Golf fans have taken to social media in force after Masters officials announced that Australia’s Cam Smith and other LIV Golf defectors would be eligible to compete for the green jacket at next year’s Augusta National major championship. Smith has been given the all-clear to play in the Masters in 2023 after Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley revealed that any golfer who has qualified for the Masters tournament based on its previous criteria will be invited to play in April.
That means at least 15 players currently competing on the LIV Golf circuit will be part of the field, including Smith who receives an invitation after winning the 2022 British Open. Smith’s Open win this year earned him a five-year exemption to play in all the majors, not to mention The Open itself where he can compete until he turns 60 as a
However, up until now – organisers of the other majors had not ruled on whether to allow the LIV players to compete, or follow the PGA Tour’s lead by banning them from doing so. Ridley did make it clear when delivering the decision on behalf of the Augusta National club that they were unhappy at the schism that has developed in the sport since the arrival of LIV.
He also re-iterated that Masters qualifying criteria could change in the future. “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,” Ridley said in a statement.
“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.”
