AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta National Golf Club chair Fred Ridley confirmed that LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman wasn't invited to attend the 87th Masters this week.

Ridley said the decision was made to ensure that attention focused on the tournament and players rather than on LIV Golf's ongoing rift with the PGA Tour.

"We did not extend an invitation to Mr. Norman," Ridley said during a news conference Wednesday. "The primary issue and the driver there is that I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating, the greatest players in the world, which, by our decision in December, we ensured that we were going to honor and be consistent with our invitation criteria."

Ridley said Norman, a former world No. 1 golfer who was a three-time runner-up in the Masters, had attended the tournament only twice in the past 10 years and had worked as an analyst for Sirius XM Radio one of those weeks.

Norman called Augusta National's decision not to invite him "petty" in an interview with The Telegraph of London this week. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley are attending the Masters.

"Funnily enough, I haven't been invited," Norman said. "As a major winner I always was before, but they only sent me a grounds pass last year and nothing, zilch, this time around. I'm disappointed because it's so petty, but of course, I'll still be watching."

LIV Golf and a handful of its players filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour last year, accusing it of using its monopoly power to quash competition and of colluding with the majors and golf's governing bodies. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation dragged Augusta National into the mess.

Norman suggested to the media in his native Australia that he would never be invited back to the Masters. Ridley wasn't ready to go that far.

"It's hard to answer that question because, you know, I don't know where the world is going to be next year or two years from now," Ridley said. "But as I stated, I would never say never. But I told you why he had not been invited this year."

There are 18 LIV Golf players competing in the Masters this week, including past champions Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia.

Ridley said the tension between some PGA Tour members and LIV Golf players seems to have subsided this week, as players from both sides seem focused on the first major championship of the season.

"The tone has been really good here this week," Ridley said. "I've noticed the players are interacting. Last night at the Champions Dinner, I would not have known that anything was going on in the world of professional golf other than the norm. So I think, and I'm hopeful, that this week might get people thinking in a little bit different direction and things will change."

Augusta National Golf Club did announce a couple of qualifying changes for the 2024 tournament, including an exemption for the current NCAA Division I men's individual champion. Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent, the reigning NCAA champion, is playing this week on a special invitation. He is the first amateur to receive a special invitation since Australia's Aaron Baddeley in 2000.

"As it relates to the NCAA champion, as I stated, that is a major amateur championship and I thought it was time that we acknowledged it," Ridley said. "And we couldn't be happier to have Gordon here this week. He's a fine young man and a heck of a player. We are codifying that now going forward."

The NCAA women's individual champion will qualify for the Augusta National Women's Amateur.

Two other qualifying changes for 2024 are related to the PGA Tour. They basically ensure that the winners of fall tournaments with a full allocation of points will earn a spot in the Masters and that players who compete in the season-ending Tour Championship will also have to be eligible to play under PGA Tour rules to qualify for the Masters.

Talor Gooch qualified for the Tour Championship last year but wasn't allowed to compete because Monahan had suspended him for playing in LIV Golf events without a conflicting-event release. Gooch would have otherwise qualified for the Masters because he was in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of last year.

"We do look at our qualifications every year, but there are changes," Ridley said. "Things are evolving, and we need to make sure that we are flexible in that regard. So I'm sure there will be changes in the future, but none beyond what I announced this morning."

Ridley also weighed in on the club's position regarding a proposed rule from the United States Golf Association and R&A that would allow tours and tournaments the option to require elite men's players to use a golf ball with limits on how far it is hit, reducing distances by about 14 to 15 yards on average for the longest hitters with the highest clubhead speeds.

The new rules, which would not affect recreational players, would take effect in January 2026 if adopted. The governing bodies are receiving feedback until Aug. 14.

"I think, in a general sense, we do support the proposal, but because it's in the middle of a comment period, it could change," Ridley said. "The whole purpose of the comment period is to take the input from the industry. So we will look at the final product and make a decision. But generally we have always been supportive of the governing bodies. I've stated that we believe distance needs to be addressed. I think the natural conclusion is, yes, we will be supportive."

