LIV Golf Showed Out at the Masters, But Future Major Appearances Remain in Doubt
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AUGUSTA, Ga. — The major championships, for the most part, have stuck to their qualifying criteria and previous exemption categories, a fact that Phil Mickelson noted and expressed his thanks for more than once at the Masters.
Even in the wake of the LIV Golf league and all the rancor associated with its launch, it never seemed possible that any major championship would thwart the inclusion of a player who had previously qualified. That’s why there were 18 LIV players who competed in the Masters and potentially 12 who will be eligible for the PGA Championship.
But by doing little to change their entrance requirements, the majors have also done a lot.
By not changing anything, and by not addressing any issues associated with the Official World Golf Ranking, they are effectively allowing for inevitable attrition for as long as LIV players are not getting ranking points in their events.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley said in his pre-tournament remarks that tournament officials are satisfied that the OWGR is “a really good way to invite players"—an assertion that would undoubtedly get some pushback.
It is important to note that this is the risk that anyone jumping to LIV Golf took. There was never a guarantee of if or when OWGR points would awarded. The formal application process was made in July of last year and several sources have indicated that the OWGR has discussed and studied the bid, so far with no action.
Mickelson was 425th in the world prior to tying for second with Brooks Koepka on Sunday at the Masters. He had not earned an OWGR point since February 2022 when he tied for 18th at the Saudi International. He then missed the cut in the two majors he played last year and again at the Saudi International and received nothing for the 11 LIV events in which he competed.
Had LIV Golf been getting points, its unlikely it would have helped Mickelson much. With the small 48-player fields, LIV events would likely be in the 20- to 25-point range for winners. Mickelson had a single top 10 in the 11 LIV events he played.
Koepka had fallen to 118th in the world and moved up to 39th (13th SI World Golf Rankings). His only OWGR events since joining LIV after the U.S. Open were the British Open, where he missed the cut, the Saudi International, where he tied for 46th, and the Oman International Series event, where he missed the cut. He was 25th in the world after the U.S. Open and you can argue his slide was of his own making, but it’s also fair to note that he likely would have remained at least among the top 75 had his two victories as part of LIV received even the small amount of points offered.
The argument here is that no matter what you think of LIV Golf—and it obviously has shortcomings as it relates to the OWGR—the performance at the Masters is reminder that several of them still have plenty of game.
Mickelson and Koepka tied for second, former Masters winner Patrick Reed tied for fourth and Joaquin Niemann tied for 16th. Two strokes better—and Niemann made a double bogey on the 11th hole and a bogey at 18—and Niemann would have earned an invitation to next year’s Masters by being among the top 12 finishers.
Twelve of the 18 LIV players made the cut including British Open champion Cam Smith, whose tie for 34th helped him move up a spot from sixth to fifth in the OWGR (14th SIWGR).
Unlike Smith, who has a five-year majors exemption—plus the Open until age 60 for his victory last summer at St. Andrews—Niemann finds himself in a precarious position. He moved up a spot to 24th in the world (28th SIWGR) and is all but a lock for the remaining majors this year.
But he has no other status in them beyond 2023. He’ll either need high finishes in the other majors—guaranteeing a return trip—or the ability to earn ranking points.
“Obviously you’re kind of thinking about it because you don’t know what’s going to happen next year," Niemann said. “Definitely playing the majors this coming year, but you never now what’s going to happen. Hopefully they figure something out then let all the top players be playing with the top players in the majors. I think this week was important just in case."
The LIV quest for points appears to have an ally in Jordan Spieth, who played the final round with Mickelson, shot 66 and tied for fourth.
“I imagine they’ll probably get world ranking points," Spieth said. “Does it put a few guys that haven’t qualified via the majors a little behind? Sure. Then they’ll have to catch up by playing well.
“I think that every major wants to have the best field possible. So they come up with a criteria that they feel will yield that. I think if that’s not the case, then they’ll change it to yield that."
Nobody is quite sure how this will all play out, if points are imminent, down the road or not at all. But it’s also true under the current setup, LIV players would earn a fraction of the points bestowed at PGA Tour events. Something is better than nothing but it certainly won’t be easy.
Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson, who tied for 48 at the Masters, dropped a spot to 70th in the world (35th SIWGR). It was the first time he earned OWGR points since he tied for sixth last summer at the Open.