Charl Schwartzel in Aksie by the Zurich Classic-Toernooi. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP)
The US Masters at Augusta is widely regarded as the most sought-after golf tournament on the calendar and delivers great drama and excitement every year.
This year’s tournament promises possibly unprecedented drama and excitement for several reasons. The 88 players line up on Thursday afternoon (South African time) to begin their assault on this year’s first Major title.
The participation of the 18 players who turned their backs on the PGA Series last year and joined the controversial LIV Series will attract particular attention at the 87th Masters battle.
Among the 18 are six former champions who know what it takes to deal with the cream of the world’s players and pull the green jacket over their shoulders as champion. They are Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel.
is one of three South African players in the selection field. The other two are Louis Oosthuizen and the British amateur champion Aldrich Potgieter.
Only three South Africans have won this prestigious tournament: Gary Player (1961, 1974 and 1978), Trevor Immelman (2009) and Schwartzel (2011).
Potgieter is only 18 years old and it will be a huge baptism of fire for the young man from Mossel Bay.
Oosthuizen, the winner of the British Open in 2010, is like Schwartzel these days an LIV player who before his move to Greg Norman’s Saudi Arabian financed series was considered one of the world’s best.
However, there is a big question mark over the level of play of participating LIV players, as they have played in barely a dozen tournaments in the last ten months or so.
What is a given, however, is that all the LIV players have the talents to be crowned champions on Sunday. They have all shown this on many occasions over the years on many of the world’s golf courses.
Despite the troubled relationship between the PGA and LIV series, the players of the new series have been warmly welcomed at Augusta in the past few days.
According to the world’s top three players, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, they harbor no ill feelings towards the LIV players and are at Augusta to play golf and for nothing else.
“I’m here to enjoy myself and give the best performance I can. If it’s good enough to win, I’ll be in my element,” said Scheffler, last year’s champion.
Rahm does not mind the presence of the LIV players either and says he would like to follow in the footsteps of his compatriots Severiano Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Garcia who have already tasted success on the magical Augusta course.
“I’ve been playing good golf so far this year and hope I can maintain that level of play this week,” Rahm said. He has already won three times in the American PGA Series this season.
McIlroy is looking for a Masters title to complete the Grand Slam of all four Major titles.
“Yes, that is my goal and I feel ready to do it this year. But Scottie and Jon, as well as quite a few other players, are well on their way and it won’t be easy,” said McIlroy about his chances of winning.
The Northern Irishman also warned that golf’s golden boy, Tiger Woods, should not be underestimated. He practiced with the Yank on Monday and saw firsthand that Tiger has lost none of his talents. Woods has won this tournament five times.
“He hits the ball just as well as in the old days. No one will be reassured about the last nine holes on Sunday if Tiger is also in the race.”
However, Woods, a 15-time Major champion, does not have the same expectations.
“My level of play is better than last year, but I have more pain in my leg than then. I don’t know how much longer I can keep trying to play at the highest level,” Woods said.
