Norman, the overall supervisor of LIV Golf, was like each different ticketed patron throughout the observe spherical, jostling by way of the gang and coming off the ropes as he watched the gamers put together for the observe spherical. opening on Thursday.
“Strolling round right here right this moment, there’s not a single one who mentioned to me, ‘Why did you do LIV?’ ” he mentioned in a quick interview concerning the course. “There have been tons of of individuals, together with safety guards, stopping me and saying, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is improbable.’ To me, which means what now we have and the platform matches into the ecosystem, and that’s good for golf.
LIV’s presence on the Masters added intrigue to the storied match and sparked questions on the sphere. 13 of the 89 gamers collaborating on this yr’s occasion are from the LIV Tour, a quantity that may absolutely be larger if LIV occasions had been acknowledged by the Official World Golf Rating. Previous champions, equivalent to Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson, are robotically invited to compete, however a number of LIV golfers who’re having good seasons had no path to Augusta Nationwide, together with Abraham Ancer, Paul Casey, Louis Oosthuizen and Talor Gooch.
“There are in all probability a number of which have been ignored that must be included,” Norman mentioned. “What is that this quantity?” I’m not going to provide a definitive quantity, however these are positively high quality gamers who’ve had unbelievable performances during the last six to 9 months and are price it.
Talking to reporters Wednesday, Fred Ridley, president of Augusta Nationwide, reiterated that LIV Golf didn’t meet the OWGR’s requirements for recognition, however mentioned the Masters would prolong “particular invites” to all gamers distinctive LIVs, no matter their world rating. .
“If we felt that there have been a number of gamers, whether or not they performed on the LIV Tour or another tour, who deserved an invite to the Masters… we’d train that discretion with respect to particular invites,” did he declare.
One such invitation has been issued for this yr’s match. Joaquín Niemann fell from fifteenth on this planet rankings to 93rd, however he was included within the Masters discipline, partially due to his success exterior of the LIV schedule, together with a victory on the Australian Open in December.
Eighteen LIV golfers certified for final yr’s Masters, and that quantity is predicted to lower annually, absent OWGR factors. Seven LIV gamers listed below are former Masters champions, and three others have gained one other main. Solely two LIV gamers – Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk – certified through the world rankings.
“Our purpose is to have, as a lot as potential, the perfect golf course, the perfect gamers on this planet,” Ridley mentioned. “That mentioned, we by no means had all the perfect gamers on this planet due to the construction of our match. It’s an invite. This can be a restricted discipline. It’s a small discipline. … We’re in a barely totally different state of affairs. However now we have this flexibility, as I discussed earlier, and I don’t exclude that we’ll think about it sooner or later.
Norman had not competed within the Masters since 2021, when he was an analyst for SiriusXM. Ridley made headlines a yr in the past when he defined that Norman had been denied an invite to the 2023 match “with a purpose to keep targeted on the competitors.”
This yr, Norman didn’t hassle ready for an invite and got here to the category with two LIV executives by way of the primary door. He wore his acquainted white straw hat and an LIV shirt as he walked the course, watching LIV gamers equivalent to Rahm, Sergio García and Patrick Reed play their observe rounds.
“I’m right here as a result of now we have 13 gamers who’ve gained 10 Masters between them,” Norman mentioned. “So I’m right here simply to assist them, do my finest to point out them, ‘Hey, you understand, the boss is right here to assist you.’ »
Followers typically stopped Norman for images or to shake his hand, however there was no signal of animosity for the person who launched LIV, revamped the golf panorama and attracted most of the sport’s greatest names away from the PGA Tour.
Gamers on each excursions are calling for some type of reconciliation that may enable the world’s finest gamers to compete towards one another extra typically, however business executives don’t anticipate the chasm to shut anytime quickly. The PGA Tour continues to barter with the Public Funding Fund of Saudi Arabia, proprietor of LIV, relating to a possible partnership.
“To be sincere with you, the LIV is totally self-contained,” Norman mentioned of the PIF. “I’m not even aware of any of the conversations, which I’m completely happy about as a result of we’re targeted on attaining what we promised the world we’d obtain.”
Whereas detractors predicted that LIV gamers may wrestle ultimately yr’s Masters on account of a lighter competitors schedule, LIV gamers occupied three of the highest six spots within the last rankings, together with Brooks Koepka and Mickelson, tied for second. And final yr’s winner, Rahm, joined LIV in December. Norman mentioned he hadn’t heard many detractors earlier than this yr’s match.
“I’m attempting to chop out all this different stuff, all of the white noise and all that,” he mentioned. “These guys are the perfect. So when the perfect rub shoulders with the perfect, you’ll at all times see the perfect rise to the highest, irrespective of who or the place they play.
