On the list of committed golfers at 86e Augusta Masters, which begins Thursday April 7 (until Sunday April 10), one name is missing: Phil Mickelson. Crowned three times in the State of Georgia (2004, 2006 and 2010), the American (51) will miss the first of the four major tournaments of the season for the first time since 1994, even though he has his card invitation for life, like all former Masters winners.
His absence is the consequence of a conflict that broke out in the highest echelons of world golf. Phil Mickelson has officially decided to “take a step back” after losing sponsors and coming under fire from his peers for having supported the project of a dissident “Super League”: the LIV Golf Invitational Series, created by the former Australian professional Greg Norman and supported by the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia, which notably bought the football club of Newcastle, England, in October 2021.
In the making for several years, this project materialized on March 16 with the revelation of its calendar. On the program: eight tournaments (one in England, four in the United States, one in Thailand, one in Saudi Arabia and a last one in a location yet to be determined) endowed with 25 million dollars (around 23 million euros) each for the participants. Since the dates of the tournaments overlap with those of already existing events, and the prizes distributed are expected to be higher than those of the currently best-endowed tournament (20 million dollars, or just over 18 million euros), this new league potentially threatens golf’s two biggest tours: the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
” It’s dangerous. With money, they have the ability to blow up a tradition-based system”is alarmed Pascal Grizot, president of the French Golf Federation since December 2020. “They want to offer a new alternative for players, and that can only be beneficial for the whole of golf”wants to believe on the other hand Julien Brun (30 years old), 138e world player and French number 2.
“More tournaments, more profits”
Several of the most recognized golfers opposed this new circuit: Tiger Woods (who will return to competition in Augusta, thirteen months after a serious road accident), Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth or Brooks Koepka again.
But, like tennis, golf is very unequal, and the leading figures, who appropriate the biggest share of the cake, are however not representative of all players. “It’s not $25 million tournaments that will change anything for these players., assures Sébastien Audoux, former editor-in-chief of the Golf+ channel. But many players, for whom life is not as easy, will inevitably ask themselves questions in front of such an endowment. »
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