AUGUSTA, Ga. – For those hoping to see some awkwardness, a little tension, maybe even a few early fireworks between the PGA Tour faithful and the 18 LIV players teeing it up at this week’s Masters Tournament, they were surely disappointed Monday at Augusta National.
No, the environment was very much cordial.
Dustin Johnson played a practice round with Gary Woodland, Brian Harman and Kevin Kisner, one of many mixed groupings out on the course.
Cameron Smith was laughing and shaking hands at the tournament practice area.
Bryson DeChambeau gave defending champion Scottie Scheffler a hug.
“I was telling Kenny [Harms], my caddie, saying that it feels like it’s been longer than a year since I’ve been here,” said Kevin Na, who planned on a Par 3 Contest grouping with buddies K.H. Lee and Si Woo Kim. “I think part of the reason why is I haven’t seen some of my friends that play on a different tour, and I haven’t seen everybody in a long period of time. Maybe that’s the reason why.”
The warm feelings, at least from outside the ropes, seemed mutual. Even Fred Couples, who last month called Phil Mickelson a “nutbag,” told reporters that he’d “love to be paired” with the three-time Masters champ.
“He loves this place as much as I do,” Couples added, “and if we did [play together], we’d look at each other on the first hole and we’d have a good time.”
As players have kept the gloves on, the question Monday turned to how the LIV players will fare this week at Augusta National.
How will they adjust to a different Masters lead-up?
Was last week’s LIV event, played on a flat, public layout, a proper tune-up?
And what are the chances we’ll see a LIV vs. PGA Tour battle down the stretch on Sunday?
Let’s start with the pre-tournament cadence. Johnson, for example, played six events last year before the Masters; this year, he’s competed in only the three LIV tournaments, at Mayakoba (late February), Tucson (three weeks ago) and Orlando (last week). Patrick Reed had nine pre-Masters starts in 2022 compared to six this year. DeChambeau has teed it up in just one fewer event this year, but he’s certainly one of the exceptions.
“I think next year our schedule will be tailored a little bit differently,” DeChambeau said, “but again, it’s a learning curve for all of us.”
At the same time, a few of the LIV guys talked about feeling fresher with the slightly lighter load, even if they hadn’t normally played the week before the Masters.
“I feel ready this week,” Reed said. “I feel energized. I feel like I have more in the tank this time than I have in the past.”
And no one seemed concerned about the change of format, as LIV events feature 54 holes, a shotgun start and a team component.
“I feel like I’m tournament-ready,” Smith said. “It’s just I’ve got a few tweaks here and there to do, and like I said before, I feel like this course made me find some of those things, and it just comes naturally.”
Perhaps the biggest adjustment, though, will be the switch between Nationals, Orange County National last week and the venerable Augusta National this week.
Different grasses. Bermuda vs. bentgrass.
Different topography. Impressively undulating vs. fairly level.
Different conditioning. Immaculate vs. a wee bit scruffy.
Different, well, pretty much everything. Phil Ritson, Isao Aoki and David Harman don’t exactly have the same credentials as Dr. Alister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones.
“There’s no comparison,” Johnson said. “… I don’t think you could have those in the same sentence, other than I played there last week and I’m playing here this week.”
Other players were more specific about the stark contrast, though they did note that the greens at OCN’s Crooked Cat weren’t declawed at all, firmer and faster than some may give them credit for.
Joaquin Niemann: “I think the main thing will be the lies, just hitting over downslopes, upslopes, left to right, right to left.”
Jason Kokrak: “I’ll have an easier time chipping, and this place, there’s not a blade out of place.”
Reed: “Here at Augusta, you play more break than what you see on the greens, and there, it was almost like what you saw, you played less.”
And Abraham Ancer: “They’re completely different golf courses, so I’m not banking on any of that input. It’s just we have three days to get adjusted, and I think most of us, we’ve been here quite a bit of time.”
The LIV crop isn’t short on confidence – or from the sound of it, motivation. Though few openly expressed it, they’re aware some people aren’t taking them seriously this week, writing them off, maybe actively rooting against them to play well.
And they’re determined to prove that they’ve still got the goods to win a green jacket come Sunday.
“I think it’s just important for LIV guys to be up there because I think we need to be up there,” Smith said. “I think there’s a lot of chatter about these guys don’t play real golf; these guys don’t play real golf courses. For sure, I’ll be the first one to say, the fields aren’t as strong. I’m the first one to say that. But we’ve still got a lot of guys up there that can play some really serious golf.”
Added Na: “Look, it doesn’t matter what tour you play; there are always great players. No matter what people say, there’s a lot of champion golfers on the LIV tour and still in their prime and still peaking…
“I’ll tell you what, I think the fans and the media are making it more interesting, but if you have a LIV vs. PGA Tour coming down the stretch, it’ll be fun.”
Maybe we’ll even see some fireworks.
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