Golf landscape still unequal as LIV winner Dean Burmester misses Masters ‘cut’

It’s the Masters this week; for many the biggest and best golf tournament of the year.

It’s a unique event with all former champions allowed to tee it up on the Thursday, while invites are also sent out to some players.

It is somewhat odd though that the winner of the last PGA Tour tournament before the Masters, Akshay Bhatia of the USA, who won the Texas Open on Sunday, has won himself an invite to play at Augusta National, but the winner of the Miami LIV Golf Tour event, South Africa’s own Dean Burmester, hasn’t been invited.

Other LIV players though including Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith – all Major winners, but not Masters winners – will tee it up.

Former winners at Augusta who now play LIV golf who’ll also be in action include Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson and defending champion Jon Rahm.

R75 million payday

For the record Burmester, the current SA Open champion and a man who’s won several times on the DP World (European) Tour, banked R75 million for winning the LIV event in Miami on Sunday, after a playoff victory against Garcia.

Burmester is a quality golfer who’s been threatening to win a big event fort some time, but the fact he won’t be at Augusta, but Bhatia will, shows just how unequal the golfing landscape is since the establishment of LIV Golf and the squabble that’s followed.

SA players at Augusta

The golfing “war” is not good for the game and the sooner it gets sorted out and the whole issue of world ranking points is cleared up the better, for all in golf.

Since winning the Masters last year, Rahm “defected” to LIV so you can be sure there will be plenty spoken about that this week in commentary.

Another South African LIV player, Charl Schwartzel, will also be in action at Augusta, looking to win a second Major, after capturing the title in 2011. For the record, he was LIV Golf’s first tournament winner back in 2022.

The two other South Africans in the limited field this week are Erik van Rooyen, by qualification, and the promising amateur Christo Lamprecht, who led the 2023 Open after the first round.

But, how cool wouldn’t it have been if Burmester, too, got an invite to the 88th Masters starting Thursday.