Two-time Masters-winner Ben Crenshaw is concerned the negative discourse affecting golf following the LIV divide will taint this year's opening major.
Crenshaw, 70, won two Green Jackets at Augusta, Georgia, and retired as a 19-time winner on the PGA Tour. However, it's legacies like that which could become rarer in years to come after the Saudi-funded LIV series lured numerous stars away from golf's established competitions in 2023.
Organisers confirmed in December that any players who meet the qualifying criteria will be permitted to compete in the 2023 Masters, which gets underway April 6. That includes six former champions and three other LIV defectors—Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka —who have each won at least one major in the past five years.
“I hope not," Crenshaw told the Golf Channel when asked if he feared this year's tournament was at risk of turning into a media circus due to the current split among golf's elite. "It’s a tournament in which the champion can change his whole life. It’s a life-giving memory, I hope the focus is on the champion and the tournament but I really just don’t know – I’ve been worried about it I’ll be honest.”
A decision is expected to be made in February over whether those playing in the LIV Golf Invitational Series will be allowed to play in DP World Tour events in the future. That will, in turn, have a knock-on effect in convincing certain players to remain with golf's establishment or leave for more lucrative climes.
First among the Masters' potential points of tension is the Champions Dinner, whereby incumbent Scottie Scheffler will dine with other past winners. Six Masters champions who have left for LIV are expected to attend: Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and Charl Schwartzel.
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“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” added Crenshaw. “Our job is to honour the champion Scottie Scheffler, not only for winning The Masters but for what a wonderful year he had last year – as he emerged as one of the best players in the world.
“It’s his night – each one of us has earned a lifetime exemption into the tournament, but our job is to honour Scottie as the champion.” Former world No. 5 Crenshaw won his maiden Masters in 1984 before pipping Davis Love III to the honour in 1995.
With it looking unlikely that any of the four majors will ban LIV golfers from attending, more attention will move to whether the Saudi-backed rival can secure Official World Golf ranking points for its players. Depending on the outcome of next month's hearing in regards to the DP World Tour decision, that could create a fresh cloud of controversy just in time for the build-up to Augusta.
