The 10 best Masters shots of all time

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The Masters is decorated with incredible shots, all of which are made more spectacular by their surroundings.

We’ve trawled the Augusta archives and picked out 10 of the best Masters shots of all time—however, with the proviso that many of the greatest shots took place before the arrival of YouTube in 2005.

Sadly, for example, there’s no actual footage of Gene Sarazen’s famous albatross in 1935, though there are plenty of other highlights to fill the void before the year’s first Major gets underway.

In no particular order, check out our top 10 best Masters shots of all time below. Which one is your favourite?

 

The 10 best Masters shots of all time

best masters shots

 

1. Larry Mize chips in (1987)

The beauty of miracle shots like Larry Mize’s 140-foot chip-in is that they generally follow something very forgettable. The American’s fanned approach to the 11th was so bad that a four looked highly unlikely, let alone what happened next.

Greg Norman, who had seen Jack Nicklaus pinch the Green Jacket from under his nose the previous year when he led all four Majors on the Saturday night, was the one on the receiving end again. Seve Ballesteros would bogey the 10th to leave Norman and Mize to battle it out—and the local, who had worked on the scoreboard on the 3rd hole growing up, did the unthinkable—and Norman’s putt never looked like going in.

“I hit it, and I’m frozen watching it. It goes in the hole, and I throw my club up, and I ran around screaming like a madman—it was total elation,” Mize recalls. “I’ve never really been close to that spot again—that I can remember—and if I hit it there in a practice round, I would move it, I wouldn’t play it. It’s just such a great memory, I don’t want to ruin it… I did it when I needed to and I want to keep that memory pure.”

Mize played his final competitive round at Augusta in 2023.

 

2. Bubba Watson’s wonder shot from the pine straw (2012)

Every year, a collection of savvy Augusta patrons will break off and head to a spot in the woods to the side of the 10th hole. It’s from here, down in the pine straw, that Gerry Lester ‘Bubba’ Watson would snap hook a short iron around a magnolia tree to just 12 feet from 155 yards—in a sudden-death play-off for the Masters in 2012.

Given this was before the days of any ball tracer, the biggest giveaway of quite how ridiculous this shot was, came via the reaction of the ball when it screwed sideways upon landing on the putting surface.

On the other end of this brilliance was Louis Oosthuizen, who had earlier made an albatross at the 2nd. The South African would bogey the hole, and Watson would two-putt for the first of his two Green Jackets. 

“The platform that I’ve been given now hitting that shot, the ability to play the Masters for the rest of my life,” Watson said. “There’s just so many things that happen in those moments, and it just means a lot to my family and me.”

Watson hasn’t replayed the shot but a tree now marks the spot.

 

3. Phil Mickelson, again from the pine straw (2010)

Even Phil Mickelson recognises that his 6-iron recovery from the pine straw in 2010 may not have been as difficult as it first appeared, but it was certainly THE shot of the tournament that year—and still, in our view, one of the best Masters shots of all time.

The left-hander had a comfortable lead over Lee Westwood and 207 yards to the hole, but Phil being Phil, he took on the shot and hit it to a few feet. And, Phil being Phil again, missed the putt. He wouldn’t drop a shot all day and would sign for a 67, a three-shot win and a third Green Jacket.

“I had to hit a shot between those two trees, whether I laid up or went for the green, and I just decided to hit it 90 yards farther than a lay-up. I just felt like a good 6-iron was going to be plenty. It was a shot where I kept saying, if I just trust my swing, I’ll pull it off. And I made a good swing, went right at the pin,” Mickelson explained after his round.

“Certainly, it was critical, and it was clutch, and it came through at a great time, but it wasn’t anywhere near as hard as some other shots. It may have looked hard, but there was a pretty good-sized gap between those trees and a pretty good lie. It was just a 6-iron, a lot of green left.”

