THE annual Masters dinner at Augusta National Golf Club, traditionally held on Tuesday night, two days before the start of the tournament, is being billed as an event with the potential for some serious conflict among the diners this April.
The Associated Press (AP), in a report on the dinner, titled it: “Masters champions could be in for dinner unlike any other”.
The reference was made to the coming together for the dinner of the tournament’s past champions, some of whom support, and in some cases still play on, the US PGA Tour, and on the other side of the divide LIV Golf, a newly formed circuit that has attracted some of the world’s best players to their stable.
As things stand, the two sides are facing off in courts of law on both sides of the Atlantic.
The arrival of LIV Golf on the global stage and their ability to draw some of the game’s biggest names has not sat well with the US PGA Tour and the European Tour, in which the former has bought a stake.
In the ranks of Saudi-funded LIV Golf are a growing number of high-profile players, including reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith, 2020 Masters winner and two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, who has six majors, the last of which was the PGA Championship in 2021, and Brooks Koepka, a former world number one and four-time major winner.
Among the other major champions are Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
LIV Golf’s presence in the sport’s ecosystem has certainly shaken up the old guard, so much so that it has split the world of golf into two, hence all the animosity.
But much of that has come by way of the media, and almost all of it is Western media.
From a neutral’s perspective, it’s perhaps understandable why some of the Western media have taken that route.
If they do not succumb to the “politically correct” cue, they may find themselves isolated – left out in the wilderness – when it comes to some of the larger events, particularly those staged in the United States – or just staying relevant in the game .
But as fate would have it, both the Masters and the British Open will welcome members from LIV Golf to their major championships this season – those who meet the criteria to play.
Augusta National and the R&A, respectively, have said as much, so there should really be nothing to debate here.
Despite this, and despite the fact that both events are run by independent bodies and do not fall under the jurisdiction of the US PGA Tour or European Tour, they received criticism from some media outlets, albeit tempered.
Reporting on LIV Golf players being accepted to play through legitimate qualification, the English media outlet, the Guardian, said: “Augusta’s LIV decision shows the Masters is looking out for itself.
“The true feelings of those in charge at Augusta remain hard to read, but it is clear that locking out players is not good for business.”
Indeed, it is not, and why should it be? Because the American tour says it should be? Many souls from across the sporting world and ordinary folks too, believe that that in itself is wrong.
The US Open and the US PGA Championship, the other two majors in men’s golf, have yet to make their stands public with regards to their events this year.
But there is a school of thought out there that believes the US Open and US PGA Championship will “toe the line” and heed what the two other bigger majors do, or run the risk of getting it wrong and finding the stature of their tournaments diluted to the extent that they don’t qualify as “majors” in global terms but rather only on their own turf.
LIV Golf has taken a beating from the Western media since its inception, but it still appears to be in reasonably good shape, given that its expanded 2023 season of 14 tournaments starts next month.
The new tour’s detractors have accused Saudi Arabia of using LIV Golf to “sportswash” its human rights record.
Be that as it may, others have questioned why the Western media, if fair, do not query or take to task the human rights records of those offenders in the countries in which they live and/or work.
The conspicuous absence of highlighting the abuses that take place around the globe, including in the West, merely serves as an admission of guilt, they believe, and negates all the supposedly righteous rhetoric that accompanies every LIV Golf move, and tournament.
Scottie Scheffler, who as the defending champion will get to choose the menu at the Masters dinner this year, said of the split between the US PGA Tour and LIV Golf: “It’s a little strange, but golf will move on. I think this stuff just takes time – things will heal, and we’ll see what happens.”
He added: “I think for a few weeks a year we can put all that aside, especially with Augusta National Golf Club being such a special place and with the history of the game (there).
“I think we can put all our stuff aside and just get together for a fun meal, all in a room together, and just kind of celebrate the game of golf and Augusta National and just hang out.”
That’s a brilliant suggestion by any standard.
What remains to be seen, though, is if the outspoken pro-US PGA Tour players at dinner will listen and keep their anti-LIV Golf thoughts to themselves – or at the very least, refrain from speaking ill of others just because they might not have been invited to join the highest-paying tour in the world.
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