AUGUSTA, Ga. — So let’s say you are Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters. You were one of the most powerful people in golf even before the PGA Tour and LIV Golf erupted into a feud that divided the sport.
Now, you may control everything.
By setting the qualification criteria for your venerable tournament, one that even LIV devotee Phil Mickelson calls his “favorite,” you have enormous influence over the ability of each tour to recruit and retain top talent.
You can do nothing and hand the PGA a long-term advantage by making it very difficult for LIV players to play at the biggest and most famous tournament in the world.