2023 Masters: Clock is ticking on Masters invites for LIV golfers
AUGUSTA, Ga. — LIV Golf’s most prominent proponent probably didn’t mean to provide the rival PGA and European Tours with a recruiting sound bite, but that speaks to the power and pull of the Masters.
“It is my favorite week,” Phil Mickelson said Tuesday after finishing a practice round at Augusta National. “Being here and being a part of it, and being able to experience this great place and what it means is so fun because, as a kid, you grow up dreaming about being a part of this.
“You dream of winning it, being in contention,” he continued. “And then when you actually are a pro and you are playing here, you're like, ‘Wow, I want to be a part of this every year.’ ”
Professional golf is undergoing a civil war, with the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV throwing huge sums of guaranteed money at top players to come play in the 14-event, 54-hole, no cut tour.
Work less, make more.
It’s generally a winning sales pitch, especially if you ignore the political and ethical arguments around the decision.
But what about the Masters? Per Mickelson, every young player dreams of competing here. The path to doing it, however, is far more difficult if you join the LIV tour than if you play on the PGA or European Tours. And it is growing more difficult every year.
The Masters is a private tournament run by Augusta National Golf Club, not either of the traditional pro golf leagues, although the results here count for players on both. The club has tried to stay neutral in the LIV-PGA feud, at least to a point. It did not ban LIV players from competing here, as some PGA-backers hoped.
It didn’t, however, alter its qualifying system to favor LIV, which is a longterm victory for the PGA, who need the allure of the big events to keep its talent from jumping ship.
Mickelson is one of 18 LIV golfers competing here. He is one of six who have a lifetime exemption to compete as a previous champion — joining Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel and Bubba Watson.
Those golfers are set.
Everyone else runs the risk of being left out in the future.
Six additional LIV players — Abraham Ancer, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters and Harold Varner III — qualified because they finished 2022 in the top 50 of the World Golf Rankings.
LIV events, however, don’t count in the world rankings because they are just 54 holes long and there is no cut. Now that the players are full-time on LIV, they’ll need a different way into future Masters fields.
That will be a challenge, especially after the Times of London reported Tuesday that an arbitration hearing in England had sided with the European Tour in their quest to suspend LIV players. That means the tour can keep them from entering tournaments and earning the world ranking points that could lead to qualifying for things such as the Masters.
Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith are current automatic qualifiers due to winning a major championship in the last five years. However, Koepka’s 2019 PGA Championship counts for just one more year after this. Unless he wins here (or another major) this year or next or finishes in the top 12 (top 4 in another major) next year, he won’t be back in Augusta for 2025.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on DeChambeau and Smith, who are only qualified through 2025 and 2027.
Finally three other LIV players — Mito Pereira, Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch — are enjoying one-year qualifications earned last year. They, too, could be done by 2024, when the number of LIV players in the Masters field could drop from 18 all the way down to just 9.
There are many factors that drive the decision to switch to LIV. Some young golfers will no doubt take the guaranteed money over the chance to play here.
All you have to do is listen to LIV’s most famous and accomplished golfer though, to know that anyone choosing the new league is risking giving up something meaningful.
“It’s a really, really special thing,” Mickelson said of the Masters.
It sounded like a PGA sales pitch for staying put.
