The LIV Tour-PGA Tour rivalry has long been a fierce one for a myriad of reasons. When LIV started up, some theorized that LIV’s format of guaranteed pay (rather than winnings) would make the product less competitive and therefore less fun to watch. On top of that, with LIV golfers still allowed at majors alongside PGA Tour players, there were questions about how the different tour would impact the top LIV players at said majors. Say what you will about LIV as an entertainment product on its own (it’s bad); the question is, have concerns about LIV golfers at majors been warranted?
Let’s take a look back at all majors since LIV started up and see if the separate tour has actually had any impact on elite players like Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. We will also look at LIV golfers’ 2024 PGA Championship odds.
How LIV Golfers Have Performed at Majors
The first LIV even took place in June of 2022, a couple of weeks after the 2022 PGA Championship and one week before the 2022 U.S. Open. As such, we will use the 2022 U.S. Open as our starting point for evaluating LIV golfers in PGA Tour majors.
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2022 U.S. Open: A Rough Start
Number of LIV Golfers: 13
Number of LIV Golfers to Make the Cut: 2
Number of LIV Golfers in Top 10: 0
Highest LIV Finisher: Dustin Johnson (T-24th)
It was not a particularly promising first major for the LIV guys — and it gave PGA Tour loyalists a lot of ammunition. Thirteen LIV golfers entered the 2022 U.S. Open, and only two managed to even make the cut. To date, it is the lowest percentage of LIV golfers making it to the weekend of any major.
LIV didn’t even have an outlier player at the top of the leaderboard to lean on, as the highest finisher was Dustin Johnson in 24th at +4 — 10 shots back of winner Matthew Fitzpatrick and four back of a top-10.
Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed were technically LIV golfers at this point, but they had not yet played a tournament. And we’re looking at players who had LIV experience and evaluating how being on that tour may or may not affect their major performance, so DeChambeau and Reed are not counted as LIV players until the next tournament.
2022 Open Championship: Getting Better
Number of LIV Golfers: 23
Number of LIV Golfers to Make the Cut: 10
Number of LIV Golfers in Top 10: 2
Highest LIV Finisher: Dustin Johnson (T-6th)
Things looked much better at the last major of 2022. This was the largest field of LIV golfers in a major at 23, and though fewer than half of them made the weekend, it was a big improvement. Johnson again was top scorer for the LIV Tour, but he was again pretty far from the lead; Cameron Smith won at -20, seven shots up on Johnson. Interestingly enough, Smith joined Johnson at LIV before too long and became one of the tour’s top major performers.
Another top major guy for LIV has been Bryson DeChambeau, and he tied for eighth to give LIV its first major with two golfers in the top 10.
2023 Masters: The Massive Breakthrough
Number of LIV Golfers: 18
Number of LIV Golfers to Make the Cut: 12
Number of LIV Golfers in Top 10: 3
Highest LIV Finisher: Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson (T-2nd)
It took three tournaments, but finally LIV’s top players proved that they were still among the best in the world. Prior to the 2023 Masters, it was a common narrative that LIV’s lower volume of golf put its players — even elite ones like Brooks Koepka — at a disadvantage compared to the PGA Tour guys. That all flipped at Augusta.
John Rahm ended up winning fairly handily, beating runners-up Koepka and Phil Mickelson by four strokes, but those two and Patrick Reed were right there in the mix from start to finish, and Koepka even tied with Rahm and Viktor Hovland for the first-round lead.
Since this one, LIV has had other tournaments with three top-10s, but none have given the tour more made cuts.
2023 PGA Championship: Crowning a LIV Champion
Number of LIV Golfers: 16
Number of LIV Golfers to Make the Cut: 11
Number of LIV Golfers in Top 10: 3
Highest LIV Finisher: Brooks Koepka (Winner)
Even the three top-4’s at the Masters didn’t fully convince everyone that a LIV player could win a major since none of those guys did, in fact, win. Koepka took it upon himself to fix that at the next major a month and a half later.
