Masters Week has begun. Every year in the first week of April, the attention of golf fans around the world is drawn to Augusta, a small city in Georgia, USA. This is because the Masters, the first major tournament of the men’s golf season, is held there. At Augusta Airport, there are a lot of private planes that players have boarded.
This year too, the box office cards are overflowing. Although the possibility of realization is low, Tiger Woods (USA), the “Emperor of Golf,” who won the Masters six times, is challenging to win 16 majors. It is also interesting to see the competition between Scotty Scheffler (USA), Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and John Rahm (Spain), who are ranked 1st to 3rd in the world. Domestic fans are also curious about the performance of the ‘Korean Big 4’ Im Seong-jae, Kim Si-woo, Lee Kyung-hoon and Kim Joo-hyung.
In this festive atmosphere, there are those who dream of rebellion. They are LIV golf players who are sponsored by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. In this 87th Masters, 18 LIV golfers out of 88 players will participate. Greg Norman, who leads LIV Golf, said in a recent media interview, “If one of the LIV Golf players wins, the other 17 will be congratulated on the last 18 holes.” It means that all LIV golf players will not leave the venue even after their game is over, and will wait and congratulate their teammates on their victory.
Currently, LIV Golf is unable to stand in the center of the stage due to the strong check of the PGA Tour. He is hopelessly moving away from the center because he can’t get world ranking points. Woods or McIlroy, who leads the PGA Tour, openly criticizes LIV golf players. Recently, Bryson DeChambeau confessed, “After moving to LIV Golf, my mentor, Tiger Woods, stopped contacting me.”스포츠토토
There were even insulting stories about the Champions Dinner hosted by the winner of the previous year’s Masters. Reflecting this atmosphere, Bubba Watson (USA), who won the Masters twice, said, “Scotty Scheffler, who is presiding over this year’s Champions Dinner, will participate even if the LIV players are seated at a separate table or outside the window.”
Among the LIV golf players, there are several candidates who will challenge for the championship. There is Dustin Johnson (USA), who won the green jacket in 2002, and Brooks Koepka (USA), the ‘major hunter’ who won the LIV Golf Series Orlando last week. And among LIV golf players, there are Cameron Smith (Australia) and Patrick Reed (USA), who are the world’s highest ranked golfers. In addition to them, veterans such as Phil Mickelson (USA) and Sergio Garcia (Spain) are looking for opportunities to win based on their rich experience.
LIV golf players are determined in their hearts to ‘take the green jacket and flatten the noses of PGA Tour players’. Greg Norman’s words seem to be a declaration of war reflecting this atmosphere. This 87th Masters is therefore flowing in the face of a confrontation between ‘PGA Tour VS LIV Golf’.