PGA Tour players will have to share the fairways of Augusta National with those of the LIV Golf circuit at the next Masters Tournament.
Club president Fred S. Ridley made the announcement on Tuesday. The decision is far from unanimous, but it is legal and consistent with the traditions of the course.
“Since its inception in 1934, the Masters Tournament’s mission has been to help the world of golf,” Ridley wrote in a letter released when sending out official invitations to the tournament.
PHOTO DAVID CANNON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Fred S. Ridley, President of the Augusta National Club
In this letter, the club president emphasizes history, tradition and unity. Without explicitly naming the Saudi circuit, he admitted finding the context “regrettable”. “Recent decisions that have divided the world of men’s professional golf have affected the virtues of the sport and the significant legacy of those who built it,” he said.
Although he is “disappointed with the most recent developments” that have shaken up the world of golf in the past year, the goal of the tournament and of the club remains “to work to honor the tradition of bringing together the best golfers on the same course,” Ridley recalled.
Thus, all players who meet the eligibility criteria will be able to hit the tee box for the first major tournament of the season in April. Among them, six former winners of the green jacket who have joined the ranks of the LIV circuit will be able to take part.
In the rules
If the Masters Tournament can decide to invite players from all circuits, it is because it is free to do what it wants.
Its organizers owe nothing to the PGA, because the Augusta National is a private club. He alone is empowered to decide who can tread its historic paths. In short, the club lends its land to the PGA. It is part of the circuit calendar, but it does not belong to the circuit.
The Augusta National only works for the players and for golf, Ridley wanted to sum up in his letter.
PHOTO SETH WENIG, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Phil Mickelson, one of the stars who left the PGA Tour for the LIV circuit
This decision taken by the club in the rules of the art is both good and bad omen for the LIV circuit. On the one hand, it will allow its players to be seen. The circuit struggles to attract and seduce broadcasters and sponsors and convince them to partner with it. Being able to play in the most prestigious tournament in the world is a golden opportunity.
On the other hand, if the selection criteria remain unchanged, it will become increasingly difficult for LIV golfers to qualify for the tournament. Their results are not counted for the world ranking and one of the participation criteria giving access to the tournament is to be part of the top 50. LIV players will therefore automatically slide over time.
Back to the future
Although he said he felt some discomfort with the disagreement between the two circuits, Ridley never condemned the Saudi circuit. He even invites his athletes to play on his land.
The unease surrounding the LIV circuit is still palpable in the golf community. On the sporting level, he has completely reinvented and shaken up the way of organizing tournaments by deviating from tradition. However, it is more its foundations and its origins that are disturbing.
The circuit is managed and financed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, the financial arm of the Saudi state. A regime that violates human rights, according to the analysis of various international organizations. Women’s rights, workers’ rights and migrants’ rights. Freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly. The right to health, the right to privacy and the right to defend oneself in court.
In truth, the Masters Tournament and Augusta National have never been forerunners in the advancement of civil and social rights and individual freedoms. Long after its foundation, the club continued to maintain an archaic vision of society, portrayed in particular by several newspapers during the XXe century.
The club prohibited access to the field to black players until 1975. It obliged players to have their bags carried by cadets, all black, until 1983. And it was only in 1990 that the Augusta National gave membership to a first black player.
It was 22 years later, in 2012, that a first woman in turn became a member. There was no official women’s tournament at this Georgia ground until 2019.
Thus, giving access to Magnolia Lane to players funded by a regime like the one in Saudi Arabia is somewhat part of the club’s lackluster tradition in this regard.