MASTERS LEGENDS CALL FOR UNITY IN MEN'S GOLF

Nicklaus, Player, Watson say top players competing against each other best for game

Three of golf's living legends agreed on Thursday at the Masters on a need for unity in the men's professional game.

Speaking at Augusta National after hitting ceremonial tee shots, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player urged the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the players themselves to put an end to the fractured landscape.

Watson said he let his thoughts be known with a statement that ended Tuesday's Masters Champions Dinner.

“I got up and I'm looking around the room, and I'm seeing just a wonderful experience everybody is having.

“They are jovial. They are having a great time. They are laughing.

“I said, `Ain't it good to be together again?' ” Watson said on Thursday.

“And there was kind of a pall from the joviality and it quieted down, and then Ray Floyd got up and it was time to leave,” Watson said.

“And in a sense, I hope that the players themselves took that to say, you know, we have to do something. We have to do something.”

Three players with a combined 35 major championship wins addressed media at the Masters, covering a wide range of topics, but none as pressing to the game as the ongoing disruption at the top of the sport.

Golf's greatest champion, Nicklaus, agreed with Watson's remarks on Thursday when asked for his views on what a proper resolution should look like.

“The best outcome is the best players play against each other all the time.

“That's what I feel about it,” Nicklaus said.

“How it's going? I don't know, I don't want to be privy to it.”

The 84-year-old Golden Bear said he recently spoke with Jay Monahan, but told the PGA Tour commissioner he didn't want an update on negotiations because he didn't want to have to lie to the press when asked about it.

He did share that Monahan told him, “We're doing fine.”

“If Jay thinks we're doing fine, we'll get there, I think we'll get there,” Nicklaus said.

“And I certainly hope that happens, the sooner the better.”

South Africa's Player said that any animosity and confrontation is bad for business.

“The public don't like it, and we as professionals don't like it, either,” Player said.

ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES Jack Nicklaus reacts after being announced during the first tee ceremony before the first round of the Masters tournament on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.