Scottie Scheffler returns as defending champion after a three-shot victory in 2022; Rory McIlroy has another chance to complete golf's Grand Slam; six former champions are among the 18-strong LIV contingent featuring at Augusta National
Monday 3 April 2023 19:34, UK
When Scottie Scheffler won The Masters last April, no LIV Golf event had taken place and there was little indication about who would join any proposed tour. Twelve months on, over 20 per cent of this week's field at Augusta National is made up of players from the breakaway circuit.
Golf's ongoing feud will continue at the opening major of the year, exclusively live on Sky Sports, where PGA Tour players will tee it up alongside the 18 LIV players who earned their spots through the invite criteria already in place.
Six of those in action are former winners of The Masters, with Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006 and 2010), Charl Schwartzel (2011), Bubba Watson (2012 and 2014), Sergio Garcia (2017), Patrick Reed (2018) and Dustin Johnson (2020) holding lifetime exemptions for previously claiming the Green Jacket.
Major winners within the last five years also receive an invite, with 2019 PGA champion Brooks Koepka and 2020 US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau both falling under that category. Cameron Smith is the only current major champion at LIV and is now exempt until 2027 after his victory at The Open last summer.
The top-four in each of the other majors get to play at The Masters the following year, with Mito Pereira managing that despite a final-hole double-bogey seeing him finish third behind Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship last May.
Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch qualifying for the season-ending Tour Championship earned their invite, while Abraham Ancer, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters and Harold Varner III are in for finishing 2022 inside the world's top 50.
LIV players being indefinitely suspended from the PGA Tour means it's going to be harder for their members to qualify for majors going forward, unless there's a change to entry criteria, although world ranking points can still be accrued on other circuits as things stand.
Smith enjoyed DP World Tour success at the Australian PGA Championship on home soil just before Christmas, while Reed claimed second at the Dubai Desert Classic after a final-round tussle with eventual winner Rory McIlroy.
Throw in Ancer - who won the Asian Tour's Saudi International in February - and there has already been some LIV success this year within golf's 'traditional ecosystem', while Koepka's victory at the LIV Golf Orlando on Sunday will give him plenty of confidence heading into Augusta.
It is easy to disregard the LIV contingent as non-contenders, given their current ineligibility on the PGA Tour and limited playing schedule outside of their own 48-man league events, but the reality is the player slipping on the Green Jacket this Sunday could well be from the 'rival' tour.
LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman admitted it gives him 'goosebumps' to consider the prospect of one of his players winning the Green Jacket, with the former world No 1 revealing that the LIV contingent already have a plan should one of them challenge for victory.
"If one of the guys [wins], no matter who it is, they are all going to be there on the 18th green, they are all going to be there, and that just gives me goosebumps to think about," Norman said in an interview with NewsCorp.
"When you walk up 18, your caddy hugs you, then you see your wife or your mum and dad. Now to have those 17 other guys there, that's the spirit we want. That's what these guys talk about. They are saying no matter who wins, no matter who is in that position, we are going to be there.
"I compliment the Masters on letting the players play because now they have got the best field and they are actually now the true Super Bowl. If I'm the Masters right now, I would want, on Sunday, DJ or Brooks or Cam, any of the guys against Rory (McIlroy) and Jon Rahm. Can you imagine what the TV ratings would be like?"
Koepka's victory in Orlando saw him become the first player to win multiple LIV Golf titles, with the four-time major champion excited for the opportunity to tee it up against all of the world's best this week.
"I'm very happy to get the win," Koepka said. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the team win, which kind of is a little bittersweet. But look, I'm happy the way I'm playing going into Augusta.
"It'll be great just to see all the good players back, back in one field again, right? It's the first time we've seen it in a long time. That'll be exciting.
"I'm looking forward to it, just to see everybody and compete against them. At the end of the day, I'll be honest, I do miss playing against Rory (McIlroy), I do miss playing against Scottie (Scheffler), and I'm sure they miss playing against us - that's a fact.
"You always want to play against the best. That's going to make Augusta even more special. I think if one of the LIV players does win, I think it'll be definitely a huge statement for LIV."
Watch The Masters throughout the week live on Sky Sports! Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf.
