20 July 2023 , 11:42
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R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers has discussed the possibility of opening up a potential season-long Open qualification spot for players who compete on the LIV Golf circuit.
A number of big-name LIV Golf stars have missed out on a place at this year's Open, having seen their world rankings tumble since their switch, as the breakaway league continues to function without Official World Golf Ranking recognition. British stars in Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are two of LIV's notable absences from Hoylake.
As is Sergio Garcia, with the 2017 Masters champion missing his first Open Championship in 26 years on the back of his move to the Saudi-backed series last summer. Garcia did attempt to earn a place, after entering final qualifying at West Lancashire earlier this month.
It was not to be for the Spanish star though, as he finished outside the top five in Liverpool and missed out on a place at Hoylake by three shots.
On the back of Garcia and co's omissions, there have been calls for LIV Golf to be offered their own qualifying path for its players, as is given to other tours around the world. And this idea was proposed to Slumbers at this week's Open, who admitted it was something that had been considered.
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"I think that [LIV qualification] is one of the options that we have," Slumbers said in his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday. "It's not the option that is top of my list at the moment, but it would be one of the options that is available."
Martin Slumbers addressed the saga surrounding LIV Golf (Getty Images)Unsurprisingly the R&A boss also discussed the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), that will see the Tour work in unison with its former rival LIV Golf. The deal comes after a year-long feud between the two circuits, following LIV's inception last summer.
The biggest discussion surrounding the PGA Tour-LIV battle was the remarkable amounts of money being put on offer from both sides, something Slumbers felt 'damaged' the reputation of the sport. "This constant discussion about money, which I referred to again last year, was in my opinion damaging the perception of our sport worldwide," he added.
Welcoming the ceasefire, Slumbers went on: "We need to move beyond that, and that's why we welcomed the announcement. But as I said, it's not my deal. I'm not a party. I'm not at the table, but I am very pleased that they are sitting there and figuring it out because long-term that's good for the sport which we all want to either work in or enjoy."