He didn’t make it easy, opening with a 72, but back-to-back rounds of 66 got him to the top of the leaderboard, and he held off the charging Scheffler with a 67 on Sunday to win by two strokes. DeChambeau again joined his frenemy near the top of the LIV board by tying for fourth, and Smith earned his first major top-10 as a LIV player with by going 1 under and tying for ninth.
At that point, LIV was competing for wins, regularly getting the majority of their players into the weekend and raking in the cash. In other words, the perceived negative impact of the LIV Tour on their play was out the window.
2023 U.S. Open: Still Looking Good
Number of LIV Golfers: 15
Number of LIV Golfers to Make the Cut: 10
Number of LIV Golfers in Top 10: 2
Highest LIV Finisher: Cameron Smith (4th)
While this wasn’t a major step back for LIV, it was somewhat of a reaction statement from the faces of the PGA Tour after Koepka took home the PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy — the most vocal critic of LIV — and Scottie Scheffler took second and third, and Wyndham Clark won his first major. The leaderboard is actually pretty interesting since Clark beat McIlroy by one stroke and the two carded the same scores for Rounds 2, 3 and 4. It was Clark’s 64 in Round 1 versus McIlroy’s 65 that made the difference.
Smith was LIV’s top guy at -6, four back of Clark, and OG Dustin Johnson got himself back in the mix with a tie for 10th at -3 — even with Masters champ and future LIV teammate Jon Rahm.
2023 Open Championship: A Slight Step Back
Number of LIV Golfers: 16
Number of LIV Golfers to Make the Cut: 10
Number of LIV Golfers in Top 10: 0
Highest LIV Finisher: Henrik Stenson (T-13th)
In terms of top-end finishes, this was a real step back for LIV — but still not a disaster. Ten out of 16 made the cut, and though the best finish was only 13th, no one was particularly close to catching winner Brian Harman that weekend. Harman ended up six strokes ahead of second-place Tom Kim, and that was with Harman shooting only 70 on Sunday. He had basically put the tournament away by EOD Friday thanks to a 65.
2024 Masters: The Usual Suspects
Number of LIV Golfers: 13
Number of LIV Golfers to Make the Cut: 8
Number of LIV Golfers in Top 10: 3
Highest LIV Finisher: Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau (T-6th)
The first major of 2024 was a return to form for LIV. Interestingly enough, the newest member in Rahm — one of the biggest gets for LIV yet — was not one of the three top-10s. They instead came from two of the LIV mainstays, DeChambeau and Smith, and Tyrrell Hatton for his first major top-10 since 2018.
DeChambeau led after Round 1 with a 7-under 65. However, Scheffler went 66 that day and ultimately ran away with the win, beating runner-up Ludvig Aberg by four strokes.
2024 PGA Championship: So Close
Number of LIV Golfers: 16
Number of LIV Golfers to Make the Cut: 11
Number of LIV Golfers in Top 10: 1
Highest LIV Finisher: Bryson DeChambeau (2nd)
Overall, it was a decent showing for the LIV crew, with 11 of the 16 making it to the weekend at the 2024 PGA Championship. That said, only two golfers cracked the top 20 (DeChambeau and Dean Burmester), and only DeChambeau made it into the top 10.
Had Xander Schauffele not made a great second shot on 18, however, DeChambeau was in position to at a minimum force a playoff. Alas, Schauffele came up clutch and DeChambeau settled in as runner-up.
What to Expect From LIV Golfers at Majors
Ever since the second major in which LIV golfers participated, it’s been clear that the top golfers remain the top golfers no matter what tour they are on. Perhaps they don’t have as much time on the course as the PGA guys, but they also travel less and the tournaments are not as long — aka they are better rested come major time. Perhaps it all evens out.
Elite major performers like Koepka, Smith and DeChambeau have stayed in the mix since joining LIV, and the fact that they no longer play against Scheffler and McIlroy every week does not reflect their levels. After all, golf is really about competing with yourself more than anything.
