Other than Bryson DeChambeau, LIV’s marquee golfers have emerged from the major championship season with an underwhelming record.
A total of 26 golfers from the Saudi-backed league competed in at least one of the four majors. DeChambeau clearly had the most success, despite missing the cut last week at the British Open at Royal Troon.
DeChambeau played his best golf on the biggest stage in 2024, winning his second major at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst and finishing runner-up to Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship at Valhalla. DeChambeau also was sixth at the Masters.
LIV golfers had five top-10 finishes in the majors this year; DeChambeau accounted for three of those. Dean Burmester is the only LIV golfer other than DeChambeau to place in the top 25 twice, 12th at the PGA Championship and 19th at the British Open.
After a strong start with five golfers in the top 25 at the Masters, LIV had just seven in the final three majors.
To blame this year’s poor showing on LIV’s no-cut, 54-hole, 14-event format is total speculation. This is the same league that produced three of the top four finishes in the 2023 Masters and three of the top nine in the 2023 PGA Championship, including winner Brooks Koepka, and this year’s Masters.
Koepka made cut in all four majors
Koepka is the only LIV golfer to make the cut in each of the four majors this year, but the results were far from what we have seen in recent years from the five-time major championship winner.
The Jupiter resident failed to crack the top 25 in any of the four majors, landing at 26 in the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, 45th at the Masters and 43rd at the British Open.
Koepka carded just three sub-70 rounds in majors this year, all at the PGA Championship.
Among those looking to rediscover their games: Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton and Phil Mickelson.
Johnson, a two-time major winner, missed two cuts and did not finish in the top 30 in the others.
Rahm, who joined LIV in December as the reigning Masters champion and No. 3 in the world, had a strong finish by placing seventh at Royal Troon. But he was 45th at Augusta, missed the cut at the PGA Championship and withdrew from the U.S. Open due to a foot infection.
Cam Smith was sixth at the Masters and then could not break into the top 30 in the next two majors before missing the cut at the British Open.
Hatton and Niemann both had their best showing at the Masters, Hatton ninth and Niemann 22nd. Hatton followed with 63rd place at the PGA Championship, 26th at the U.S. Open and missed cut at the British Open. Niemann was 39th at the PGA Championship and 58th at the British Open. He did not play the U.S. Open.
Phil Mickelson in steep decline in majors, LIV
As for Mickelson, the 54-year-old is in a steep decline. His best finish in a major this year was 43rd at the Masters. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open and was 60th at the British Open.
Mickelson’s struggles go back several years. After wining the 2021 PGA Championship, Mickelson has 12 major starts and has missed the cut eight times. Other than a runner-up finish at the 2023 Masters, he has not placed higher than 58th in a major in more than three years.
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And Mickelson’s struggles go beyond the majors. Even in the LIV league, he has just one top 10 finish and two top 25s in 10 events.
Others from Greg Norman’s league with at least one strong weekend in major championships this year include Patrick Reed, 12th at Masters but 53rd at the PGA Championship. He did not play the final two majors. And Sergio Garcia, 12th at the U.S. Open but missed the cut at the Masters. He did not play the PGA Championship and British Open.
John Catlin, a reserve player for the 2024 LIV season, had one top 25 finish in 13 PGA Tour starts entering this year and was 16th at the British Open. His $202,700 check nearly doubled what the 33-year-old has collected in his career on the PGA Tour.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau most successful of LIV golfers in 2024 majors
