R&A has become the first golf governing body to speak out strongly against the LIV Series, with CEO Martin Slumbers using the tasks of the media on the eve of the 150th Open Championship to qualify the rebellious tour as “not in the best of times”. – term interests of the sport ”. Slumbers inferred that it will be difficult for LIV participants to qualify for future stagings of the world’s oldest major.
LIV themes have dominated the Open’s buildup after Greg Norman, who leads the tour backed by Saudi Arabia, was not invited to past champion events in St Andrews. Phil Mickelson, a high-profile LIV convert, was another notable absentee.
After Tiger Woods vehemently spoke out against the LIV concept on Tuesday, Slumbers has now followed suit. “I firmly believe that the existing golf ecosystem has successfully provided stable paths for golfers to get into the sport and develop and realize their full potential,” Slumbers said.
“Professional golfers have the right to choose where they want to play and accept the cash prize offered to them. I have absolutely no problem with that. But there is no such thing as a free lunch. I think the model we saw at Centurion and Pumpkin Ridge [for LIV tournaments] it is not the best long-term interest of the whole sport and is totally driven by money. We believe it undermines the culture based on merit and the spirit of open competition that makes golf so special.
“I would also like to say that, in my opinion, the continued comment that it’s about ‘growing the game’ is not credible and, in any case, it is hurting the perception of our sport that we are working so hard to improve.”
On this event itself, Slumbers added: “Looking ahead to next year’s Open, we have been asked quite frequently about the ban on players. Let me be very clear. This is not on our agenda. But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemption and qualification criteria for the Open.
Martin Slumbers speaks to the press in St Andrews on the eve of the Open. Photography: David Cannon / Getty Images
“And although we do it every year, we absolutely reserve the right to make any changes that our open championship committee deems appropriate. Players must earn their place in the Open and this is critical to their ethos and its unique global appeal “.
The status of the world ranking is intrinsically linked to the Open rating. Slumbers is part of the board of directors of the official global golf ranking, which met this week in St Andrews to discuss LIV’s application to win position. The OWGR technical committee also gave talks on the same topic. LIV will most likely face a long wait before receiving OWGR points, if any. Slumbers declined to comment on the matter. “This question will have to be addressed to the OWGR president,” he said.
The chief executive, however, defended the decision to exclude Norman from a challenge and four-hole dinner of past champions. In the latter, Rory McIlroy and Woods were named honorary members of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. Both have been firm in their opposition to LIV.
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“This is a very important week for golf,” Slumbers added. “This is the oldest championship. It is the original championship. We are absolutely determined to ensure that this goes down in history as the 150th Open. We decided, based on the noise I was getting from various sources, that this would be potentially unlikely. We decided we didn’t want the distraction. We wanted to make sure the conversation was all this week and tomorrow playing golf and balls in the air and the golf champion on Sunday.
“Greg hasn’t been here since 2010. He didn’t come in 2015. In fact, he hasn’t even been to the Open for many years. So there would have been another reason for that. So it was very clear to protect the integrity of this week. “