LIV Golf is not officially recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking, meaning that the league’s players cannot earn OWGR points toward qualifying for major tournaments. However, it sounds like the Masters is willing to invite players who are deserving of a spot in the tournament even if they don’t have enough OWGR points.
This week, Masters chairman Fred Ridley made it clear that the tournament is willing to offer special invites to players who do not meet the standard qualifications but are clearly deserving of a chance to play in the Masters.
“Historically, and as stated in our qualification criteria, we consider international players for special invitations,” Ridley said. “But we do look at those every year, and I will say that if we felt that there were a player or players — whether they played on the LIV Tour or any other tour — who were deserving of an invitation to the Masters, that we would exercise that discretion with regard to special invitations.”
This year, the Masters offered one of those special invitations to LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann even though he did not earn enough OWGR points to qualify for the tournament.
This could be a path for LIV Golf players to make the prestigious tournament in the future.
[ESPN]
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