ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Long before Paul Lawrie clipped the first ball off the ancient linksland of the Old Course to begin the 150th Open Championship, it was obvious that the Royal & Ancient was stiff-arming the royal and affluent of LIV Golf this week in St. Andrews.
The maladroit CEO of the Saudi-funded splinter circuit, Greg Norman, won two Opens yet was deemed undeserving of a place at either the past champions’ dinner or the Celebration of Champions exhibition, which are held only when the Open is contested at golf’s ancestral home. That his exclusion was publicly endorsed by multiple players illustrates the disdain with which Norman is widely viewed, but the R&A also suspected he would use the Open to pimp LIV Golf.
The R&A’s chief executive, Martin Slumbers, didn’t stop at wrapping the Great White Pilot Fish in a newspaper and marking him ‘Return to Sender’ to Riyadh. He was strident in making clear his determination to defend the Open but also his willingness to enlist the championship in defense of the broader sport.
“We have been asked quite frequently about banning players. Let me be very clear. That’s not on our agenda,” he said, briefly providing Norman another hopeful moment at a major that was soon dashed. “What is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for The Open. Players have to earn their place in The Open, and that is fundamental to its ethos and its unique global appeal.”
Slumbers left no doubt that LIV Golf — its ranks oversubscribed with banged-up veterans and no-name journeymen — isn’t a valid pathway into golf’s greatest championship. “Professional golfers are entitled to choose where they want to play and to accept the prize money that’s offered to them. I have absolutely no issue with that at all. But there is no such thing as a free lunch,” he said. “I believe the model we’ve seen at Centurion and Pumpkin Ridge is not in the best long-term interests of the sport as a whole and is entirely driven by money. We believe it undermines the merit-based culture and the spirit of open competition that makes golf so special.”
To players who hoped to continue taking spots in majors based on the vapors of past accomplishments, Slumbers made clear he’s not having it. The Open will remain open to the best players in the world, he insisted, while emphasizing that LIV members are no longer actually proving themselves against the best. The Open will not…
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