Masters "Allow LIV Golf Players to Participate in Tournament"

Ridley Augusta National Chairman "Will Invite Players According to Current Standards"
Johnson, Mickelson, Reed, Watson, DeChambeau, Kepka, Smith, Garcia, and Others to Participate

Augusta National has allowed LIV Golf players to participate in next year's Masters.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] LIV Golf players have been given the opportunity to participate in the Masters next April.

Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced on the 20th (local time) in a statement that "players who qualify to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament based on current criteria will be invited." This effectively allows LIV Golf players, sponsored by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, to participate. Chairman Ridley explained, "Unfortunately, men's golf has been divided by the emergence of a new organization," but added, "We are disappointed by this development, yet we have decided to respect the tournament tradition of gathering the best golfers."

The Masters is the tournament with the most stringent qualification criteria. Players must meet standards set by Augusta National, such as being past champions, major winners in the last five years, or ranked in the top 50 in the final world rankings of the previous year. Among LIV Golf players, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson (all from the United States), Sergio Garcia (Spain), and Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) qualify as past champions. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka (both from the United States), Cameron Smith (Australia), and Joaquin Niemann (Chile) qualify under the major winners category. Taylor Gooch and Abraham Ancer (Mexico) qualify based on their high world rankings.

LIV Golf players will participate in two of the four major tournaments next year: The Open and the Masters. The PGA Championship, hosted by the PGA of America, and the U.S. Open, hosted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), have not yet announced whether LIV Golf players will be allowed to participate. The Masters will be held at Augusta National from April 6 to 9 next year. The defending champion is Scottie Scheffler (United States).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.