Fred Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National, has all-but ruled out the prospect of LIV golfers gaining entry to the Masters via their own order of merit while branding the “closed shop” of the Saudi Arabian-backed tour problematic.
Golfers on the LIV tour who have won the Masters remain eligible for the first major of the year. One member of LIV, Joaquin Niemann, received a special invite to this Masters edition. Others have seen their route to Augusta blocked after tumbling down the world rankings. LIV withdrew its bid to be part of that system this year having failed to meet Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) criteria.
LIV is keen that majors simply give a number of spots to players based on performance on the rebel tour. Speaking on the eve of the Masters, Ridley was cool on that possibility.
“I think it will be difficult to establish any type of point system that had any connection to the rest of the world of golf because they’re basically, not totally, but for the most part, a closed shop,” Ridley said of LIV. “There is some relegation, but not very much. It all really depends on what new player they sign. Those concerns were expressed by the OWGR.
“I don’t think that that prevents us from giving subjective consideration based on talent, based on performance, to those players. Our goal is to have, to the greatest extent possible, the best field in golf, the best players in the world.
“I will say that if we felt that there were a player or players, whether they played on the LIV tour or any other tour, who were deserving of an invitation to the Masters, that we would exercise that discretion with regard to special invitations.”
Ridley also made pointed reference to the fractured state of elite golf. Television audiences in the United States are reportedly down by 20% this year with the PGA Tour and LIV operating on different paths.
“Certainly the fact that the best players in the world are not convening very often is not helpful,” he added. “Whether or not there’s a direct causal effect [on broadcast figures] I don’t know. But I think that it would be a lot better if they were together more often.”
Ridley urged all tours to accept technology modifications proposed by golf’s administrators on both sides of the Atlantic. The distance shots can travel in the modern era has been a regular cause for concern at Augusta. “I certainly hope they will be [implemented],” Ridley said. “I think were they not adopted it would cause a great deal of stress in the game, which it doesn’t need right now.”