 

4. Sandy Lyle and that bunker shot (1988)

Two years before hitting one of the best Masters shots we’ve ever seen from the bunker, Sandy Lyle had the best seat in the house when he played in the same two-ball as Jack Nicklaus. The Scot had won The Open, but no Brit had yet captured The Masters, and Lyle had endured a bumpy back nine when he came to the 18th.

“The iron was the chosen weapon for the 18th tee; it was 245-250 yards uphill, so that was supposed to be short of the bunker. As we all know, that didn’t quite work out, but since the bunker shot was executed and I made the putt, I’ve had a lot of mileage out of it.”

Lyle would hit a 7-iron recovery from a spot in the sand that now-retired chairman Billy Payne always takes anyone playing the hole to. It would be a remarkable second birdie in the last three holes to edge out Mark Calcavecchia.

“I knew that Arnold Palmer at the time was the only guy to make three up the last to win. That really wasn’t in my mind. I was playing for a play-off. It would be horrifying to go all that week and then lose out with a bogey at the last. People remember, even 30 years later, what they were doing. There isn’t a week that goes by out here in America where someone doesn’t ask about it. They all remember it as an unusual, iconic shot.”

 

5. Jack Nicklaus eagles 15 (1986)

Skip to 1:37:58 to see the shot

It’s almost impossible to pick out a single moment from Nicklaus’ iconic victory at the age of 46. When the Golden Bear was stood in the middle of the 15th fairway, he was four shots back, but by the time his ball had descended onto the green, pin high and 12 feet away, the whole of Augusta National believed that this could actually happen.

Nicklaus would make the eagle putt, almost hole out at the next, and also birdie 17 en route to a back nine of just 30 strokes. 

“I hit a really good drive at 15. I turned to Jackie (his son and caddy), and said, ‘How far do you think a three will go here? And I don’t mean a club.’ He said, ‘I think it will go a long way.’ I hit a 4-iron and knocked it in 12 feet left of the hole. I made that putt.”

Seve would fat his approach to the same hole into the water, Tom Kite would narrowly miss his birdie at the last, and Greg Norman would make a horrible bogey. Nicklaus would move to 18 Majors in perhaps the biggest stand-out victory of all time. 

“That’s the day the no-running rule was totally violated. I mean, women with heels were running. People were abandoning their pimento cheese stations. Because you had to see it, you had to be there,” said Sports IIlustrated’s Rick Reilly.

 

6. Nick Faldo’s 2-iron to 13 (1996)

Skip to 1:30:26 to see the shot

Nick Faldo’s turnaround in 1996 was remarkable for many reasons—he would reel in Greg Norman from six shots back at a time when he was ranked ninth in the world. The Aussie was the clear #1 come the 13th, but Faldo now led by two as he would deliberate for minutes over his approach to the par 5.

Norman was in the pine straw and had punched out, while Faldo had found the fairway, albeit on a hanging lie.

“All week, I carried a 5-wood; an old persimmon 5-wood which I hit 215 yards every time. On all the par 5s, at 2, 13 and 15 during the practice rounds, Fanny (Sunesson) dropped a ball at 215 yards and I hit my 5-wood. Amazingly, I didn’t use it at all during the week until the 13th on Sunday, when I had 215 yards to the middle. So I grabbed my 5-wood, but it would not sit flat on that sloping fairway. I wasn’t comfortable with it, so we discussed the yardages to the front, middle and back. I then decided to hit a 2-iron, and I nailed it—I knew that I had ripped it straightaway, I hit it sweet. It was very solid. It was one of the shots of my lifetime, let alone that day.”

 

7. Tiger Woods’ ‘In your life’ moment (2005)

No list of the best Masters shots would be complete without this one, would it?

Woods came to the 16th hole one shot ahead of playing partner Chris DiMarco. Their nearest rivals would finish a distant seven shots back.

If the shot was out of this world, the commentary somehow matched it when the ball lingered on the hole side, with the Nike swoosh never having a better time of it. Verne Lundquist would gasp, “In your life, have you seen anything like that?” as it finally dropped. 

