A 12-strong LIV contingent are desirous to make historical past at The Masters as the 2 sides of golf’s warring factions meet once more on the first main of the yr.
Whereas the opposite males’s majors have opened up new pathways for LIV golfers to qualify, Augusta Nationwide stays a comparatively closed store.
Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel and Patrick Reed all possess a lifetime exemption as previous inexperienced jacket winners.
Australian Cameron Smith qualifies primarily based on profitable a significant prior to now 5 years following his 2022 British Open triumph at St Andrews.
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Excessive profile pair Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka earned their place the identical manner for his or her respective US Open and PGA Championship triumphs.
Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton are the 2 outliers among the many group with neither having gained a significant.
However Hatton ticks two bins having completed within the prime 12 a yr in the past, and residing within the prime 50 within the Official World Golf Rankings at 18th on the planet.
LIV occasions don’t obtain world rating factors, however the feisty Englishman has jetsetted throughout the DP World Tour and Asian Tour since September, not lacking the highest ten in any of his six begins and profitable twice to maintain racking up factors.
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Niemann in the meantime was granted a particular invite from the Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership for a second straight yr as reward for his efforts across the globe.
The Chilean gained twice on LIV final yr, got here prime ten on the Olympic Video games, the DP World Tour Championship and the Australian Open, in addition to profitable the Asian Tour’s Saudi Worldwide.
He’s additionally one of many kind gamers in world golf having gained two of LIV’s 4 occasions to start out the yr in Adelaide and Singapore.
His recreation is in such good order that Mickelson controversially took to X final month to hail him the very best participant on the planet in the meanwhile, saying that Niemann is healthier than Scottie Scheffler proper now.
And such excessive, albeit far fetched, reward brings with it numerous strain.
There may be already sufficient of that on the LIV contingent from inside their very own camp.
Relations on both aspect of the boys’s skilled golf divide have improved significantly over time.
If a LIV participant wins at Augusta Nationwide, there won’t be the hoopla of all their colleagues storming the 18th inexperienced after the profitable putt prefer it was the Bastille, as outgoing CEO Greg Norman known as for in 2023 – the primary time LIV gamers featured on the iconic venue because the league’s inception in June 2022.
The Shark additionally famously mentioned {that a} LIV golfer prevailing would “make up for all my very own Augusta distress”.
The Australian infamously completed runner-up 3 times. He lead firstly of the ultimate spherical solely to be overwhelmed by Jack Nicklaus by one shot in 1986, Larry Mize chipping in to win the playoff the yr after, and capitulating when holding a six-shot lead at first of the ultimate spherical to lose to Nick Faldo by 5 photographs in 1996. So it was a giant, and never overly convincing, name from Norman.
However it highlights how vital a LIV participant profitable a inexperienced jacket could be to the breakaway league because it chases the legitimacy it so badly craves.
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Rahm gained in 2023 however didn’t be part of LIV till later that yr.
DeChambeau and Koepka debunked the parable that gamers can not presumably be sharp sufficient to win a significant by solely enjoying in 14 annual 54-hole occasions.
However the proof is inconclusive — it stays to be seen whether or not or not they had been exceptions to the rule.
Moreover, their main wins as LIV gamers didn’t come on the first main of the yr, which may show to be harder for an underdone contingent.
Smith, for instance, has not performed a four-round occasion this yr, solely teeing it up in LIV’s 4 occasions to date. That’s simply 216 holes of aggressive golf because the begin of February.
He’ll subsequently be counting on producing a promising exhibiting at this week’s LIV Miami occasion, and the arrogance gained from 5 top-ten finishes in eight begins at Augusta, as he seeks to turn out to be the second Australian to ever don a inexperienced jacket after Adam Scott in 2013.
In the meantime, Rory McIlroy has performed eight occasions already this yr — or 579 holes that embrace a high-stakes three-hole playoff on the Gamers Championship — and Scheffler six, which might have been extra if not for the hand surgical procedure he had after slicing it open on Christmas Open.
