The simplest way for a player to earn a spot at golf’s major tournaments like the Masters is to earn enough Official World Golf Ranking points from playing in events recognized by the OWGR. Unfortunately for LIV Golf and its players, the OWGR does not recognize LIV Golf. And it doesn’t sound like the Masters has any plans to change the it decides its tournament field.
This week, Masters chairman Fred Ridley made it pretty clear that the tournament has no intention of abandoning OWGR as the method for determining which players qualify for the prestigious tournament at Augusta National.
“We believe that [OWGR] is a legitimate determiner of who the best players in the game are,” Ridley said Wednesday, according to ESPN.
Defending Masters champion Jon Rahm thinks that the Masters should consider a change that allows players on any tour to earn their way onto the Masters.
“There’s gotta be a fair way for everybody on whatever tour to play and compete,” Rahm said this week. “There’s got to be a way for some players to earn their way in.”
Perhaps that will come in the future. But for now, it’s pretty clear that the Masters will continue to use OWGR, and LIV Golf players will continue to be excluded as a result.
[ESPN]
