Augusta National made it official on Tuesday that it won’t stand in the way of LIV golfers competing in the 2023 Masters in April. Invitations will be sent to all players who meet the existing qualification criteria.
It’s been a hot topic of discussion almost since Scottie Scheffler donned the Green Jacket in April and LIV Golf began to take shape. Would the private club, which makes its own rules for the tournament held each April in Augusta, Georgia, update its qualification criteria to prevent LIV golfers from competing in the season’s first major? For now, the answer is no, but the green jackets left the door open to make changes as it sees fit in the future.
LIV Golf signed a host of former Masters champions and there are also several major champions who have won their titles in the last five years and are thus eligible as well as players who appear to be locked into finishing the year in the top 50 in the world.
Ahead of ANGC Chairman Fred Ridley’s announcement, Golfweek asked more than a dozen players, including past champions Jordan Spieth (2015) and Trevor Immelman (2008), whether LIV golfers should be allowed to play in the Masters. Here are their answers.
Trevor Immelman
“If they have qualified via various criteria, yes. It is an invitational though so the Masters can decide on its own criteria.”
Justin Thomas
“If they’ve qualified, if they’re good enough. I don’t think it’s just a pity invite. DJ, Cam Smith, P Reed, Charl, they’ve earned it and they definitely deserve to play.”
Xander Schauffele
“If they’ve qualified, I don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed to.”
Jim Furyk
“I’m definitely going to take the high road on this. It’s their tournament and at any private club you can invite who you want to join. In this case, it’s their tournament, their club, they started it and they can invite who they want. It’ll be interesting. They are the first major of the year and that will set a precedent, for sure.”
Collin Morikawa
“The Masters has its criteria and unless they change that they’ve earned their spot and that’s what it is. But that’s on them. Should they be allowed? It’s all up to the discretion of what the Masters wants to do. The PGA, the US Open, the Open, they all have their rules and if you are qualified under those rules I don’t think there should be an exception.”
Tommy Fleetwood
“Probably. It’s the Masters and it’s up to them how they see fit. I know it’s an invitational but there’s also a criteria that I think many of the players fit into so they should still be invited.”
Kevin Kisner
“Past champions, maybe. That’s probably about it. That’s going to be an interesting one, though.”
Tony Finau
“Yes. Any player should be allowed to play the Masters if you qualify to the criteria to be in the field, no matter what tour it is. I know there are going to be guys who will be in the top 50 in the world and you’ve got to let them play. Why would you change that? Because some people don’t agree with that? Whatever the criteria has been it should stay that way.”
Max Homa
“Yeah, the majors would be lesser without the best players. Cam Smith is one of the best players in the world, Dustin Johnson is one of the best players in the world, they should absolutely be allowed to play. I don’t think any of us have a problem with that.”
Billy Horschel
“Yeah. Personally, I don’t even know if personally I care. I don’t care if they should play in the majors or not. If they have earned the right to play in the majors, I think they should play.”
Jordan Spieth
“Sure. If they have qualified.”
Stewart Cink
“I think they should. The reason is if they did enough to qualify on world ranking points they have earned their way in and should play in the Masters. Personally, I’m not for it but I think it is probably right that they should play.”
Matt Kuchar
“Yes. If they are qualified, they’re qualified and should be allowed to play.”