It’s hard to put into words how difficult this shot actually was. Woods couldn’t see the hole from beyond the green, so he would have to aim 25 feet left of the flag, get the precise contact to get the precise amount of spin, and then take the ridge at dead weight.

The shot would give him a two-shot lead, which he would relinquish over the closing holes, but a birdie at the first extra hole would secure his fourth Green Jacket and ninth Major title. 

Bizarrely, Woods has never been back to that spot to replay it. “They have since redesigned that hole, that green. So it’s not how it used to be over there,” he has said.

 

8. Ian Woosnam overpowers the 18th (1991)

Skip to 2:25:45 to see the shot

You might argue that Ian Woosnam was well ahead of his time with his approach. If he got the chance to get the driver out, he hit it and hit it hard.

At the Masters in 1991, the Welshman had seen his lead slip away on the back nine, but he came to the 18th level with Tom Watson and José María Olazábal. The Spaniard would double it, and Watson would find the trees off the tee, while Woosnam would take a different approach altogether. His tee shot was pummelled well over the famous fairway bunkers at 260 yards, with a steel-shafted Persimmon driver to leave just an 8-iron in. Supposedly, he would pull a muscle in his forearm celebrating the winning putt.

“I was always taught to swing around my head. It was just sort of a turn and a turn. The stiller I kept my head, the better it was,” he said. “I can only explain it like tightening up a spring and releasing it. That’s what I tried to do in my swing. I wanted to get the club to the top of the backswing, and if I put it in the right position, I could hit it as hard as I possibly could without hitting it too far offline.”

 

9. Jack Nicklaus drains a monster at 16 (1975)

It’s not often that you get the three greatest players all leading the way going into the final round at Augusta. “Only the nearest of kin could have been watching the other 43,” wrote Hubert Mizell.

In the lead was Tom Weiskopf, fresh from a morning 66 and three times a runner-up at Augusta, to be followed by Nicklaus, who had led by five at the halfway point. Then there was the prolific winner Johnny Miller, who many thought was the best in the world at the time.

At the 16th, the Golden Bear would leave his 5-iron tee shot 40 feet shy but then produce one of the best Masters shots of all time and one of the tournament’s most iconic moments by rolling it in.

Playing partner Tom Watson would make a quadruple-bogey seven. “To know you can look back someday and know you were a part of something like it, that’s just great,” remembers Nicklaus, who would be winning the 13th of his 18 Majors.

 

10. Louis Oosthuizen makes albatross (2012)

You think you’ve seen everything at Augusta, then Oosthuizen records an albatross in the final round in 2012—undoubtedly one of the tournament’s greatest moments and best Masters shots of all time.

The South African was playing in the penultimate group with Bubba Watson when he picked up an incredible three shots in just a few moments. It would be just the fourth double eagle in Masters history and the first at the par-5 2nd.

“It was about 210 yards to the front and 235 to the flag. That was a good 4‑iron for me. I needed to pitch it about five, six paces on the green, and I knew if I got it right, it’s going to feed towards the hole. But I never thought it would go in,” explains Oosthuizen. “It was tough after that; when something like that happens early in your round, you think that’s it. That was my first double‑eagle ever. It was tough for the next five holes to just get my head around it and play the course.”

He and Watson would eventually go to a play-off where another piece of Masters magic would take place.

Why do golfers shout fore?

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According to the USGA, the word ‘fore’ originated in Scotland and is an abbreviated version of ‘before’ or ‘afore’. But ‘why do golfers shout fore?’ you might ask.

The USGA website goes on to state: “The old Scottish warning, essentially meaning ‘look out ahead’ most probably originated in military circles, where it was used by artillery men as a warning to troops in forward positions. Golfers as early as the 18th century simply adopted this military warning cry for use on the links.”

 

Why do golfers shout fore?

why do golfers shout fore

A likely derivation is related to the term ‘forecaddie’.

In years gone by, a forecaddie was employed to stand where the ball might land to avoid losing them. Given that golf balls were originally handmade and custom ordered, they represented a large expense, so forecaddies held a key role in holding on to your prized golf balls.

