During his press conference on the eve of the 90th Masters, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley provided perhaps his most full-throated support of the R&A and USGA’s decision to roll back golf ball distance.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley and R&A chief executive Mark Darbon have echoed Rory McIlroy’s sentiments from the recent controversial Ryder Cup at Bethpage that golf should be held to a higher standard of fan behaviour than other sports.
The Australian Open has been given an enormous boost by being named as one of a handful of national championships that will award the champion an invitation to the Masters, after a bombshell announcement by Augusta National and the R&A.
There was plenty of big news from Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley’s press conference on the eve of the 89th Masters, many of which he brought up before any questions were asked by those packed into the media interview room.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley acknowledged that what Augusta National Golf Club fans will see in April won’t have “quite as many trees as we did a year ago” but that any damage suffered last September when Hurricane Helene rolled through Georgia and the Carolinas won’t be an issue when the Masters is held in less than three months.
Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland has encouraged golf’s powerbrokers to consider the idea to award the Australian Open winner an exemption into all four majors, saying it would “elevate our event and our tour”.
Ridley noted the club has the ability to offer special invitation to international players that allows it to account for LIV players who deserved attention, albeit in a subjective way.
The less-than-casual angle to it is that this visit probably provides a good indication that Woods is feeling healthy enough to compete in the 88th Masters when it begins on April 11.
Augusta National Golf Club has extended a special invitation to LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann, as well as Ryo Hisatsune and Thorbjorn Olesen, to the 2024 Masters tournament.
Angel Cabrera’s name is not on the Masters list of invitees for this year’s tournament, but he is listed under a heading that reads “past champions not playing”. According to Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley, however, that doesn’t mean that Cabrera isn’t able to compete in April.
Australian Golf Digest
