LIV Golf stars dug out over ‘etiquette’ at Masters

European Ryder Cup hero Padraig Harrington has raised issues regarding the conduct of LIV Golf players at the Masters, after observing Jon Rahm and his colleagues at Augusta.

Rahm, along with 12 other LIV stars, competed at Augusta National in April, with the Spaniard returning as the reigning champion. However, the 2023 green jacket winner’s performance was less than stellar, finishing the week 20 shots behind champion Scottie Scheffler – tied for 45th place at nine-over-par.

Rahm’s frustrations were evident throughout the tournament, particularly during the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday, as challenging conditions made the already demanding Augusta course even more difficult.

Most notably, Rahm had a tantrum on the 18th tee during the first round after missing the fairway to the right. The Legion XIII captain unleashed a string of expletives before reluctantly making his way up the fairway to his errant tee shot. But the Spaniard wasn’t the only one venting his frustrations.

Tyrrell Hatton, Rahm’s LIV Golf team-mate, was also caught off guard by TV microphones – uttering the F-bomb during his third round alongside Tiger Woods. After their switch to the Saudi circuit earlier this year, both Rahm and Hatton were told they would not face penalties for swearing on the course – a stark contrast to the PGA Tour.

And having witnessed their language at the opening major of the year, their ex-European Ryder Cup captain Harrington wasn’t too impressed. He told the Rough Cut Podcast: “There was quite a bit of – on the Masters last week, there was an awful lot of extra expletives from LIV players.

“Clearly LIV players don’t get fined for expletives, and I’m not saying they’re encouraged, but they’re certainly not discouraged from doing it. So it was interesting that there was those players who might have held back in the past who are now LIV players were letting go fully.

“I don’t mind the odd bit of cursing and a bit of that, but it was a little – you know, you got to – there’s got to be some sort of restriction on it in some way. So that was interesting. I’m just saying that that’s not a big deal or anything. “

Harrington went onto admit that he prides himself on maintaining his etiquette levels whilst in action, and is hoping those on the Saudi-backed circuit clean up their language. “Yeah, there’s no hold back on LIV on that and maybe, you know, that’s something that I don’t want to see going into the game,” he added.

“I would have been very, very strong – and I still am strong on the etiquette of the game. And I wouldn’t break a club and I would certainly try not to curse or do any of that sort of stuff. But I’ve mellowed a bit that I don’t mind what any other player does as long as he doesn’t damage the golf course or affect his playing partners.

“So I have no problem If another player want to break 14 clubs, I’ll actually laugh at him. It’s no problem. But I’m not happy if he decides to smash up a piece of ground on the golf course, you know.

“So anything you want to do to yourself, well… that’s fine. And as I said, I think most players find it funny when we see another player losing the head. But there definitely has to be some moderation on it. There was a little bit too much of it.”