Ridley noted that when he competed in the Masters from 1976 to 1978, the length of the Augusta National course was about 6,900 yards. It will play at 7,545 yards this week.

"When Tiger Woods won the tournament in 1997 for the first time, it was about that distance [6,900 yards]," Ridley said. "It wasn't until a few years later that, you know, the distance was increased: I think once, maybe a year after in '98, and then more particularly and significantly in 2002. I think what's happened since then is, while those appeared to be sort of very significant changes, and they were at the time, but over the years, players have gotten stronger. Their swings have become more efficient. The equipment has gotten better. And so it didn't take long, if at all, to catch up to those changes."

Bryce Harper has taken on-field batting practice for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last fall.

The Philadelphia Phillies said Harper hit on the field before Tuesday night's 4-1 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

A two-time National League MVP, Harper was operated on Nov. 23 and was projected to return as a designated hitter by the All-Star break. He appears to be on track for an earlier return, and Philadelphia has Harper on the 10-day injured list rather than the 60, which would have ruled him out until May 29.

"It hasn't changed," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said last week about Harper's timeline. "We just continue to be hopeful. The good thing so far is everything has been positive with his rehab."

Harper tore his ulnar collateral ligament in April 2022, forcing him to be the Phillies' designated hitter for 90 regular-season games and the entire postseason.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MIAMI -- Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. left Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning with a stinger in his right shoulder after a steal attempt.

Batting in the leadoff spot with Luis Arraez out on a scheduled day off, Chisholm led off the first with a single to right field. He got caught stealing second and appeared to get hurt after Minnesota second baseman Kyle Farmer tagged him.

Chisholm slid head-first into Farmer's left leg and remained down on the field for a few minutes after the play.

He walked off with Miami manager Skip Schumaker and a trainer. Bryan De La Cruz replaced him in center field.

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Tyler O'Neill, who was not in the lineup one day after manager Oliver Marmol criticized his baserunning effort, defended his track record as a "scrappy" player and said he wished the matter had been handled internally.

O'Neill was thrown out by Ronald Acuna Jr. at the plate with two outs and the Cardinals trailing the Braves 4-1 in the seventh inning Tuesday night. St. Louis lost the game by the same score.

Marmol took issue with O'Neill's turn around third as he attempted to score from second on a Brendan Donovan pinch-hit liner to right, saying his effort was "unacceptable."

"I got up through the minor leagues and into the big leagues playing hard and playing scrappy and, you know, that's who I am," O'Neill said Wednesday. "That's my character. ... These conversations definitely could have been had in-house and not gotten out on the loose like they have, should have been handled a little differently in my opinion, but you know, who's to say?"

O'Neill, who started four of the Cardinals' first five games of the season, was not in the lineup for Wednesday afternoon's series finale against the Braves.

Marmol declined to specify whether starting Dylan Carlson in center field instead of O'Neill was tied directly to Tuesday's play, but the Cardinals' second-year manager doubled down on his criticism before Wednesday's game.

"There's going to be a style of play that we are known for," Marmol said. "And it's going to involve effort, and it's gonna involve being relentless. It's gonna involve being smart, and we're going to keep guys to that, because that's how you sustain being good for a long time."

Marmol also said there were good players "in the clubhouse and down below, and I love competition."

The Cardinals started the switch-hitting Carlson in center field, with left-handed hitter Alec Burleson in left field and rookie Jordan Walker, a right-handed batter, in right field Wednesday against Braves right-hander Bryce Elder.

O'Neill told reporters Wednesday was a scheduled day off and still contends he was hustling on the play.

"I definitely didn't feel like I was going slower, you know, coming around third base," he said. "I was focused on taking a tight turn and, you know, it is what it is. I went back and ran the replay and I ran the clock -- I think it was second to home in about 6 1/2 seconds.

"So I don't necessarily know what big-league average is or whatever that's categorized as, but that's what I got myself at. ... Again, it was a heck of a throw and it's good baseball play on their part."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

It’s been a fine few days at Augusta National, leading into the 87^th Masters Tournament. But things are about to change, weather wise.