Records dating back to the 17th century support this link, and ‘forecaddie’ was subsequently shortened to ‘fore’, presumably because it was quicker to shout ahead of an incoming golf ball. 

 

Why do golfers shout fore? The Rules

why do golfers shout fore

The more modern-day Rules of Golf cover the need to shout ‘fore’ as early as Section 1.2a: Conduct Expected of All Players. This states that players are expected to play in the spirit of the game by “showing consideration to others.”

For example, by playing at a prompt pace, looking out for the safety of others, and not distracting the play of another player. If a player plays a ball in a direction where there might be a danger of hitting someone, they should immediately shout a warning, such as the traditional warning of “fore”.

However, it also states that “there is no penalty under the Rules for failing to act in this way, except that the Committee may disqualify a player for acting contrary to the spirit of the game if it finds that the player has committed serious misconduct.”

And herein lies a problem, you could say. Golfers are expected to shout ‘fore’ if there’s even the remotest chance of hitting someone, but the lack of a set penalty can lead to a multitude of excuses—for amateurs, at least.

Golfers will plead that they lost sight of the ball, didn’t realise they could reach a certain distance, weren’t aware there was another group on another hole, or were maybe just too embarrassed by their poor shot—all of which would be fairly irritating if you’re the person on the wrong end of a Pro V1 that hits you mid-flight.

There’s absolutely no excuse for the professionals, though, particularly at the very top of the game where you’ve got caddies and marshals.

We do sometimes have the occasional example where a pro might not shout in the hope it’ll stop their ball from running into more trouble, or where they might even aim to hit one into the grandstand, knowing it’ll give them a free drop from a more preferable position.

Some players, like Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, for example, are able to pull off an amusing point of the arm to signal a wide shot, and generally, there seems to be less public shaming of players who can’t open their mouths in time.

 

Fore controversy at the 2019 Open Championship

However, one of the more public fall-outs came at the 2019 Open when Bob MacIntyre did the unthinkable and called out his playing partner, Kyle Stanley, at Royal Portrush.

The Scot was playing in his first Open when Stanley hit a wide one off the 17th tee during the second round, and the ball hit and bruised the hand of his caddy’s mother. According to MacIntyre, there was no shout of ‘fore’. 

He told the press at the time: “We’re shouting as it’s coming into the crowd, and he’s just standing watching it. People don’t have enough time to react after we shout. It hits my caddy’s mom. And so I told them how it was. I said I wasn’t happy and I didn’t really like the response. He’s the only one I’ve seen. Straight in the crowd. It was in the crowd from the word go. And we expect them to shout ‘fore’.

“He didn’t take it well at all. Just shout, simple as that. People are diving out of the way of things when they should have more time.”

However, Stanley claimed that there had been plenty of warning that the tee shot was coming their way.

He responded: “Several people on the tee box yelled fore. My two playing partners, my caddy, a couple of the volunteers or the marshals, even had them signalling it was going right. I mean, everyone to the right of that ball, they knew it was coming.”

MacIntyre argued that since Stanley had hit the ball first, he should have also been the one to shout ‘fore’ first.

Stanley added: “If his issue was with me not being the first person to say fore, does he have a point? Does he not have a point? That’s up to him. All I know is after I hit the ball it wasn’t but a couple of seconds when several people on the tee box started shouting fore. I thought that was enough. My intention was to never do anything negative or put anybody in the gallery in harm’s way.”

The rule, it seems, is pretty simple—if in any doubt, shout ‘fore’. Loudly.

How much is too much to pay for a round of golf?

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The article below was written by Steve Carroll of National Club Golfer.

Visitor green fees have been rapidly rising ever since the Covid barriers came down. But, asks Steve Carroll, are we in danger of pricing the domestic golfer out of an experience, and will it come back to hurt the industry?

What’s the value of an experience? For some, money is no object – the memories and the adrenalin are worth the outlay. 

