What are people saying about LIV Golf players being allowed to compete at the 2023 Masters Tournament in April?

The new year is just around the corner, but there is no sign of a truce on the horizon between the PGA and LIV Golf. With criticism flying from both sides, the staid and respectable Augusta Masters tournament has rippled the water further by announcing that players who would qualify under existing criteria will be allowed to play in 2023, regardless of whether they have signed to LIV Golf or not.

What is the problem with playing in both?

Much of this conflict is a simple turf war, with LIV Golf accusing the PGA Tour of violating antitrust legislation, and the PGA coming back with the accusation that LIV is actually more restrictive than the tour.

Spat and counter-spat over Saudi money is a bit rich in a sport bathed in money from the Emirates and gulf states. In a sporting landscape where soccer’s World Cup was awarded to Qatar, objecting to the source of your millions is disingenuous to put it mildly. Hypocritical is closer to the mark.

Once you wash away all of the hyperbole and misinformation, what you are left with is a simple labor dispute. And like all labor disputes, management and ownership want to break the workers and keep them in line, while some will take the role of scabs, others wear the mantle of strike-busters. However likeable or not you find a player, look to which hat he is wearing and you will find out where his loyalty truly lies.

Which LIV golfers are eligible to play the 2023 Masters?

Of the 48 players signed with the 12 established team franchises competing in the LIV Golf League for 2023, 16 of them are eligible for the 2023 Masters, under differing criteria:

Past Champions:

Major Exemption (winning any major within the last five years):

Top 50 in the world at the end of 2022:

The full text of Masters chairman Fred Ridley’s statement:

December 20, 2022

STATEMENT REGARDING THE 2023 MASTERS TOURNAMENT

From its inception in 1934, the purpose of the Masters Tournament has been to benefit the game of golf. Each April, the Masters assembles the world’s leading golfers to compete for the Green Jacket and a place in history. It provides a stage for fans to experience dramatic moments of competition at the highest level and promotes the sport domestically and abroad.

Through the years, legends of the game have competed and won at Augusta National Golf Club. Champions like Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have become heroes to golfers of all ages. They have inspired some to follow in their footsteps and so many others to play and enjoy the game. They have supported the sport and, thus, all who benefit from it. They have shown respect for those who came before them and blazed a trail for future generations. Golf is better because of them.

Regrettably, recent actions have divided men’s professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it. Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honour the tradition of bringing together a pre-eminent field of golfers this coming April.

Therefore, as invitations are sent this week, we will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament. As we have said in the past, we look at every aspect of the Tournament each year, and any modifications or changes to invitation criteria for future Tournaments will be announced in April.

We have reached a seminal point in the history of our sport. At Augusta National, we have faith that golf, which has overcome many challenges through the years, will endure again.

Fred S Ridley

Chairman

What are players and fans saying about the decision?

As you can imagine, there is a schism, drawn along party lines in the golf world over the decision. Some say that the only way for the Masters to be truly a “best of” tournament is if the best play the best, with others lamenting the win at St Andrews by LIV golfer Cam Smith.

It is worth noting that these players only qualify for Augusta based on the fact that LIV is so new. As the years go by, less and less of them will qualify since they will be ineligible by being more than five years away from having played a PGA event. Post-2026, only players in the World top 50 will be eligible, and if the PGA gets their way then none of the LIV events will be considered for rankings.

As rancorous as this dispute is at the moment, it is almost certain that a resolution will come about before then. Nobody likes losing money, and when the dust all settles, that is what this is all about, for LIV, for the PGA, for Augusta, and for the players.