LIV Golf officials have reportedly been invited to attend The Masters in a sign that the previously cool relationship between Augusta National and the circuit is improving.
Per The Telegraph’s Golf Correspondent James Corrigan, while LIV Golf officials are expected to attend, it is unclear whether the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund behind LIV, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, will be among them, while the circuit's CEO Greg Norman is not expected to appear.
That would mark the second year in a row where Norman has failed to attend after he described the lack of an invitation to Augusta National in 2023 as “disappointing.” Nevertheless, the fact that representatives from LIV Golf are apparently heading to Augusta National will be seen as another sign that negotiations on the future of the elite game are still on track.
The report also states that the chief executive of the Asian Tour, Cho Minn Thant, has received an invite for the first time in two years after it was initially revoked following the Tour’s $250m 10-year deal with Golf Saudi.
The development follows Al-Rumayyan’s attendance at last year’s Open, where he met with The R&A CEO Martin Slumbers. Al-Rumayyan then played in October’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship alongside Slumbers and LIV golfer Peter Uihlein.
Soon after The Players Championship in March, Al-Rumayyan also met with PGA Tour Policy Board player directors including 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods, as well as commissioner Jay Monahan and members of PGA Tour investors the Strategic Sports Group in the Bahamas. At the meeting, Woods was said to be “very engaged.”
The 2023 Masters was reportedly the moment where the PGA Tour and the PIF first began to put their differences to one side.
Shortly after the 6 June announcement that talks were underway to plot a path where the two parties could coexist, it was reported that PIF ally Amanda Staveley had set the wheels in motion after attending the 2023 Major, where she spoke to Monahan.
Since then, progress has been slow. However, Monahan's latest update before The Players Championship offered the assurance that negotiations were accelerating.
After a deadline to agree a deal was pushed back from the end of 2023 to April, there is still no word on how close an agreement may be. However, it appears this week’s event could once again play a significant role as discussions continue.
Despite the previously frosty relations between Augusta National and LIV Golf, its eligible players have continued to compete at the Major, and this week, 13 LIV golfers are qualified, including defending champion Jon Rahm.
