ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – During his meeting with the media Wednesday at the 150th Open Championship in the land of golf, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers knew what was coming and, in brief but sometimes harsh remarks, he addressed a subject that has disrupted men’s professional golf.
That would be LIV Golf, the burgeoning rival league led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia, which has attracted some of the biggest names in the game from outside the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia. , Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau.
His remarks, while remarkable, did nothing to stem the onslaught of questions.
Despite his best efforts, Slumbers was unable to attend the 150th celebrationth The Open Championship on the Old Course at the Home of Golf is the main talking point.
But he was unwavering in his comments and responses regarding LIV Golf.
“Professional golfers have the right to choose where they want to play and accept the prize money offered to them. This poses absolutely no problem to me. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” Slumbers said. “I think the model we saw at (London) Centurion and (Ore.) Pumpkin Ridge (LIV Golf’s first two tournaments) is not in the best long-term interest of the sport as a whole and is driven entirely by money. We believe this undermines the merit-based culture and spirit of open competition that makes golf so special.
“I would also like to say that in my opinion the continued commentary that this is about growing the game is simply not credible and, on the contrary, harms the perception of our sport that we work so hard to improve .”
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When Slumbers finished his remarks, 16 of the 24 questions had LIV Golf at the heart. One involved Norman, who was asked not to come to Monday’s Celebration of Champions exhibition and Tuesday’s Champions Dinner.
“We are absolutely determined to make sure this makes history at the 150th Open,” Slumbers said. “We decided that, based on the noise I was getting from multiple sources, with (Norman’s presence) it would be potentially unlikely.
“We decided we didn’t want any distractions. We wanted to make sure the conversation was all about this week, about golf and balls in the air tomorrow, and about the golf champion on Sunday.
Many questions revolved around the R&A’s potential adjustments to the qualification and bye rules for golf’s oldest championship. This year, LIV Golf players were allowed to play.
“We’ve been asked to ban players quite frequently. Let me be very clear. It’s not on our agenda,” Slumbers said. “But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and our qualification criteria for the Open. And while we do this every year, we absolutely reserve the right to make changes if our Open Championships Committee deems it appropriate.
“Players must earn their place at the Open, and that is fundamental to its philosophy and unique global appeal. We will remain completely faithful to the idea that the Open is open to everyone. But we may well look at how to get there, whether it’s an exemption or whether it’s a requirement to qualify through our eligibility process.
“With that, I’d like to get back to what we’re all here for, the 150th Open.”
This turned out to be unnecessary.
The next question was about Slumbers being on the board of directors of the Official World Golf Ranking Association. The OWGR will determine whether LIV Golf will receive world ranking points, which would help certain players qualify for major championships. Slumber said the question should be directed to the OWGR president.
The next question was about the 150th Open.
