PGA Tour or LIV Golf: Which league will earn Masters honors, shine at Augusta National

The Masters Tournament is finally approaching. It’s a magical week that all golf fans look forward to. However, this year may be very different from previous years.

The PGA Tour is in a state of flux, forced into major changes with the advent of LIV Golf.

With so many stars leaving for LIV, the tour launched a player incentive program and created signature events that bring in significantly larger purses. This, of course, put pressure on sponsors, some of whom announced they were ending their affiliation with the PGA Tour.

It was a turbulent two years with no end in sight.

Thankfully, we can at least have all the best players in the world in one place at the same time. That begs the question. Which league will shine the brightest and send its green jacketed members to Butler’s cabin?

PGA Tour is in big trouble, needs a win

When the Saudi-funded LIV Golf arrived, tour commissioner Jay Monahan scorched the upstart league. He even took 9/11 justice on his side, considering Saudi Arabia’s connection to the 2001 terrorist attacks.

But a year later, a shocking agreement was announced between the two sides.

From there, I landed a string of public relations jobs on the PGA Tour. Since 9/11, the eyes of justice have turned to Monaghan, and rightly so. Players themselves have expressed disappointment and anger at being left in the dark.

It’s safe to say the PGA Tour could use a PR win.

Is there a better place to buy at Augusta National?

Scottie Scheffler leads a deep lineup of talented players with a shot at big trophies. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy appears to have changed direction after meeting with swing coach Butch Harmon.

Xander Schauffele has been incredibly consistent this year. Not only is Windham Clark having the best year of his career, some could argue that if he wins this week, it will be the best year in recent memory.

But what really stands out compared to LIV is the depth of the PGA Tour.

Jordan Spieth can always win any tournament. Tony Finau plays very well and knows Augusta well. Patrick Cantlay is a dog and never backs down from a challenge. Did you watch last year’s Ryder Cup?

Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Colin Morikawa, Cam Young, Sam Barnes, Max Homa, Sahit Segala, Jason Day, Adam Scott, and Brian Herman are all world-class golfers.

Anyone could win, and no one would be surprised.

Depth is on the tour side.

LIV Golf comes out on top

LIV can’t match the tour in terms of depth of talent, no matter what people online say.

That’s not up for debate.

But at the top level, you can make a very strong case that they are in better shape.

Rival Circuit currently features players who have won the last four U.S. Opens, the PGA Championship and two of the Masters Tournaments.

They are highlighted by reigning Masters Champion Jon Rahm. But when the next best option is five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, that’s impressive.

Photo credit: Keyur Khamar/PGA Tour, Getty Images

Phil Mickelson may be getting older, but his second-place finish at Augusta last year proved he can still compete. Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia are all former major champions.

They didn’t just strip talent from the PGA Tour. They took some of the best.

Coincidentally, Jaoquin Niemann may be playing better than any of those players right now.

A total of 13 LIV members are competing in this year’s Masters. All of them are legitimate threats to take home the Green Jackets.

As mentioned above, the PGA Tour requires a check mark in the PR win column. A win at Augusta will do that.

But I don’t see it. The only favorite to win the Masters this century is Tiger Woods, who has won three times. Scheffler will be in contention, but I don’t expect him to win again.

A lot of other players haven’t played well here or haven’t been doing well this week.

Meanwhile, as Garcia pointed out, LIV players are coming to make a statement.

If I were to favor one over the other, I think the scale would tip towards LIV Golf.

Kendall Capps is the senior editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through.For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough On all major social media platforms.