For others, the prices quoted won’t represent value. The expense won’t justify the photo album. 

The cost of playing a top golf course divides between players who lap up every detail and those who think they’re being ripped off. 

If playing the very best layouts is a luxury, then we’ve been digging ever deeper since Covid barriers came down. 

Summer green fee prices at the Old Course – the barometer of the game for many – have risen by 60 per cent in three years. A June tee time which would have cost £195 in 2021 is now £320. 

The Home of Golf still comes out on the lighter side compared to the likes of Turnberry, which will cost £595 for a spin on the Ailsa during Open week. 

Of the top 10 courses in NCG’S GB&I Top 100 list, only one – Portmarnock at 275 euros – is under £300. 

But it’s not just at the top end where green fee prices have been rising. As those elite courses have upped their rates, so have those further down the ladder. 

Supply and demand, right? If people are prepared to pay, why not charge those fees? You’ve got to keep up with the Joneses too. If you’re neighbours are charging more, don’t you need to stay in step? 

Then there is the cost-of-living crisis, which has seen utility costs, and many others, surge for golf clubs. 

 

Green fee prices: Are golf clubs in danger of biting the hands that feed them?

Do you place the full burden on members or shift it so visitors are bearing more? If you can hit your budgets, while having fewer non-members on the property, isn’t that a utopia? 

The problem with this approach is it’s biting the hand that feeds you. With only half to two-thirds of revenue at the average club arriving from member subscriptions, visitor green fees are a vital part of the overall pie.

In some vocal corners of the internet, there is a growing feeling the travelling golfer is being asked to bear too much. 

David Jones, better known as UK Golf Guy, told a recent episode of The NCG Golf Podcast that while Scottish venues such as Muirfield and North Berwick were still crammed, in England and parts of Ireland it was a different story. 

“I think there are fewer domestic golfers playing those particular top courses,” he said. “But I don’t know if the clubs mind.” 

On the same podcast, Tom Irwin, revealed that for our NCG Top 100s Tour there was a clear price ceiling which people wouldn’t breach.  

“Even for an Open venue, once we go beyond £200 and certainly £250, it becomes very difficult for us to sell those courses at that price – because they are priced for Americans.” 

All well and good while golf continues to boom, and international travellers come over in numbers. What about when they have done those dream trips? Or if a stray bat grounds planes and keeps us tied closer to our homes again? 

It’s a romantic notion to say the very best courses have a responsibility to remain accessible – that it is the very fact the average player can dream of treading the same steps as iconic legends of the game that makes golf so special on this side of the pond. 

But clubs must tread carefully on green fee prices. Because there is an old saying – you can shear a sheep many times but skin it once. Our very best courses need to be ensure the domestic market doesn’t decide it’s being fleeced.  

Should you put a price on the heart of golf? 

What are the key rules beginner golfers should know?

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The article below was written by Matt Coles of National Club Golfer.

How many clubs can I carry? Can I pick up and clean my ball? Can I tee my ball up anywhere? Here are some of the rules that beginner golfers have to know!

For golfers just starting out, learning the Rules of Golf can be just as difficult as consistently putting a clubhead on to the ball.

How many clubs can you carry? What happens when you lose your golf ball?

Hannah Holden took the time to explain some of the key rules, and why they’re so important for beginner golfers to get to grips with them.

You can watch the video below, or scroll on down to see a baker’s dozen of important rules and golf etiquette revealed…

 

The rules every beginner golfer needs to know

How many clubs am I allowed to carry?

Yes, there is a limit! You can only carry a maximum of 14 clubs. You can choose to carry less, but have any more than 14 in the bag and you’ll be getting a penalty.

 

Where and how do I start?

How do you start playing a hole? By playing a ball from anywhere inside the teeing area. A ball is classed as being in that area if any part of it touches or is above part of the teeing area.

You can use a tee, or you can play it from the ground, and you’re under way when you make a stroke to begin the hole.

This bit is important. A stroke is defined as the forward movement of the club made to strike the ball. So, even if you miss it entirely, it counts a stroke. Add one to your score.

