Scottie Scheffler revealed on Wednesday a delicious—and playful—menu for his Masters Champions Dinner next month at Augusta National, which will include both PGA Tour and LIV golfers. He also made it clear yet again that he wishes both sides of pro golf’s civil war spent more time together.
Scheffler discussed a variety of topics on a pre-Masters conference call with reporters. When the World No. 1 was asked about the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV, he had plenty to say.
“I definitely miss the competition,” Scheffler said. “They got some pretty good players on their tour. I still think the PGA Tour has by far the best players in the world. The depth of our fields and the competition that we have is still hands down the best competition that there is in the game of golf. That’s why I’m still playing on the Tour. I love the competition. I wish some of those guys had stayed, but at the end of the day, they made their choice. They knew the consequences of that decision, and I’m not here to change their minds. I hold no ill will toward any of those guys that left.”
The two tours came together for a surprise framework agreement in June of 2023. However, the peace talks, including one recently at the White House involving President Donald Trump, seem to have stalled. And Scheffler made it clear who he thinks deserves most of the blame for the pro game not being unified again yet.
“They did what they wanted to do, and I can’t control their life,” Scheffler continued. “I’m not going to sit here and say they should have done something differently. They made their choice. If we want to figure out why the game of golf is not back together, go ask those guys. Go to wherever they are playing this week and figure out when the game is going to come back together.”
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PGA Tour and LIV golfers will be back together in a few weeks for the Masters. And last week, Laurie Canter became the first former LIV golfer to play in a PGA Tour event, missing the cut in the Players Championship. Scheffler will be trying to win a third Masters in three years after getting the green jacket slipped on him by Jon Rahm last year.
“One of the great joys of my career is going up against Jon,” Scheffler said on Wednesday. “He’s a tremendous player, tremendous talent. I was definitely surprised to see him leave last year and I for sure miss playing against him. We had some great battles over the years. We had some great battles in the Ryder Cup.
“He’s a great guy to compete against. So, I definitely miss playing against him. I wish we got to do it more often, but I definitely will soak in all the opportunities that I get to compete against him going forward.”
Main image: Jared C. Tilton
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