American Golf Journal March

players on both tours. The unpleasantness has continued both in media interviews, as well as on social media. The move by defending Masters champion, Jon Rahm to switch to the rival LIV has been an especially explosive topic in the golf world. Last year it was predicted that LIV players would not perform well at the Masters, due to their shorter schedule, 54-hole events and lack of competition against PGA Tour quality players. That prediction was never valid due to the fact that there are several major championship winners among the LIV membership namely, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. Brooks Koepka, who always gets excited for the majors, led most of the way through the first three rounds of the Masters last year, but slipped in the final round on Sunday to let Jon Rahm pass him for the victory. Rahm was a member of the PGA Tour at the time. Koepka did come back to win the PGA Championship the next month. After the dust had settled on Sunday evening, at the Masters, Koepka and Mickelson finished tied for runner-up, behind Rahm, while Patrick Reed tied for fourth, giving LIV players three of the top six spots at the 2023 Masters. Even though the LIV Tour does not receive Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points and many of the top names on that tour are rapidly sliding down the world rankings, several LIV players will tee it up this year at the 2024 Masters. Top 50 in the OWGR is just one of several criteria to earn a Masters invitation, plus past winners are normally given an automatic invite. Past major championship winners like, Rahm, Johnson, Mickelson, Garcia, Reed and a few other LIV players have five-year exemptions into all

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