Evin Priest
Augusta, Georgia: Former British Open winner Ian Baker-Finch has questioned whether host courses on LIV Golf are preparing players adequately for the rigours of major championship golf after half of the leagueโs contingent missed the cut at a biting Augusta National.
Five LIV golfers from 10 were sent home early from the April major, including Bryson DeChambeau and Australiaโs Cameron Smith. Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, Northern Irish golfer Tom McKibbin and Mexicoโs Carlos Ortiz also missed the weekend rounds.
Midway through the third round, Englandโs Tyrrell Hatton was the best-placed LIV golfer at three under, eight shots off the lead.
LIV Golf abandoned its 54-hole format this year and adopted a more traditional 72-hole identity. Its five pre-Masters tournaments included Saudi Arabia, Adelaide, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa. Four of those were won with a 72-hole total of at least 23 under par.
In other words, the superstars battered those golf courses into submission. In contrast, Augusta Nationalโs rock-hard fairways and bouncing greens have played tough at the 90th Masters.
Baker-Finch, the 1991 British Open champion, was asked at Augusta National on Saturday during the third round whether the five courses on LIV had properly tested the ten Masters hopefuls.
โIโm not sure in doing their schedule that they even think about that,โ Baker-Finch said.
โLet me say that if they were playing more difficult courses that were more similar to here [Augusta], that would be a good decision.
โWhen I played the [PGA Tourโs] Players Championship [at TPC Sawgrass] two or three weeks before the Masters every yearโฆ they used to get the greens hard and fast there to make it a little bit more like [Augusta].
โThatโs up to the players to do that; not up to scheduling people. But โฆ it would be more advantageous if you could play courses and go to an area where the courses are similar or the greens are 14 on the Stimpmetre [a green speed-measuring device].โ
LIV golfers have fielded questions about their buildup to Augusta National, including 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm. The LIV golf captain was blunt when asked after the second round whether he had to make adjustments coming to the Masters.
โNone; golf is golf,โ Rahm said.
Pressed how the league prepares its players for Augusta, Rahm said, โSame as any other golf tournament in the world, yeahโ.
In his role as chair of the PGA of Australia, Baker-Finch deals with LIV golf, given plenty of its big names travel to play Australian summer of golf events such as the Australian PGA and Open.
The 65-year-old sees LIV being a long-term presence, although he doesnโt see any reunification of the new league and the PGA Tour.
โI see it being here long term, but I donโt see a merger in any form,โ Baker-Finch said.
โI think theyโll do what theyโre doing and be what they are, which is fine.
โI donโt see the anxiety necessarily anymore. The PGA Tour is still a shining light. The DP World Tour [Europe] is kind of like the world tour and all the other tours [such as Australia] fit in.โ
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