Chairman says LIV golfers could receive future Masters invitations

AUGUSTA, Ga. — As professional golf continues its attempts to resolve how LIV Golf can coexist with the older established competitive bodies, Masters chairman Fred Ridley cracked open the door to including some LIV players who may not qualify for the tournament under current criteria.

With television ratings down and public’s tolerance of the years-long LIV-PGA Tour feud flagging, maintaining the strongest fields is an ongoing challenge for most tournaments both here and internationally. Ridley said Wednesday the Masters would be open to expanding its special invitation policy, heretofore issued to international players, to include any player deserving, including Americans.

“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 said Wednesday.

This year’s field includes one LIV player, Joaquin Niemann, invited by special invitation. Twelve other LIV players, including defending champion Jon Rahm and 2020 champion Dustin Johnson, are here via one or more of the Masters’ 20 rules for qualification.

LIV players are not eligible for two of the widest berths for Masters inclusion: making the top 50 on the Official World Golf Rankings or winning a PGA Tour event since the last Masters. Those LIV players not here but who played in past Masters include Louis Oosthuizen, who has played here 15 times and was the 2012 runner-up, Paul Casey, who has five top-10 finishes in 15 Masters starts, and Talor Gooch, a three-time LIV champion last year.

“In our case, we are an invitational,” Ridley said, “and we can adjust as necessary.”

LIV’s bid to be included in the OWGR listings is an ongoing dispute. The OWGR declined its application for inclusion last October, citing its 54-hole competitions and exclusionary fields. LIV subsequently withdrew its application last month. Efforts to merge LIV with the PGA Tour are also ongoing.

Besides Rahm, Johnson and Niemann, other LIV players to qualify for this Masters include Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Tyrell Hatton, Brooks Koepka, Adrian Meronk, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, Cameron Smith and Bubba Watson.

“Certainly, the fact that the best players in the world are not convening very often is not helpful,” Ridley said. “Whether that’s a direct causal effect (on TV ratings), I don’t know. But I think that it would be a lot better if they were together more often.”

Other developments covered during Ridley’s annual state of the Masters press conference:

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