LIV Golf players eligible for 2023 Masters, Augusta National chairman ‘honouring tradition’ of having strongest field
- Organisers will open doors to members rebel circuit despite them being banned by PGA Tour
- Move will allow likes of Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia to play in first major of the year
Augusta National will open their doors to LIV Golf’s biggest names, confirming that players from the breakaway tour will be eligible to compete in the 2023 Masters if they meet the established qualifying criteria.
The decision will be viewed as a major victory for the Saudi-backed series with the PGA Tour having suspended players jumping across to the rebel circuit.
LIV Golf has lured away some of the US-based PGA Tour’s top players with huge sums of money, leading to a simmering feud within the sport.
“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,” Fred Ridley, the Augusta National Golf Club chairman, said in a statement.
“Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honour the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of golfers this coming 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.”
