AUGUSTA, Ga. – Urging reunification for the good of the men’s professional game, Masters chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday that the best players in the world coming together just four times a year, at the majors, is “not enough.”
With no meaningful progress made in a possible deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund after years of strife, Ridley pushed for increased cooperation between the two warring sides.
“I’m not really in a position to say what form that should take as far as how the two organizations should come together, or what legal structure that may be, or what the financial aspects of that may be,” Ridley said. “But what I would do and what I am doing is encouraging cooperation and trying to figure out a way to get something done, regardless of what the structure of it is, to where everyone can play together again.
“I’m going to continue to be saying that and encouraging the leaders of the organizations involved to try to work together to come up with a solution. But I think we all agree that four times a year is not enough to have the great players of the game together.”
For the first time, the club invited the CEO of LIV Golf to the Masters, with Scott O’Neil revealing at LIV’s event at Trump Doral that he will be on-site this week as a tournament guest at Augusta National.
“Although I don’t have any specific plans to meet with him,” Ridley said, “I know that we will have some discussions with him, and we’re happy that he’s here.”
