LIV Golf has received one of it's biggest boosts yet as it was confirmed golfers in the controversial tour have been granted permission to play in the Masters.
In one of the biggest controversies to hit the sport, LIV Golf has divided some of the biggest players in the world.
The Saudi funded tour has seen some of the world's best players leave the PGA Tour for huge financial gain. To stop players jumping ship, the decision was made to ban golfers from LIV to participate in majors.
This left some of the biggest names absent from the biggest stages in golf. Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel and Phil Mickelson are all former champions at Augusta who would not have been allowed to participate.
However, in news that will be certain to divide opinion, it has now been announced that certain players from LIV will be eligible for the Masters in April.
Masters Maintain Criteria
Under the current criteria, past champions, those who have won a major in the last five years and those in the top 50 of the World Rankings will receive invites.
Speaking today on the decision, the chairman of the Masters Fred Ridley admitted that the situation is far from ideal, he hopes the golf will do the talking come April.
Regrettably, recent actions have divided men's professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it. Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honour the tradition of bringing together a pre-eminent field of golfers this coming April.
Therefore, as invitations are sent this week, we will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament. As we have said in the past, we look at every aspect of the Tournament each year, and any modifications or changes to invitation criteria for future Tournaments will be announced in April.
We have reached a seminal point in the history of our sport. At Augusta National, we have faith that golf, which has overcome many challenges through the years, will endure again."
Regardless of how the Masters plays out, it could be tense four days. This will be the biggest event in which players from both sides will share the course since the LIV dispute began.
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