Temperatures will reach the upper-80s on Wednesday but, by Saturday, will barely crack 50. And there will be rain. Lots and lots of rain. Here is a look at the extended forecast for tournament week, per Augusta National:

Thursday

• High: 85 degrees
• Low: 67 degrees
• Winds: S 7-14 mph
• Rainfall: 30% chance of thunderstorms after 3 p.m.; 0.10-0.25 inches

Friday

• High: 73 degrees
• Low: 62 degrees
• Winds: ESE 4-8; shifting NE 12-18 (gusts 25 mph)
• Rainfall: 50% chance of morning showers with rain increasing to 70% in the afternoon with a few embedded thunderstorms possible; 0.50 inches

Saturday

• High: 52 degrees
• Low: 49 degrees
• Winds: NE 12-18 mph (gusts 25 mph)
• Rainfall: 90% chance of rain and could be heavy at times; 0.75-1.50 inches

Sunday

• High: 62 degrees
• Low: 47 degrees
• Winds: NE 12-18 mph (gusts 25 mph)
• Rainfall: 50% chance of morning showers; cloudy becoming partly sunny

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta National Golf Club announced three changes to its qualification criteria for the 2024 Masters.

The first is an additional invitation for the NCAA Division I individual men’s champion. Vanderbilt sophomore Gordon Sargent, who won last May at Grayhawk, was invited to play in this year’s event, and that will now be an automatic exemption moving forward – provided he remains an amateur for the Masters.

“That is a major amateur championship,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley said, “and I thought it was time that we acknowledged it. And we couldn’t be happier to have Gordon here this week; he’s a fine young man and a heck of a player. We are codifying that now going forward.”

The other two tweaks are more “administrative” in nature, Ridley said.

The players who qualify and are eligible for the previous year’s season-ending Tour Championship will be invited to the 2024 Masters. That would close a potential loophole for a player such as Talor Gooch, who qualified for East Lake via the top 30 in FedExCup points but then defected to LIV Golf last summer and was thus deemed ineligible to compete in the Tour’s postseason. (It’s worth noting that Gooch also would have been eligible for the Masters through his top-50 world ranking.)

The club also confirmed that it will invite winners of full-point PGA Tour events this fall.

Augusta’s decision to continue to rely on the top 50 in the world ranking could limit the number of LIV Golf members who participate next year. The rival circuit’s application to receive OWGR points is currently under review.  

Ridley said there have been ongoing discussions to ensure that the Masters field is “representative of the best players in the world” and was looking at other pathways for qualification on the other world tours.

“Our conclusion for the time being is that the Official World Golf Ranking, it’s a really good way to invite players,” he said. “It’s an objective criteria based on data-driven analytics, and it’s consistently applied. I think most would agree it’s a good system.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Masters chairman Fred Ridley defended the club’s decision not to invite LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman to this year’s tournament by saying that he didn’t want Norman’s presence to detract from the competition.

Norman told the Telegraph earlier this week that Augusta’s decision was “petty” after he had received a grounds pass the prior year as a former major winner.

In his annual address, however, Ridley said that Norman has only attended the Masters twice in the past decade, with one of those occasions as a working media member.

“The primary issue and the driver there is that I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating, the greatest players in the world, which, by our decision in December, we ensured that we were going to honor and be consistent with our invitation criteria,” Ridley said. “It really was to keep the focus on the competition.”

Norman said last weekend that there could be a group celebration behind the 18^th green should a LIV member go on to win the Masters. The three-time tournament runner-up said the idea gave him “goosebumps” and that he’d be the “happiest man in the world.”

In other interviews with the Australian media, Norman said that he doesn’t believe he’ll ever be welcomed back to Augusta because of his association with the Saudi-backed breakaway league.

“I would never say never,” Ridley said. “But I told you why he had not been invited this year.

“The tone has been really good here this week. I’ve noticed the players are interacting. Last night at the Champions Dinner, I would not have known that anything was going on in the world of professional golf other than the norm. So I think, and I’m hopeful, that this week might get people thinking in a little bit different direction and things will change.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – One of the week’s hot-button issues, after the inclusion of LIV Golf players into the Masters field, has been the addition of 35 extra yards to the par-5 13^th hole. During his annual press conference on Wednesday, Augusta National club chairman Fred Ridley addressed the new tee box and the motivation to build the new tee.

