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The Managing Director of the Royal & Ancient and the President of the Augusta National Golf Club (pictured) have dismissed rumors that exemptions will be granted to LIV Golf players at next year's Majors. For several weeks, rumors from the corridors concerning LIV Golf have made their way to the point of appearing credible in the world of golf: the dissident circuit is in negotiations with the organizations of Major tournaments in order to obtain invitations for the year 2024.
A rumor that has been growing since Yasir Al-Rumayyan, boss of the PIF, played the Dunhills Links Championship alongside the boss of the R&A.
Major, statements
Martin Slumbers, the CEO of the Royal & Ancient, as well as the president of the Augusta National, Fred Ridley, took advantage of a press conference held on Wednesday in Australia to put an end to the rumors: “This is completely unfounded.
I would like to make it very clear that we do not discuss exemptions for The Open with anyone and we never will. I think it's very important to remember that The Open is intended to be open to everyone: whether you earn your place on the course or through exemptions.
And that will not change,” said Martin Slumbers. The Open differs from the Masters in that it organizes qualifying events around the world, both on the PGA Tour tournaments and on the DP World Tour, thanks to the famous "Open Qualifying Series", as well as via tournaments qualifying over 36 holes.
The Masters is an invitational tournament, with special criteria and exemptions for participants. Ridley said for his part that the invitation criteria for the 2024 Masters are not likely to be changed this year, but still opened the door for subsequent editions: “If we look at the history of the tournament and the qualifications that existed, we see that we modified these qualifications numerous times, even dozens of times.
We review them every year. We don't change them every year, but we review them based on current circumstances. » LIV Golf players were denied official ranking points by the awarding body, the World Golf Ranking, earlier this month.
A decision described as “non-political” by the president of the governing body, Peter Dawson. This means that if things continue in this direction, LIV players will be increasingly excluded, over time, from the four Major tournaments.