Smith void that exposes LIV’s biggest Masters problem — and ‘BS’ debate that won’t go away

A 12-strong LIV contingent are eager to make history at The Masters as the two sides of golf’s warring factions meet again at the first major of the year.

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While the other men’s majors have opened up new pathways for LIV golfers to qualify, Augusta National remains a relatively closed shop.

Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel and Patrick Reed all possess a lifetime exemption as past green jacket winners.

Australian Cameron Smith qualifies based on winning a major in the past five years following his 2022 British Open triumph at St Andrews.

High profile pair Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka earned their place the same way for their respective US Open and PGA Championship triumphs.

Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton are the two outliers among the group with neither having won a major.

But Hatton ticks two boxes having finished in the top 12 a year ago, and residing in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings at 18th in the world.

LIV events do not receive world ranking points, but the feisty Englishman has jetsetted across the DP World Tour and Asian Tour since September, not missing the top ten in any of his six starts and winning twice to keep racking up points.

Niemann meanwhile was granted a special invite from the Augusta National Golf Club for a second straight year as reward for his efforts around the globe.

The Chilean won twice on LIV last year, came top ten at the Olympic Games, the DP World Tour Championship and the Australian Open, as well as winning the Asian Tour’s Saudi International.

He is also one of the form players in world golf having won two of LIV’s four events to start the year in Adelaide and Singapore.

His game is in such good order that Mickelson controversially took to X last month to hail him the best player in the world at the moment, saying that Niemann is better than Scottie Scheffler right now.

And such high, albeit far fetched, praise brings with it a lot of pressure.

There is already enough of that on the LIV contingent from inside their own camp.

Relations on either side of the men’s professional golf divide have improved considerably over the years.

If a LIV player wins at Augusta National, there will not be the hoopla of all their colleagues storming the 18th green after the winning putt like it was the Bastille, as outgoing CEO Greg Norman called for in 2023 – the first time LIV players featured at the iconic venue since the league’s inception in June 2022.

The Shark also famously said that a LIV golfer prevailing would “make up for all my own Augusta misery”.

The Australian infamously finished runner-up three times. He lead at the start of the final round only to be beaten by Jack Nicklaus by one shot in 1986, Larry Mize chipping in to win the playoff the year after, and capitulating when holding a six-shot lead at the beginning of the final round to lose to Nick Faldo by five shots in 1996. So it was a big, and not overly convincing, call from Norman.

But it highlights how important a LIV player winning a green jacket would be to the breakaway league as it chases the legitimacy it so badly craves.

Rahm won in 2023 but did not join LIV until later that year.

DeChambeau and Koepka debunked the myth that players cannot possibly be sharp enough to win a major by only playing in 14 annual 54-hole events.

But the evidence is inconclusive — it remains to be seen whether or not they were exceptions to the rule.

Furthermore, their major wins as LIV players didn’t come at the first major of the year, which could prove to be more difficult for an underdone contingent.

Smith, for example, has not played a four-round event this year, only teeing it up in LIV’s four events so far. That’s just 216 holes of competitive golf since the start of February.

He will therefore be relying on producing a promising showing at this week’s LIV Miami event, and the confidence gained from five top-ten finishes in eight starts at Augusta, as he seeks to become the second Australian to ever don a green jacket after Adam Scott in 2013.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has played eight events already this year — or 579 holes that include a high-stakes three-hole playoff at the Players Championship — and Scheffler six, which would have been more if not for the hand surgery he had after slicing it open on Christmas Open.

But even more beneficial than the quantity of tournaments they have played, are the riveting finishes they have been a part of.

Min Woo Lee’s breakthrough victory at the Houston Open was full of drama, so too were Viktor Hovland’s two-year drought-breaking win at the Valspar Championship and McIlroy’s Monday playoff triumph at The Players.

And that was just in the last three weeks.

The PGA Tour’s finest are battle-hardened and ready to go, playing several tournaments before most have a week off to refresh prior to The Masters, while their LIV counterparts have endured a start-stop season.

They jetted around Asia as part of their opening swing, some bobbed up on the Asian Tour to try earn a berth at The Open at Royal Portrush in July and enjoyed time at home.

Niemann and Hatton are the outliers as their consistent diet of competitive golf is why they are deemed by many analysts to be better placed to contend than their colleague.

The debate between freshness and the weekly Tour grind is a seemingly never-ending one as it suits individuals differently.

LIV golfers have come close at Augusta despite their apparent disadvantages.

Last year DeChambeau and Smith finished in a tie for sixth, though they were a massive nine shots back from Scheffler.

In 2023, Koepka and Mickelson shared runner-up honours, with the former coughing up his lead in the final round to finish four shots behind Rahm, with Reed a shot back from them.

But they have not been able to get the job done.

Former world No. 1 Johnson has fallen away drastically.

The big-hitting American has missed the cut in three of his last five major appearances, with his best finish in that time of T31 at Royal Troon last year.

His Masters record since joining LIV reads T48 and missed cut, after six top 12 finishes in the seven years previous including winning the 2020 Covid November Masters.

And as long as it remains the case that LIV stay winless at Augusta and some of their big names fail to fire, the criticism of the preparation offered by three-round format, the shotgun start and the quality of the fields will persist.

Last year Smith said those arguments were “BS” — but the results are yet to back up his own argument.

But most importantly, LIV needs a moment in the spotlight.

As merger talks have taken place in recent months, including two meetings between the two sides at the White House involving US President Donald Trump, the PGA Tour seems to be dominating the conversation.

Talk of what the future of the men’s professional game may look like has largely come from the PGA Tour side, and it is undeniable that the legacy US Tour has been hogging the spotlight.

Their events have been box office so far this season with thrilling finishes and heartwarming winner’s stories, while Netflix releasing the third season of documentary ‘Full Swing’ endeared fans to many of the PGA Tour stars even more.

Plus the regular presence of new indoor golf league TGL through January to March has kept the conversation on superstars like Tiger Woods and McIlroy while further raising the profile of the likes of Lee, Tom Kim, Billy Horschel and Ludvig Aberg.

LIV needs to steal some of the attention back.

Its Adelaide event in February was a hit, as it is every year, with golf fans around the globe appreciating the large, rowdy crowds that lined the fairways, and took in the Fisher and Dom Dolla concerts, at The Grange.

But things have been quiet since.

The announcement ahead of the final round that the Adelaide tournament is here to stay until 2031 and Norman will redesign the North Adelaide public golf course to become its new home, shows that LIV intends to go nowhere.

And reports have suggested that is one of the sticking points in the ongoing negotiations between the parties.

For LIV to strengthen their hand, they need more credibility.

They need the viral image of a LIV golfer, sporting their team and LIV logos on their polo, being adorned with a green jacket by Scheffler.

So, no pressure Cam, Bryson, Brooks, Jaoquin, Tyrell or perhaps one of the former champions, but for the future of LIV at this uncertain time, your bosses really need to you win this one.