to the television networks that are broadcasting the event.
The membership of Augusta National Golf Club is comprised of CEO’s, CFO’s and other leaders of corporate American, who are accustomed to controlling every aspect of their business and that mindset spills over the administration of the Masters tournament.
This year the elephant in the room is the combination of LIV and PGA Tour players that are coming together for the first time this year. Fred Ridley, current Chairman of Augusta National and the Masters, can’t control who joins, or doesn’t join the LIV, but he does control who receives an invitation.
Rory McIlroy has toned back his rhetoric, but a general chippiness is apparent among other players on both tours. The unpleasantness has continued both in media interviews, as well as on social media. The move by defending Masters champion, Jon Rahm to switch to the rival LIV has been an especially explosive topic in the golf world.
Last year it was predicted that LIV players would not perform well at the Masters, due to their shorter schedule, 54-hole events and lack of competition against PGA Tour quality players. That prediction was never valid due to the fact that there are several major championship winners among the LIV membership namely, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
Brooks Koepka, who always gets excited for the majors, led most of the way through the first three rounds of the Masters last year, but slipped in the final round on Sunday to let Jon Rahm pass him for the victory. Rahm was a member of the PGA Tour at the time. Koepka did come back to win the PGA Championship the next month.
After the dust had settled on Sunday evening, at the Masters, Koepka and Mickelson finished tied for runner-up, behind Rahm, while Patrick Reed tied for fourth, giving LIV players three of the top six spots at the 2023 Masters.
Even though the LIV Tour does not receive Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points and many of the top names on that tour are rapidly sliding down the world rankings, several LIV players will tee it up this year at the 2024 Masters.
Top 50 in the OWGR is just one of several criteria to earn a Masters invitation, plus past winners are normally given an automatic invite.
Past major championship winners like, Rahm, Johnson, Mickelson, Garcia, Reed and a few other LIV players have five-year exemptions into all four major championships, which includes the Masters.
The LIV has split the loyalties of the players and it is unfortunate that we now only get to see the best players compete against one another on four occasions each year.
Without OWGR points awarded to the LIV and as exemptions from winning previous majors expires, these opportunities will become even less rare.
That is a huge loss for professional golf.
The Masters can control a few special invitees and does have a tradition of inviting leading international players who are not otherwise qualified for the tournament. This year Chairman Ridley gave a special invitation to Joaquin Niemann, who qualified for the tournament in years past, before he switched to the LIV.
Augusta National and The Masters can normally dictate everything that happens at the Masters Tournament, but they can’t mend the broken professional golf scene right now.
They will still host The Masters and golf fans will still be amazed at the beauty and tradition of this annual harbinger of spring.
Hopefully Augusta National and the other ruling bodies in golf, the USGA, the PGA and DP World Tour can find a solution to this rift in men’s professional game and get back to producing competitive golf featuring the biggest names and best players for golf fans to enjoy.
