Southern hospitality to be put to the test at the Masters

AUGUSTA, Georgia : Southern hospitality will be put to the test at Augusta National this week when golfers from the feuding LIV Golf and PGA Tour come together for the Masters amid an uneasy truce.

Tension will be in the air along with the sweet smell of magnolias but while there has been plenty of nasty sniping in the run up to the year's first major, both sides have signalled they are keen to put their differences aside and leave the spotlight on golf.

For some that will be easier said than done.

From the moment the Saudi-backed circuit appeared on the scene last year poaching players from the PGA Tour, each side has dug in lobbing insults and lawsuits at each other.

It would seem unlikely that not even the serene Augusta National will be able to keep a lid on the hard feelings and bad blood.

While LIV golfers are banned from the PGA Tour, the Masters, like the other majors, has opened the door to those who qualify.

Sprinkled among the Masters field are 18 members of the LIV Tour, many back at Augusta as former champions which comes with a lifetime exemption and includes some of the game's most polarizing figures like Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia.

As always, ultra-private Augusta National has had little to say about the bickering, and broadcasters have indicated they will ignore the elephant in the clubhouse, but golfers have conceded there will be no escaping the issue.

"The storylines are going to be obviously LIV versus PGA Tour and all that," said 2018 Masters champion Reed, among the early group to jump to LIV. "But really, at the majors, top players in the world are going and playing against each other.

"It doesn't matter what Tour they're on. For us, at least for myself, it's going to be business as