There’s a quote, both honest and problematic, you don’t see very often from a pro athlete: “Too many people are losing interest.” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley, watching the game he loves descend into what it never was supposed to become, is also understandably concerned.
“I will acknowledge that, if you look at the data this year, golf viewers are down (on) linear television while other sports, some other sports are up,” he said Wednesday. “So you can draw your own conclusions. Certainly the fact that the best players in the world are not convening very often is not helpful. Whether or not there’s a direct causal effect, I don’t know. But I think that it would be a lot better if they were together more often.”
One of the allures of golf always was how players have conducted themselves. Golfers call penalties on themselves. That requires at least an element of honesty.
Well, the defending Masters champion is Jon Rahm, who was quite adamant that he had absolutely no interest in LIV back in 2022 as golf’s civil war was exploding.
“I’ve never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons,” he said back then. “I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I’ve always been interested in history and legacy, and right now, the PGA Tour has that.”
In December 2023, he left the PGA Tour for LIV. He will get his applause and cheers here this week, but he will never be able to recapture his honor. He’s the reigning Masters champion, and he sold out.
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