Multiple majors champion Bubba Watson is worried that his debut in the LIV golf tour as a non-playing captain may hold him back from participating in The Masters major. Watson is recovering from a knee injury that has kept him from playing since the second major of the year, May’s PGA Championship.
Bubba on LIV potentially costing him his Masters eligibility:
"If they tell me that I can't go, being a past champion, then I don't want to be there anyway, because that's just the wrong way to look at it. It's the game of golf. We are all trying to be the best players."
— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) August 31, 2022
Watson has won The Masters twice, once in 2012 and the other in 2014, and other champions received a lifetime exemption to play in the Augusta National event. With the controversy surrounding the LIV golf tour and the PGA tour continuing to grow, the American player is concerned that a rule change would prevent LIV players like him from participating in The Masters.
“Yeah, for me, it’s a weird situation, being a Masters Champion. I sat my kids down and I told them that their favourite tournament in the world is obviously Travelers Championship, so can’t play there,” said Watson, as per MSN. “But now, Augusta, right now, we can play in it, and I’m hoping, and praying, that they make the right decisions and past champions and people, we can all start playing.”
He added that he would be disappointed in the event staff if they chose to exclude players due to participating in a tour.
“… I told them, if they tell me that I can’t go, being a past champion, then I don’t want to be there anyway because that’s just – that’s just the wrong way to look at it. It’s the game of golf. We are all trying to be the best players,” added Watson.
Competition and restrictions
Part of the reason Watson wants no restrictions on tournament participation is so that the best players will meet each other and compete against one another, no matter which tour they play in. If The Masters doesn’t let that happen, he hopes that another tournament will eventually find a way to bring the game’s best players together.
“There’s tours all around the world and somehow it’s OK for these tours to operate but when you come operate in the US it makes it a little different. So yeah, I would love that there’s a way to figure out a way all of us work together or at least play LIV against PGA Tour,” said Watson.
Watson believes that organizations shouldn’t restrict which events a player can attend. He further explained that LIV gave him free rein in choosing which events he would like to participate in but he is worried that other organizations will restrict him.
“I can play whatever I want to play in. Obviously, there’s other organisations that say I can’t play. But yeah, I mean, how would I not want to play at Travelers and be a part of that?” said Watson.
“My family – it’s near and dear to my heart. That’s the only tournament my dad watched me win. Passed away three months later in 2010. LIV is not holding me back from playing any tournament. You know, it’s other organisations that say stuff.”