MELBOURNE, Australia — Based on responses to questions about the status of LIV golfers in major championships posed Thursday in Australia to Augusta National president Fred Ridley and R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers, it does not appear that LIV members will be assigned a special category. the Masters and the Open Championship in 2024.
Earlier this month, the LIV league was refused a request for Official World Golf Ranking points based on its team element and lack of promotion/relegation. Star LIV players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson subsequently called for a category to be created to ensure LIV players were not excluded from golf’s four majors as their world rankings continued to fall. DeChambeau requested that the top 12 on LIV’s money list be exempt from the majors, and LIV interim COO Gary Davidson (they have since named a new COO) said the league was in preliminary discussions with the organizers of two of the majors on the access routes. tournaments.
When asked if the Masters and Open would create such exemptions for 2024, Slumbers responded a recent media report suggesting that talks were already underway to specifically include LIV golfers, and he dismissed that notion.
“There has been speculation in the media recently about the subject you are raising,” Slumbers said during the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne. “I would say that is completely irrelevant. I want to make it very clear that the exemptions for the Open, we do not discuss them with anyone and we would not do so at any time. I think it’s very important that you don’t lose sight of the fact that the Open is meant to be open to everyone; that you earn your place on the field, through exemptions, and that will not change.
The Open differs from the Masters in that it actively hosts qualifying events, both at PGA Tour and DP World Tour events around the world via its Open Qualifying Series, as well as final qualifying tournaments of 36 holes. The Masters is an invitational competition with special criteria and exemptions for participants.
Ridley said the invitation criteria for the 2024 Masters, which will use the OWGR top 50 on certain dates, will likely not be changed, with the exception of three changes revealed at Augusta National in April this year. These are: an official invitation to the NCAA Division I champion; players qualified for the 2023 PGA Tour season-ending Tour Championship; and winners of PGA Tour events this fall.
However, Ridley left the door open for future revisions.
“If you look at the history of the Masters tournament and the qualifiers that existed, we changed those qualifiers many times, dozens of times,” Ridley said. “We review them every year. We don’t make changes every year, but we review them in the current circumstances. As you will recall last year, there was speculation as to whether or not we were going to invite LIV golfers. We have remained true to our qualification criteria. We invited everyone who was eligible.
“While we do not, at this time, anticipate making any changes in 2024, we are still reviewing (the criteria) and will continue to do so.” Our qualifiers are very dynamic and we adapt to what we believe is in the best interest of a tournament representing the best players in the world. We will always look at that.
Without access to OWGR points, LIV player rankings suffered. Cameron Smith left the PGA Tour ranked second in the world and is now 19th. Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson moved from 13th to 131st, and DeChambeau moved from 29th to 140th. However, the trio are recent major winners and remain eligible for majors.
Others are not so lucky. Talor Gooch, who rose from 35th to 214th in the OWGR, was eligible for the PGA Tour Finals last year but was banned for leaving for LIV. This year, the Oklahoma native won three LIV golf tournaments and earned the season-long $18 million individual points title.
When asked if they thought it was unfortunate that LIV players such as Gooch continued to fall in the rankings and lose their access to majors, Ridley and Slumbers reiterated that the point of their tournaments would be at the center of their concerns.
“They (LIV golfers) made decisions based on what they thought was in the best interest of their golf careers,” Ridley said. “…Our invitation criteria indicate that we reserve the right to grant special exemptions to international players, (and) we granted a special exemption to an (American) amateur and NCAA champion last year (Gordon Sargent). So we’re still looking at that. But these decisions have been made and will depend on what is in the best interest of the Masters.”
Slumbers added: “From my point of view, without going into detail, we are making sure that there are plenty of opportunities for any player in the world, who has (played) well enough, to have a chance to qualify and play in the Open Championship, whatever their level. what tour they’re on and that won’t change.
