2022 was some year in golf, one of the most notable in memory with the arrival of LIV Golf causing such a seismic shift and such a huge divide in the game that things will never be the same ever again.
And with Greg Norman and his Saudi backers showing no signs of going anywhere, what will 2023 in golf look like? What will the futures of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf all look like?
Will Rory McIlroy thrive with all the responsibility he now has both on and off the course? When will we see Tiger Woods play? And which players and tournament should we look out for in the next 12 months? Let’s look at the major talking points.
Tours collide at the Masters
(Image credit: Getty Images)
As if the anticipation for the first Major of the year could get any greater, now we get Augusta National being the scene of a Battle Royal between the PGA and DP World Tour stars and their LIV Golf counterparts colliding with the Green Jacket at stake.
It’s always the most hyped-up Major due to it being the first of the year and the seemingly endless off-season, but with now the added intrigue of the LIV players returning and just how they’ll be received by the club, the patrons and their fellow players adds another level of excitement.
Relations may have improved by then, but they could also have gotten a lot worse, so just imagine the underlying needle if Rory McIlroy and Cam Smith had a final-round rematch from St Andrews!
And just think of the other pairings we could get, as we all know Augusta chiefs know their way around TV ratings so we could get McIlroy playing with former friend Sergio Garcia, dare they pit Tiger Woods against Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth with Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau against, well, anybody really given how popular he is!
Can a dominant Rory McIlroy complete the grand slam?
(Image credit: Getty Images)
While we’re at the Masters, the presence of LIV Golf disruptors may actually help a certain Rory McIlroy as for once his bid to add the only Major to so far elude him will not be the big story of the week at Augusta.
He’ll need to keep his head down for that though, and since he’s now spokesman in chief for the PGA Tour then that may be impossible as you just know he’ll be grilled on the thorny LIV topic from all angles.
And given how personal his feud with Greg Norman has become then don’t for one second think the Australian won’t have some sort of bombshell up his sleeve to try and upset the apple cart again in Masters…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…