Scott: LIV invites needed for majors, but with consideration

ORLANDO, Fla. – News that LIV Golf had dropped its bid for world-ranking points was not much of a surprise given that the ranking had already denied the league’s request for points. But it did intensify concerns that the major championships could suffer without the world’s best players.

Without OWGR points, the LIV players have continued to drop in the rankings and the circuit has just four players currently inside the top 50 in the world. Many say it’s up to the majors to assure the top players — regardless of their ranking — are at the biggest events, like Augusta National and the PGA of America did for Joaquin Niemann when he was given special invitations into the Masters and PGA Championship.

“The majors have invitations. The Masters is all invites but sometimes they give special invitations, so does the USGA, they can get people there if they want them there,” former Masters champ Adam Scott said. “Maybe they have to change how many they give — that’s for them to decide how they want their tournament to run — but they’re entitled to give out invites.”

Carving out invitations for LIV Golf players into each of the four majors seems to be the consensus solution until either the ranking issue is addressed or the game is reunited via the negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns LIV Golf.

“In the long run we need [invitations] to happen,” said Scott, before offering a warning. “Ultimately we need that to happen, but what I don’t think needs to happen is like knee-jerk reactions to a change just because there’s been a change to the environment.

“It needs to be figured out what’s best for the long run not just this year’s events.”