AUGUSTA, Ga. — In the lead-up to the 87th playing of the Masters, there was rampant speculation about whether the LIV-vs.-the-establishment tension that has consumed the golf world for the last year-plus would bubble over at Augusta National. Fistfights in player parking? Scoldings at the Champions Dinner? Cheeky digs at press conferences? Alas, none of that messiness has materialized — or, if it has, it has been kept under tighter wraps than the Augusta National membership roll.
The vibe has been less cutting than it has been kumbaya. LIV star Cameron Smith said that on his first range visit earlier in the week he was greeted with hugs and handshakes. Jason Kokrak, also a LIV’er, said he has relished catching up with old pals, caddies and Augusta National staff members. Bubba Watson, noted captain of LIV’s Range Goats, called the Champions Dinner “a beautiful night,” adding, “Any time you can step foot in there, any time you can put on a green jacket, you know it’s going to be a good day.”
This is not to say that LIV players haven’t been asked about the potential for drama or awkwardness this week, because they have — endlessly. When he came off the course Thursday after an opening two-over 74, Sergio Garcia was promptly asked if it felt “normal” to be back at Augusta.
“Totally normal,” Garcia shot back. “You guys need to stop it. You guys are making a big deal out of this, and it’s you guys.”
“No, it’s not,” a reporter replied.
“Yes, it is,” Garcia said. “I’ve had nothing but great things from every single player I talk to. So please stop it and talk about the Masters.”
As you wish, Sergio!
After one round of the first Masters of this brave new era, there are indeed many LIV stories to dissect, though none bigger than big, bad Brooks Koepka. A week ago, in his third start of LIV’s 2023 season, Koepka — who seems to have finally fully recovered from the right knee injury he suffered in 2021 — lit up the Crooked Cat course at Orange County National, in Orlando, posting scores of 65-65-68 en route to his second career LIV title.
No one would mistake Orange County National for Augusta National, but the event’s organizers did try to slick up the course to help players prepare for what tournament was on deck. “It was nice to see these greens speed up this week,” Koepka said after his win. “There were definitely some dicey spots, which made the pin locations — kind of from four feet you had some downhill sliders that were outside the hole by a good bit, which kind of resembled Augusta.”
On Thursday at the Augusta, Koepka picked up where he left off, firing an eight-birdie, seven-under 65 to take a share of the first-round Masters lead with Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm. His only slip-up came at the newly lengthened par-5 13th where he tugged his tee shot into the woods.
“I don’t think I’ve rediscovered anything,” Koepka said of his revitalized form. “I just think I’m healthy, so I can move the way I want to.”
Somewhere Greg Norman was grinning. Should Koepka or another LIV player win this week, the triumph would provide the upstart tour a credibility boost that money can’t buy, no matter how many dollars you have in your marketing budget.
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Koepka wasn’t the only bright spot for the LIV contingent. Of the 18 LIV players in the field, nine shot par or better and the ever-dangerous Smith, after a two-under 70, is lurking. Smith didn’t speak to reporters after his round Thursday but earlier in the week he hammered home the importance of having LIV representation in contention.
“I think we need to be up there,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of chatter about these guys don’t play real golf; these guys don’t play real golf courses. For sure, I’ll be the first one to say, the fields aren’t as strong. I’m the first one to say that. But we’ve still got a lot of guys up there that can play some really serious golf, and we compete against each other hard week-in and week-out and we’re trying to do the same things that we did six months ago.”
Some observers remain unconvinced that the LIV players are (a) playing enough tournament golf, and (b) on challenging enough setups to keep their games sharp enough to compete at majors.
“I’m sure some of them will play well this week,” Paul McGinley, the 2014 European Ryder Cup captain and Golf Channel analyst told me Thursday morning. “But the odds are stacked against any of them winning with the competitive play that they’re having with a different environment, with a different vibe in team events and playing so little compared to the likes of Scheffler, Rahm and Rory and all the rest of the guys who are playing a lot more golf and on better golf courses. You compare Riviera, Bay Hill, TPC, Phoenix, those courses to the courses LIV has played on and you talk about preparing for the exam of a major championship — their preparation is far superior. I’m not going to dismiss LIV because there’s so many good players out there, but the odds are against them.”
Rounding out the group of five LIV players who broke par in the first round were Joaquin Niemann and a pair of Masters champions, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson, all of whom signed for 71s.
Mickelson, brandishing his LIV HyFlyers team logo on his cap and shirt, was cruising along at two-under until he dumped his approach at 11 into Rae’s Creek left of the green. That led to a double-bogey 6. He birdied three of the next four holes but then rinsed another ball with his tee shot on the par-3 16th, resulting in a bogey 4.
“I hit a lot of good shots today and had a chance to shoot a low round,” Mickelson said. “But this is the issue I’ve been dealing with is I’ll make two swings and it costs me four shots on 11 and 16.”
It hasn’t been all roses and azaleas for Team LIV this week. On Monday, the Times of London reported that the DP World Tour had won its arbitration case against LIV players, meaning, in essence, LIV players can be prohibited from competing on the DP World Tour and, presumably, in the Ryder Cup.
Most LIV players who have been asked about the ruling this week have been reluctant to opine. Garcia, who is the winningest European Ryder Cupper of all time, claimed to not even be aware of the decision, saying on Thursday, “I don’t know what happened. I’m not going to talk about something without all the information that I need.”
When asked if LIV players might view the ruling as a need to find common ground with the DPWT, Thomas Pieters said, “No. It is what it is. We had it coming.”
McGinley, who was a DPWT board member before stepping down last month, has been deeply involved in trying to protect the tour’s interests. On Thursday, he told me of the arbitration panel’s ruling: “I don’t think if it’s a day for celebration. A lot of the players who have gone to LIV have created an unbelievable legacy at the Ryder Cup, and they may never play the Ryder Cup again or never play a European tour event again. I hope that’s not the case. I hope they come to some kind of resolution.
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“The big win for the European tour is the fact they now have leverage should negotiations happen. Whereas for the last 12 months, because the LIV players had won the injunction, they were the ones with the leverage, they’re the ones coming back to play. Now the boot’s on the other foot.”
(On Wednesday, LIV pro Harold Varner dealt his own tour another blow when in an interview with the Washington Post he unloaded on LIV players who have cited virtuous reasons, such as “growing the game,” for signing with the Saudi-financed league. “They’re full of s—; they’re growing their pockets,” Varner said. “I tell them all the time, all of them: ‘You didn’t come here to f—ing grow the f—ing game.’”)
The wider implications of the ruling and how it will affect LIV players will be hashed out in the weeks to come, but for the next three days at least, the focus of the golf world will remain fixed on this storied patch of land in Augusta, Ga.
After signing for his 71 Thursday, Reed met with a smattering of reporters behind the Augusta National clubhouse. He explained the challenge of Augusta National is in its uneven lies (“never just a normal golf shot except maybe on the par-3s”). He predicted what it will take to win this week (“12- to 18-under”). He acknowledged playing with a chip on his shoulder (“every athlete does”).
And when asked if he’s amused by the critics who say LIV players can’t compete in majors, Reed minced no words:
“Last time I checked, I’m the one with the green jacket.”