Masters opts to keep criteria, invite all eligible players in ’23
Players who defected from the PGA Tour to join Saudi-funded LIV Golf are still welcome at the Masters next year, even as Augusta National officials expressed disappointment Tuesday in the division it has caused in golf.
The Masters, the smallest field among the four majors, is by invitation and there was some question whether it would honor the PGA Tour suspending players — including past Masters champions — for joining a rival league.
Chairman Fred Ridley put the tournament over the ongoing battle, which is now playing out in federal court with antitrust lawsuits and countersuits.
“Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honor the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of golfers this coming April,” Ridley said in a statement, which were his first comments on how Augusta National viewed the divide.
“Therefore, as invitations are sent this week, we will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament.”
Sixteen players with LIV Golf are among the 78 players currently eligible for the Masters. That includes six Masters champions — Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel.
Three others have won majors that come with a five-year exemption: British Open champion Cameron Smith, former U.S. Open and PGA champion Brooks Koepka and former U.S. Open champion Bryson Dechambeau.
Joaquin Niemann qualified by reaching the Tour Championship, while six others will finish the year in the top 50 of the world ranking.
Still to be determined is how Augusta National will react after the 2023 tournament.
“As we have said in the past, we look at every aspect of the tournament each year, and any
modifications or changes to invitation criteria for future tournaments will be announced in April,” Ridley said.
Ridley leaned on the heritage of the Masters and listed nine players — from Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, to the Big Three of Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. He referenced Tiger Woods and Tom Watson, all who whom he said “have become heroes to golfers of all ages.”
Conspicuously missing from his list was Mickelson, regarded as the chief recruiter among players for LIV Golf.