The Masters: Fred Ridley buoyed by the peaceful mood at Augusta, despite Greg Norman snub
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Updated 07/04/2023 at 08:06 GMT
The Masters is nearly here and chairman of Augusta National, Fred Ridley, gave his annual press conference where he had a slate of announcements and questions to answer such has been the noise created within golf in recent months. LIV golf, Greg Norman and new qualification requirements for The Masters were all on the agenda ahead of the opening major of the year.
Ridley 'hopeful' things might change with LIV and PGA Tours coming together
Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National, addressed a whole host of topics during his annual chat when he spoke with the media ahead of the 87th playing of The Masters.
The appearance of LIV players onsite this week, news that Greg Norman, who is the CEO of the breakaway tour, was snubbed from the invite list, the recent announcement from the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient (R&A) about rolling the ball back and new qualification requirements for The Masters were all discussed at length.
While there has been an appetite for some potential drama this week as LIV golfers mingle with their former PGA Tour and DP World Tour colleagues, Ridley echoed a similar sentiment that Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson commented on earlier in the week.
There has been a lot of well documented bad blood, but flickers of peace seem to have broken out.
“I've noticed the tone has been really good here this week,” said Ridley, “Last night at the Champions Dinner, I would not have known that anything was going on in the world of professional golf other than the norm.
"So I think, and I'm hopeful, that this week might get people thinking in a little bit [of a] different direction and things will change. Golf brings people together, and I'm hopeful this week that Augusta can be the beginning of a path forward for our game.”
Despite the peace that has been on display so far this week, it emerged a couple of days ago that the LIV figurehead Norman has been taken off the Augusta invite list. Wanting to avoid any potential distractions, chairman Ridley outlined the reasons.
“The primary issue and the driver there is that I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating, the greatest players in the world, which, by our decision in December [when they confirmed eligible LIV players would be welcomed], we ensured that we were going to honour and be consistent with our invitation criteria," he explained.
“I would also add that, in the last 10 years, Greg Norman has only been here twice, and I believe one of those was as a commentator for Sirius Radio. It really was to keep the focus on the competition.”
Asked if Norman was likely to be invited in the future, Ridley, a former US Amateur champion added: “It's hard to answer that question because I don't know where the world is going to be next year or two years from now. But I would never say never.”
The recent announcement about rolling the ball back, limiting the distance a ball could travel, has been yet another topic to cause chatter within the golfing sphere, and Ridley laid out Augusta’s stance on the subject.
“As the comment period remains open, we will be respectful of the process as the USGA and The R&A consider this important issue,” he said.
“We have been consistent in our support of the governing bodies, and we restate our desire to see distance addressed.”
The 13th tee at Augusta National has been moved back by 35 yards, extending it to 545 yards, in the latest step taken to stiffen the test for the new breed of athletic and powerful players.
“The whole purpose of the comment period is to take the input from the industry,” added Ridley. “So we will look at the final product and make a decision. I've stated that we believe distance needs to be addressed. I think the natural conclusion is, yes, we will be supportive.”
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