Tom Watson killed jovial vibe at Champions see more šŸ‘‡ šŸ‘‡Ā 

Tom Watson killed jovial vibe at Champions see more šŸ‘‡ šŸ‘‡Ā  ļæ¼ AUGUSTA, Ga. ā€” In days long passed, Sam Snead would tell an off-color joke that would bring down the proceedings of theĀ annual Champions Dinner. Tom Watson broke up the gathering of past champions Tuesday night with one line about the current state of…

Tom Watson killed jovial vibe at Champions see more šŸ‘‡ šŸ‘‡Ā 

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AUGUSTA, Ga. ā€” In days long passed, Sam Snead would tell an off-color joke that would bring down the proceedings of theĀ annual Champions Dinner. Tom Watson broke up the gathering of past champions Tuesday night with one line about the current state of the game.

Watson asked Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley if it would be appropriate to say something about the second gathering of Masters champions that include players from both the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf League, which, of course, included guest of honor Jon Rahm, the 2023 winner who joined LIV in December. Ridley welcomed it.

ā€œI got up and Iā€™m looking around the room, and Iā€™m seeing just a wonderful experience everybody is having,ā€ Watson said. ā€œThey are jovial. They are having a great time. They are laughing. I said, ā€˜Ainā€™t it good to be together again?ā€™ And there was kind of a pall from the joviality, and it quieted down, and then Ray Floyd got up and it was time to leave.ā€

Of course, Watson couldnā€™t have known broaching the subject of the fracture in golf would be such a colossal rally killer, but there it is.

The two-time champion, who once again joined Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus as honorary starters Thursday morning after the start was delayed two-and-half hours, read the abrupt ending to the dinner as a hopeful sign that soon the menā€™s professional game will be reunited. Wishful thinking, perhaps?

ā€œIn a sense, I hope that the players themselves took that to say, you know, we have to do something,ā€ Watson, 74, said. ā€œWe all know itā€™s a difficult situation for professional golf right now. The players really kind of have control, I think, in a sense. What do they want to do? Weā€™ll see where it goes. We donā€™t have the information or the answers. I donā€™t think the PGA Tour or the LIV Tour really have an answer right now. I know the three of us want [the game] to get together. We want to get together like we were at that Champions Dinnerā€”happy, the best players playing against each other. The bottom line: Thatā€™s what we want in professional golf, and right now, we donā€™t have it.ā€

Nicklaus, 84, the six-time Masters champion who hosts the Memorial Tournament in suburban Columbus, Ohio, said he has purposely stayed out of the ongoing negotiations between the tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the financial backer of LIV Golf, except to ask PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan about a general progress report.

ā€œI said, ā€˜Jay, donā€™t tell me whatā€™s going on because I donā€™t want to have to lie to the press and people that ask me questions,ā€™ā€ Nicklaus said. ā€œI said, ā€˜How are you doing?ā€™ He said, ā€˜Weā€™re doing fine.ā€™ I said, ā€˜OK, thatā€™s all I want to know.ā€™ If Jay thinks weā€™re doing fine, weā€™ll get there, I think weā€™ll get there. And I certainly hope that happens; the sooner the better.ā€

Player, the eldest of the three men at 88, was more pessimistic about the outcome of a reunification, not that he didnā€™t think it was desperately needed.

ā€œItā€™s very simple. Anytime in any business whatsoever, not only in the golf business, thereā€™s confrontation, itā€™s unhealthy,ā€ the three-time Masters champion said. ā€œYouā€™ve got to get together and come to a solution. The public donā€™t like it, and we as professionals donā€™t like it, either.

ā€œBut itā€™s a big problem,ā€ Player added, ā€œbecause they paid all these guys to join the LIV Tour fortunes ā€¦ beyond oneā€™s comprehension, and the players that were loyal, three of us and others ā€¦ now these guys come back and play [on the tour], I really believe the players [that were] loyal, should be compensated in some way or another; otherwise, thereā€™s going to be dissension.ā€

Well, that will be a topic for next yearā€™s dinner. But save it for the end.

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