LIV themes dominated the Open gathering after Greg Norman, who fronts the Saudi-backed tour, was not invited to previous Champions events at St Andrews. Phil Mickelson, a high-profile LIV convert, was another notable absentee. After Tiger Woods spoke out strongly against the idea of LIV on Tuesday, Slumbers has now followed suit. “I strongly believe that the existing golf ecosystem has successfully provided stable pathways for golfers to enter the sport and develop and reach their full potential,” Slumbers said. “Professional golfers have the right to choose where they want to play and accept the prize money offered to them. I have absolutely no problem with that. But there is no such thing as a free lunch. I believe the model we have seen in Centurion and Pumpkin Ridge [for LIV tournaments] it is not in the best long-term interest of the sport as a whole and is entirely based on money. We believe it undermines the value-based culture and spirit of open competition that makes golf so special. “I would also like to say that in my opinion the continued commentary that this is ‘developing the game’ is simply not credible and, if nothing else, damages the perception of our sport, which we work so hard to improve.” . Regarding that very event, Slumbers added: “Looking at next year’s Open, we’ve been asked quite often about player disqualification. Let me be very clear. This is not on our agenda. But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and eligibility criteria for the Open. Martin Slumbers speaks to the press at St Andrews on the eve of the Open. Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images “And while we do this every year, we absolutely reserve the right to make changes as the Open Championship committee sees fit. Players have to earn their place in the Open and that is fundamental to its ethos and its unique global appeal.” World ranking position is intrinsically linked to Open qualification. Slumbers sits on the board of the Official World Golf Ranking, which met this week in St Andrews to discuss LIV’s bid to gain a spot. The OWGR technical committee also held talks on the same issue. Chances are LIV faces a long wait before OWGR points are awarded, if at all. Slumbers declined to comment on this matter. “That question should be addressed to the OWGR president,” he said. But the chief executive defended the move to ban Norman from a past four-hole challenge and dinner. At the latter, Rory McIlroy and Woods became honorary members of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. Both were ardent in their opposition to LIV. Quick guide
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Thanks for your response. “This is a very important week for golf,” added Slumbers. “This is the oldest league. It’s the original league. We are absolutely determined to make sure this goes down in history as the 150th Open. We decided, based on the noise I was getting from many sources, that this would be potentially unlikely. We decided we didn’t want the distraction. We wanted to make sure the conversation was about this week and playing golf and balls in the air tomorrow and the golf champ on Sunday. “Greg hasn’t been here since 2010. He didn’t come in 2015. In fact, it’s been years since he’s been to the Open. So there would be another reason for it. So it was very clear to protect the integrity of this week.”