 

Can I tee it up everywhere on the course?

No. The only time you can place the ball on a tee is when you are in the teeing area. Everywhere else on the golf course, the ball must normally be played as it lies – whether that is in the fairway, rough, bunker, or on the green.

 

I’ve lost my golf ball…

What if you can’t find your ball? Once a three minute search time has elapsed, you’ll have to take stroke-and-distance relief. That means going back to where you played your previous shot and hitting another ball.

For instance, you’ve hit your drive offline and you can’t find your ball in the rough. If you haven’t already played a provisional ball, you would have to go back to the teeing area and put another ball into play.

This is now your third shot, as you’ve hit off the tee, incurred a penalty stroke for taking stroke-and-distance relief, and have played from the tee once more.

 

Where does my golf bag go?

You have made it on to the green, but does your golf bag come with you? We don’t want to put it in the way, or too far out of the way so we are slowing down golfers behind.

If you can, always try and put your golf bag between the flag and the next tee, so it is on your way as you leave the putting surface. Just make sure your bag never goes on the green!

 

How do I know whose turn it is?

Ah, the honour. Traditionally, the person with the lowest gross score on the previous hole is the first player to tee off.

As the hole develops, the player who is furthest from the hole usually players first. Many golfers, though, adopt a mantra of ‘ready golf’.

If someone else in the group is ready, and it is safe to play, they can hit their shot to keep the game moving.

 

My ball has made a pitch mark on the green – what now?

The greens are usually the most receptive bits of turf on the golf course. These can also mean a golf ball coming from a high trajectory can cause marks and indentations in the ground.

If you get to the green and find your ball has done this then it is correct etiquette repair it. Normally you’ll use a pitch mark repairer but you can also use a tee.

This is done to make sure the green is in as good a shape as possible for the next group, and there are no big indentations after you’ve finished the hole that can damage the putting surface if left unattended.

 

Can I clean my ball when it’s on the green?

Yes, you are allowed to mark your ball and clean it before putting. You can place your ball marker behind the ball, you can use a tee if you wish, and you can then lift the ball.

When you’re done, place the ball back on the same spot, remove the marker, and away you go!

 

Can I move the flag?

When you are on the green, does the flagstick have to stay in the hole?

This is entirely your choice. You can putt with the flag in. You can also remove it. If you’re a long way from the hole, you can ask a playing partner to ‘attend the flag’.

This means they hold the flagstick until the ball gets closer to the hole, and then remove it. If the ball hits the flagstick, or the person attending it, a penalty will ensue if that was done deliberately.

 

I’m on the green, but the wrong one…

This happens more than you might think! You’re not allowed to play from a wrong green and must take relief.

You need to find the nearest point of complete relief from interference from the wrong green – that includes stance and area of intended swing – it that can be no nearer the hole you are playing.

You drop the ball, from knee height, into a one-club relief area.

 

How many can we have in a group?

Most clubs will only allow a maximum of four people in a group. If you are in a fourball and there are ones and twos behind, the Rules say players are encouraged to allow faster groups to play through. Step to the side and wave them on.

55 and out: R&A changes exemption rules for past Open champions

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The article below was written by Steve Carroll of National Club Golfer.

The age at which past champions can play at The Open has been altered by the R&A, while there was no good news for LIV players as exemption changes were announced.

When you pick up the Claret Jug, you get more than just golf’s most distinctive trophy. You get to come back and play The Open as a past champion for decades to come.

Who can forget those memorable moments on the Swilcan Bridge at St Andrews as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson said goodbye to the game’s oldest major?

But from this year’s event at Royal Troon, the R&A have changed the Champions’ exemption category. From now on, players who win The Open will only be exempt until they are 55.

Past champions have previously been able to play until they are 60 and those currently exempt under that arrangement will continue to do so.

Whoever wins on the Ayrshire coast this time around, though, will get five years less than Brian Harman, who tamed the weather and Royal Liverpool last summer.

