Masters brings golf's divided best back together

World number two McIlroy believes year’s first major sits above ‘all that noise’ surrounding rival tours

AUGUSTA:

The world's greatest golfers face each other on Thursday for the first time since the bitter LIV Golf-PGA Tour split divided the sport and appropriately it is the timeless tranquility of Augusta National that provides the arena.

Given the tradition of the Masters tournament, with the famous winner's green jacket, the striking absence of advertising, the pristine course and the palpable sense of historic significance, it is perhaps not surprising that both sides of the divide caused by the breakaway Saudi-backed LIV Golf League have been observing an informal cease-fire.

Legal battles remain to be fought and the name-calling may well resume next week but the words of those involved in the first major tournament of the year have been a refreshing acknowledgement that Augusta is no place for public squabbling.

"I think this tournament is bigger than all of that," said Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, the world number two.

"It's narrative and a storyline, but the Masters and the four major championships sit above all that noise, and that's the way it should be this week."

Not everyone received the memo. LIV Golf's chief executive officer, Greg Norman, talked in a pre-tournament interview of the entire LIV contingent being ready to crowd around the 18th green to celebrate a victory by of one of their 18 competitors.

But it was noticable that McIlroy, who has been one of the most partisan backers of the established PGA Tour, chose to practice on Tuesday with one of the top LIV contenders, American Brooks Koepka.

McIlroy has been rotating top spot in golf's rankings with current world number one Scottie Scheffler and Spaniard Jon Rahm and that trio are among the favorites to triumph on Sunday at the end of what is forecast to be a rain-affected four days.

"You've seen just a pretty high level of consistency from us so far this year," defending champion Scheffler said. "We've been pretty close to winning most of the elevated events."

McIlroy would complete the career Grand Slam with a victory on Sunday while Rahm would become the fourth Spaniard to win at Augusta after Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia.

Critics might dismiss the LIV contingent as having opted for a lucrative 'retirement' from elite competition, their ranks contain plenty of players with experience at clinching major titles.

Australian Cameron Smith, the reigning British Open champion, tied for third at Augusta last year, Koepka has won four majors and Dustin Johnson, who won LIV's first season, put on the green jacket in 2020.

Three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson, 52, would be a surprise challenger at this stage of his career but Augusta always has room for nostalgia and the veterans never need reminding that in 1986, Jack Nicklaus won at the age of 46.

More recently, in 2019, Tiger Woods became the second oldest player to win the tournament, with his remarkable comeback victory at the age of 43.

Woods, though, is sadly now in the nostalgia category, his multiple injuries restricting his participation in the PGA Tour and leaving him worrying about if his body will survive four rounds and if this might be his final Masters.

"I don't know how many more I have in me," said the 15-time major winner, who was in a reflective mood.

"It's such a special place and it means so much to me in my heart to be able to come here and play this golf course and just appreciate the memories that I've had here."

Former winners Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson will get the tournament under way on Thursday with the ceremonial start.

For those wondering which of the 88 players in the field will be sliding on the green jacket as the sun sets on Sunday, it's perhaps worth recalling Nicklaus's famous reflection on the course.

"Augusta National is a young man's golf course," he said. "And you really need a young man's nerves to play on it."