LIV Golfers Eligible for 2023 Masters Tournament: 'Focus Is to Honor the Tradition'

The year's first major tournament will be held in 2023, if LIV golfers meet previous qualification standards.

The event explained its position.

Recent actions have divided men's professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and those who built it. We are disappointed in these developments, but our focus is to honor the tradition of bringing together a field of players.

"As invitations are sent this week, we will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the tournament." Changes to the invitation criteria for future tournaments will be announced in April, as we have said in the past.

The ruling opens the way for a number of LIV Golf's most notable names to once again take center stage.

All but one of the previous Masters winners are eligible for the tournament. All four of them are eligible because of their previous major victories.

Out of the top 50 of the World Golf Rankings, Kevin Na, Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, and Abraham Ancer are in the top 50.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf had a tense relationship.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of common ground between the competing golf leagues.

The decision by the Masters allows LIV golfers to play alongside some of the biggest names on the tour again. The LIV golfer's memberships were stripped by the PGA Tour and they weren't allowed to play in tournaments.

As he was once one of the faces of the PGA Tour, and is one of the most accomplished players in Masters history, it's no surprise that he'd be included.

He won the tournament in 2004, 2006 and 2010, and his jumping celebration after his first win remains an icon in Masters lore.

This year's tournament will be played in April and how the LIV golfers perform will be one of the biggest storylines.