The president of Augusta National, Fred S. Ridley, referred this Wednesday in his classic official press conference prior to each Masters to the issue of invitations for golfers from LIV Golf, in case they were justified. Although the prestigious Green Jacket tournament has not yet announced its qualification criteria for next year, Ridley was quick to remind that they use the World Golf Ranking as a “legitimate determinant of who the best players are”.
“There have been communications that have been public regarding the request from LIV, which was subsequently withdrawn after some corrective suggestions were made regarding the players’ access routes and concern about some aspects related to team golf,” he said. “In our case, we are an invitation tournament, so we can adjust as necessary,” he added, leaving the door open to the golfers of the Saudi tour.
As an example, the president of Augusta National spoke about the case of Joaquín Niemann, who received a special invitation, in part, thanks to his two victories in LIV Golf this season: “Joaquín not only had a great record up to this year but after his season, in Australia, he played very well, finished fourth in the Australian PGA and won the Australian Open, one of the great tournaments worldwide. We thought he deserved a special invitation.”
Niemann is one of the 13 members of LIV Golf competing this week at the Augusta National Golf Club. The Spaniard Jon Rahm, winner of the last edition of the Masters, his compatriot Sergio García, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, South African Charl Schwartzel and Phil Mickelson are included in that select group.
“Now, historically, and as indicated in our qualification criteria, we take into account international players for special invitations,” said Ridley. “But we take them into account every year, and I will say that if we felt there was a player or players who deserved an invitation to the Masters, we would exercise that discretion with respect to special invitations,” he insisted.
When asked about the idea of LIV golfers getting direct access to the majors based on their merits or a series of tournaments, Ridley was not sure what to answer: “I think it will be difficult to establish any kind of points system that has any connection with the rest of the golf world, because they are basically, not entirely, but for the most part, a ‘closed’ zone. There are some relegations, but not many. It all really depends on the new player they sign.”
“Those concerns were expressed by the OWGR, but I don’t think that prevents us from giving a subjective consideration based on the talent and performance of those players,” concluded the president of Augusta National, leaving, in a way, the door of the Masters open to LIV players if they consider they deserve it based on performance.