“The subject of the 13th hole has been a topic of discussion for several years,” Ridley said. “We believe this modification will put a driver in play more often and restore the element of risk and reward that was intended in the original design of the hole.”

Specifically, Ridley was asked his thoughts on whether the additional yardage at No. 13 will prompt more players to lay up and if that was the club’s plan.

“I think a lot of that really depends on the weather,” he said. “I think you may be right that the data will show that more players will lay up. I think for a still large number who will go for the green in two, I think it's going to be a much more challenging and a much more exciting shot.

“I certainly look forward on Sunday to having someone in competition with a 3- or 4-iron in their hand or even a hybrid hitting their shot into the 13th hole rather than an 8-iron. I think on balance it's going to prove to be the right decision.”

Ridley said he played with defending champion Scottie Scheffler earlier this fall and he hit a 5-iron in for his second shot at No. 13, but most players said it will likely be a three-shot hole based on a forecast that calls for rain starting Thursday.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Masters chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday that the club is “supportive” of the model local rule introduced by the sport’s governing bodies that would limit distance at the elite level.

The model local rule, which if adopted would go into effect in January 2026, has been a hot topic of discussion over the past few weeks, with tour player sentiment seemingly divided. Ridley said that he has asked for player feedback this week at the Masters, including at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night.  

Tiger Woods, who has long been a proponent of a rollback at the elite level, reiterated his support for the proposed rule earlier this week.

“I’ve been of the position that if you play in a pro event or you have a ‘P’ next to your name, you should be playing a pro ball,” Woods said. “Now, that’s my opinion on it. If you have an ‘A’ next to your name and you’re playing an amateur event, you should use an amateur ball. … I think this should have happened a long time ago.”

The USGA and R&A are currently in the midst of a six-month comment period, through mid-August, in which they’re soliciting feedback from the game’s stakeholders.

Ridley said that although the club wanted to be respectful of that discussion period, he noted that “we have been consistent in our support of the governing bodies, and we restate our decision to see distance addressed.”

The proposed rollback would reduce the longest hitters’ drives by about 15 to 20 yards, according to the governing bodies’ research.

“The whole purpose of the comment period is to take the input from the industry,” Ridley said. “So we will look at the final product and make a decision. But generally, we have always been supportive of the governing bodies. I’ve stated that we believe distance needs to be addressed.

“I think the natural conclusion is, yes, we will be supportive.”

The Masters’ pending decision would only put more pressure on the PGA of America and the PGA Tour to adopt the rollback, or it could create an equipment imbalance throughout the course of the season.

Ridley was also asked if, in an effort to address increased distance, the Masters would consider creating its own tournament ball.

"I don't think that's a practical solution," he said. "I'm very familiar with [former chairman] Hootie Johnson's comments, as you all are, about 20 years ago. I think Hootie was trying to make a point; that that's something that, if we decided we wanted to do it, we could do it. But I don't think it's a practical solution."

Nearly 900 Liverpool fans who attended last year's Champions League final in Paris have filed legal action against European football's governing body for personal injuries allegedly caused by chaos outside the stadium.

Law firm Leigh Day filed a lawsuit against UEFA and UEFA Events on Monday, according to publicly available records of cases brought at the High Court in London.

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The firm told Reuters it has issued claims on behalf of 887 individuals and has a total of 1,076 clients.

Two other law firms, Pogust Goodhead and Liverpool-based Binghams Solicitors, said last year that they also represent Liverpool fans who intend to sue UEFA.

UEFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legal case.

Its general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said last month, when UEFA announced it will refund Liverpool fans who had certain tickets, that "we recognise the negative experiences of those supporters on the day."

The governing body has apologised after initially blaming Liverpool fans for the mayhem, which delayed last year's final by 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool supporters were unable to get into the Stade de France for the match against Real Madrid on May 28.

French police were filmed using tear gas on fans, who complained of heavy-handed treatment as they were herded into pens outside the stadium.

An independent review of incidents outside the stadium, released in February, found that UEFA was responsible for a "large number of near misses that nearly led to disaster" before the final, which Madrid won 1-0.