 

Open champions exemption changes: How does The Open compare with other majors – and what about LIV?

The Masters gives former winners lifetime invitations to the opening major of the year, while all former winners of the PGA Championship can compete. The US Open is the most stringent, with winners’ exemptions expiring after 10 years.

While LIV golfers may be clamouring for major invites, the R&A have announced no explicit changes that would benefit the breakaway Saudi tour.

There were reports last autumn the league had been in talks with the governing body about the prospects of places in the field – with The Telegraph writing they had asked for 12 spots.

But a new exemption will offer players competing on the Asian Tour, the Japan Golf Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Sunshine Tour the opportunity to qualify through the International Federation Ranking list.

The leading five golfers as of the closing date of entries will be awarded places in The Open. With LIV golfers frequently taking up Asian Tour spots in a bid to gain world ranking points, that may offer another route for those seeking to avoid a trip to qualifying. Andy Ogletree is second on that list.

An exemption for the Africa Amateur Champion has also been added. It will be taken up this year by Altin van der Merwe after his victory in the inaugural championship at Leopard Creek.

The R&A have also confirmed Michael Hendry has been granted a medical exemption to play at Royal Troon. He had been unable to play at Hoylake because of serious illness.

Rory McIlroy’s rage over PGA Tour-LIV merger caught on Full Swing series

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The article below was written by Matt Chivers of National Club Golfer.

Rory McIlroy’s live reaction to the news of the PGA Tour’s merger with the Public Investment Fund was caught by the Netflix Full Swing cameras.

“F*** it, do what you want to do” were the words of Rory McIlroy after discovering the PGA Tour’s agreement with the Public Investment Fund.

McIlroy’s rage at the tour’s stunning new alliance with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that bankrolls LIV Golf was made clear in season two of Netflix’s Full Swing.

Despite months of hostility between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the leaders of these entities revealed a framework agreement which is yet to be fully solidified.

“There is a palpable vibe of confusion and anger because we have very little information right now apart from basically, entered into an agreement, don’t know what that agreement’s going to involve,” McIlroy said.

“What happened?” McIlroy added in the next scene. “How did you get from not knowing this guy, not meeting this guy to signing what is probably the biggest deal in the history of professional golf?

“You get dragged into these things from time to time and I’ve been dragged in in a big way, but I’m almost at the point of, ‘F*** it, do what you want to do’.

“It was all sprung in us so quickly. Everyone was blindsided by it. I think that created a lot of anger and confusion amongst the tour membership.

“Jay realised pretty quickly that the rollout of it could’ve been handled better.”

 

Rory McIlroy: Netflix cameras catch PGA Tour star in fury

The news was revealed ahead of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour where commissioner Jay Monahan also addressed the players in a meeting to which the Netflix cameras were not privy to.

Episode two also shows the stunned reactions of major champions Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa. The docu-series, which was first released in 2023, shows the tour’s membership was left in the dark about negotiations with the PIF, which was the main frustration that was reported from Monahan’s initial meeting with the players at the time.

In the ensuing press conference at the tournament, McIlroy maintained that he “hated” LIV Golf and he expected it to go away, however, he described himself as a “sacrificial lamb” too.

Since LIV Golf’s inception in June 2022, the Northern Irishman had been the PGA Tour’s loudest vocal supporter and played a key role in devising the revamped PGA Tour schedules in 2023 and 2024 in his role on the Policy Board.

The PGA Tour has introduced a series of eight Signature Events in 2024 with each event featuring a $20 million purse. The tour’s recent $3 billion deal signed with Strategic Sports Group has made the circuit’s desire to financially combat LIV Golf even starker, while also throwing the progress of talks with the PIF into doubt.

In the new season of the Netflix show, McIlroy said he was closer to Monahan than any other player on the PGA Tour.

But at the end of last year, McIlroy stepped away from the Policy Board in an effort to focus on his career, as his confidant Tiger Woods stepped into his shoes at the end of last summer as a player director.