Storm clouds still gather but a Masters thriller can clear air

Golf is beset by never-ending political machinations and a rare meeting of world's best is a chance to regain the plot

- Ewan Murray

There will be apposite about the gathering of storm something clouds above Augusta National on this morning. You wait 264 days for a major championship round and the weather gods have other ideas. If forecasts are to be believed, competitors will be sheltering until lunchtime rather than pursuing a Green Jacket. The Open Championship last July ended in a squall; the 88th Masters will get underway in one.

Augusta needs a successful Masters to demonstrate the outstanding beauty of this golf course to the world. They take that showcasing very seriously here. The sport itself requires a memorable tournament to allow disaffected onlookers to fall back in love. Golf boomed during the pandemic and participation numbers remain high; the trouble is that infighting, exorbitant payments and everything else associated with a civil war has turned off everyone beyond dedicated followers. Momentum has been lost. Vulgarity attached to LIV's rampage on to the scene has proved hugely unattractive. It is very easy to adore golf but find little appeal in the way it operates at the top level.

The sight of Greg Norman glad-handing around Augusta's clubhouse yesterday will be seen as the latest indication of a thawing of relations between LIV and the traditional ecosystem it has sent into a tailspin. He was previously persona non grata at a venue which caused him considerable heartache as a player. Now, there is quiet acceptance LIV is not going anywhere soon. In fact, it is likely to expand into fresh geographical territory from 2025.