LIV Golfer Admits 2023 Masters 'Could Be My Last One'
Thomas Pieters conceded this year's Masters could be his last with his world ranking set to take a hit
As LIV Golf's wait to be recognised by the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) continues, Thomas Pieters admits his days of teeing it up at The Masters could be numbered.
Players on the breakaway circuit are currently banned from the PGA Tour and were dealt another blow after a report emerged that the DP World Tour has won its panel hearing against LIV players.
That leaves limited opportunities for the likes of Pieters, the World No. 44 who joined Bubba Watson's Range Goats ahead of the 2023 LIV Golf League, to earn ranking points.
The Belgian has played in The Masters three times, finishing in a tie for fourth on debut in 2017, and is out to savour what could be his last appearance at Augusta National for the Green Jacket showdown.
"Not really," Pieters said, when asked is he was concerned about his world ranking plummeting. "It's always nice to be here. Obviously family's here, mum and dad are even here. First time for them, so that's pretty cool.
"I took my parents here because it could be my last one. That's just being realistic. I don't know. Time will tell. We'll see."
Much has been made in the build-up of the divide that has fractured the men's game between players on the traditional tours and those who left to join the Saudi-funded circuit. Harold Varner was one of the defectors in 2022 and hit out at what he feels has been media bias against LIV Golf, a sentiment Pieters echoed.
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"I haven't felt any tension," he added. "It's just nice to see them [PGA and DP World Tour players] again. Yeah, it's nice to see them again. The media's making it much of a bigger thing than it really is."
Pieters is out with Shane Lowry - whom he played a practice round with - and Mackenzie Highes for rounds one and two, and gets underway at 9.36am local time (3.36pm BST) on Thursday.
A lifelong golf fan, Andy graduated in 2019 with a degree in Sports Journalism and got his first role in the industry as the Instruction Editor for National Club Golfer. From there, he decided to go freelance and now covers a variety of topics for Golf Monthly.
Andy took up the game at the age of seven and even harboured ambitions of a career in the professional ranks for a spell. That didn’t pan out, but he still enjoys his weekend golf at Royal Troon and holds a scratch handicap. As a side note, he's made five holes-in-one and could quite possibly be Retief Goosen’s biggest fan.
As well as the above, some of Andy's work has featured on websites such as goal.com, dailyrecord.co.uk, and theopen.com.
What's in Andy's bag?
Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero (9°)
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15°)
Driving iron: Titleist U500 (17°)
Irons: Mizuno mp32 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (50°, 54° and 58°)
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2.5
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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