Masters chairman Fred Ridley explains why Greg Norman did not get an invitation to Augusta

Norman, who finished runner-up in the Masters three times and blew a six-shot lead in the final round in 1996, would usually be invited as a former major champion and described the decision as "petty".

Speaking in his annual pre-tournament press conference, Ridley said: "We did not extend an invitation to Mr Norman.

"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.

"By our decision in December (to allow LIV players to compete) we ensured that we were going to honour and be consistent with our invitation criteria.

"I would also add that, in the last 10 years, Greg Norman has only been here twice, and I believe one of those was as a commentator for Sirius Radio."

Asked to respond to Norman's claim that he would never be invited back, Ridley said he would "never say never" and noted there had been no signs of the expected tension between LIV players and those who had remained loyal to the established Tours.

"The tone has been really good here this week," Ridley added.

"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 different direction and things will change."

Former champion Danny Willett joked that the spiciest element of the evening was the tortilla soup served as part of Scottie Scheffler's chosen menu.

"We all respect that we're in that room because we played some great golf around this golf course at some point in our lives," the 2016 winner said.

"I don't think anyone's silly enough to kind of make that not the theme of the night. It was nice that we were all there and we all had a great time. The main focus there was to celebrate what Scottie did last year."

Ridley also revealed that the Masters is set to be "supportive" of the proposal for a shorter ball to be used in elite competition.

Golf's governing bodies announced last month the proposal of a Model Local Rule (MLR) to give tournaments the option to require the use of balls which will travel around 15 yards less.

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers and USGA counterpart Mike Whan confirmed that the MLR would apply in their own elite events, most notably the Open Championship and US Open, respectively.

The PGA Tour did not immediately back the proposal and it was strongly criticised by top equipment manufacturing company Acushnet and former world number one Justin Thomas, who plays their market-leading Titleist balls.

However, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have come out in support and Ridley indicated the Masters would do likewise after the end of a comment period in August.

"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 in his annual pre-Masters press conference.

"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."

Augusta National has been lengthened numerous times in recent years in response to the increases in hitting distances, with the par-five 13th extended by 35 yards for this year.

Ridley conceded that could lead to less excitement as more players opt to lay up short of Rae's Creek, but added: "I certainly look forward on Sunday to having someone in contention with a three or four iron in their hand, or even a hybrid, hitting their shot in rather than an eight iron.

"I think on balance it's going to prove to be the right decision."