Once upon a time golfers like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed could walk into the clubhouse at Augusta National with their green jackets on and nothing to prove.
That time was about a year ago and oh so much has changed.
When the mostly washed-up golfers who defected from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf return to Augusta this week for the 2023 Masters Tournament, everything is on the line for them.
Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times
Their reputation, the legitimacy of the Saudi-backed league they’re playing in and, of course, their own wallets. Plenty has been made about the fact that LIV Golf just simply isn’t competitive enough for the best in the world. With only 54 holes (three rounds) and no cuts — compared to the standard 72 holes with only the top half of the field making the weekend on the Tour —the notion of LIV events as glorified exhibitions isn’t so far-fetched.
The players who took ungodly amounts of money to join LIV and sacrifice their PGA careers know this, too. Just look at what Cam Smith said last week before arriving in Georgia, per Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard:
“For me I’m trying to go there and play the best golf I can,” Smith said Thursday at the LIV Golf Orlando event. “Is it important for LIV? I think it is important to go there and play well. Really show a high standard of golf which we know we’re all capable of.”
…
“Maybe we just show a really hardy effort. For us, internally, it’s kind of a pride thing. There’s a lot of chatter going around about, ‘These guys don’t play real golf anymore.’ I think it’s BS. We just want to show people,” he said.
It says so much that this is coming from Smith — who is essentially the only LIV player oddsmakers are remotely giving a chance this year.
You know who isn’t arriving in Augusta with the weight of justifying their career choices and breakaway league? Every other golfer who didn’t join LIV. The same guys who didn’t have to play in a mandatory LIV event in Orlando over the weekend and could instead get to Augusta early for some extra practice rounds.
Maybe it won’t matter out on the course when play begins. It certainly matters outside the ropes. If LIV golfers are constantly getting questions about whether or not they’re good enough to win major tournaments, and if the highest-ranked player in LIV feels pride is on the line this week, that’s an advantage for the rest of a field.
It would also make someone like Cam Smith winning a green jacket this year all the more memorable if he’s able to pull it off.
