Fred Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National, has ruled out the prospect of LIV golfers gaining entry into the Masters through their own rankings, while labeling the Saudi-backed tour’s “closed shop” as problematic.
Golfers on the LIV tour who have won the Masters remain eligible to play in the first major of the year. One member of LIV, Joaquín Niemann, received a special invitation to this Masters edition. Others saw their route to Augusta blocked after sliding down the world rankings. LIV withdrew its bid to become part of that system this year because it did not meet the criteria of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
LIV would like majors to simply award a number of spots to players based on performance during the Rebels tour. Speaking on the eve of the Masters, Ridley was cool about that possibility.
“I think it’s going to be difficult to set up a points system that has any connection to the rest of the golf world because it’s basically, not entirely, but for the most part, a closed shop,” Ridley said of LIV . . “There is some degradation, but not much. It all really depends on which new player they sign. These concerns have been raised by the OWGR.
“I don’t think that prevents us from giving those players a subjective assessment based on talent, based on performance. Our goal is to have, as far as possible, the best golf field, the best players in the world.
“I will say that if we felt that there was a player or players, whether playing on the LIV tour or another tour, who deserved an invitation to the Masters, we would exercise that discretion regarding special invitations . ”
Ridley also made pointed reference to the broken state of elite golf. Television audiences in the United States are reportedly down 20% this year as the PGA Tour and LIV operate in different ways.
“The fact that the best players in the world don’t meet that often certainly doesn’t help,” he added. “Whether or not there is a direct causal effect [on broadcast figures] Don’t know. But I think it would be a lot nicer if they were together more often.”
Ridley urged all tours to accept technological changes proposed by golf operators on both sides of the Atlantic. The distance shots can travel in the modern era is a regular concern at Augusta. “I certainly hope that will be the case [implemented]Ridley said. “I think if they didn’t adopt it, it would put a lot of stress on the game, which isn’t necessary right now.”