However much more helpful than the amount of tournaments they’ve performed, are the riveting finishes they’ve been part of.
Min Woo Lee’s breakthrough victory on the Houston Open was stuffed with drama, so too had been Viktor Hovland’s two-year drought-breaking win on the Valspar Championship and McIlroy’s Monday playoff triumph at The Gamers.
And that was simply within the final three weeks.
The PGA Tour’s most interesting are battle-hardened and able to go, enjoying a number of tournaments earlier than most have per week off to refresh previous to The Masters, whereas their LIV counterparts have endured a start-stop season.
They jetted round Asia as a part of their opening swing, some bobbed up on the Asian Tour to strive earn a berth at The Open at Royal Portrush in July and loved time at dwelling.
Niemann and Hatton are the outliers as their constant food plan of aggressive golf is why they’re deemed by many analysts to be higher positioned to contend than their colleague.
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The talk between freshness and the weekly Tour grind is a seemingly unending one because it fits people in another way.
LIV golfers have come shut at Augusta regardless of their obvious disadvantages.
Final yr DeChambeau and Smith completed in a tie for sixth, although they had been an enormous 9 photographs again from Scheffler.
In 2023, Koepka and Mickelson shared runner-up honours, with the previous coughing up his lead within the closing spherical to complete 4 photographs behind Rahm, with Reed a shot again from them.
However they haven’t been capable of get the job performed.
Former world No. 1 Johnson has fallen away drastically.
The large-hitting American has missed the reduce in three of his final 5 main appearances, along with his greatest end in that point of T31 at Royal Troon final yr.
His Masters file since becoming a member of LIV reads T48 and missed reduce, after six prime 12 finishes within the seven years earlier together with profitable the 2020 Covid November Masters.
And so long as it stays the case that LIV keep winless at Augusta and a few of their large names fail to fireside, the criticism of the preparation provided by three-round format, the shotgun begin and the standard of the fields will persist.
Final yr Smith mentioned these arguments had been “BS” — however the outcomes are but to again up his personal argument.
However most significantly, LIV wants a second within the highlight.
As merger talks have taken place in current months, together with two conferences between the 2 sides on the White Home involving US President Donald Trump, the PGA Tour appears to be dominating the dialog.
Discuss of what the way forward for the boys’s skilled recreation might appear like has largely come from the PGA Tour aspect, and it’s simple that the legacy US Tour has been hogging the highlight.
Their occasions have been field workplace to date this season with thrilling finishes and heartwarming winner’s tales, whereas Netflix releasing the third season of documentary ‘Full Swing’ endeared followers to lots of the PGA Tour stars much more.
Plus the common presence of recent indoor golf league TGL via January to March has saved the dialog on superstars like Tiger Woods and McIlroy whereas additional elevating the profile of the likes of Lee, Tom Kim, Billy Horschel and Ludvig Aberg.
LIV must steal a few of the consideration again.
Its Adelaide occasion in February was a success, as it’s yearly, with golf followers across the globe appreciating the big, rowdy crowds that lined the fairways, and took within the Fisher and Dom Dolla concert events, at The Grange.
However issues have been quiet since.
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The announcement forward of the ultimate spherical that the Adelaide match is right here to remain till 2031 and Norman will redesign the North Adelaide public golf course to turn out to be its new dwelling, exhibits that LIV intends to go nowhere.
And stories have advised that is among the sticking factors within the ongoing negotiations between the events.
For LIV to strengthen their hand, they want extra credibility.
They want the viral picture of a LIV golfer, sporting their crew and LIV logos on their polo, being adorned with a inexperienced jacket by Scheffler.
So, no strain Cam, Bryson, Brooks, Jaoquin, Tyrell or maybe one of many former champions, however for the way forward for LIV at this unsure time, your bosses really want to you win this one.