MELBOURNE, Australia — The Masters is unlikely to make any changes to its eligibility criteria for next year’s tournament, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said Thursday, which means fewer players from the LIV Golf League will be competing in the year’s first major.
Only past Masters champions and recent major winner are eligible among current LIV players. The Masters invites winners of PGA Tour events and players in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, among other qualifying criteria.
The OWGR committee recently rejected LIV’s application to award ranking points for its 48-man, 54-hole, cut-free events, citing a lack of opportunities for players to earn spots on the tour or be relegated for poor play.
“As you recall last year, there was some speculation as to whether or not we would invite LIV golfers, and we stayed true to our qualification criteria and we invited everyone who was eligible,” Ridley said at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, host of this week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship tournament.
“And so, while we do not at this time anticipate making any changes in 2024, you know, we do always look at them and we will continue to do that. I would just answer by saying that, you know, that our qualifications are very much dynamic, and we adjust to what we feel is the best interests of the tournament representing the best players in the world, so we always look at that.”