Fred Ridley says newly fractured nature of sport ‘not helpful’Special invitations for select players likely to continue
Fred Ridley, the chairman of Augusta National, has all-but ruled out the prospect of LIV golfers gaining entry to the Masters via their own order of merit while branding the “closed shop” of the Saudi Arabian-backed tour problematic.
Golfers on the LIV tour who have won the Masters remain eligible for the first major of the year. One member of LIV, Joaquín Niemann, received a special invite to this Masters edition. Others have seen their route to Augusta blocked after tumbling down the world rankings. LIV withdrew its bid to be part of that system this year having failed to meet Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) criteria.
