Are LIV Golf players running out of steam at the majors? The year 2024 saw Bryson DeChambeau lift the U.S. Open title. But other than him, no one else from LIV Golf has left a mark in the majors. Sergio Garcia was the closest guy at T12, chasing the Mad Scientist during the latter’s win. DeChambeau was the runner-up and the only LIV Golf pro in the top 10 in the PGA Championship last year. The 2024 Open Championship saw Jon Rahm end at T7, and DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton made the top 10 at the Masters Tournament.

Yet, there is a belief that the LIV Golf stars are not dominating the majors enough. The number of big stars in the Saudi-based promotion is certainly fewer than there are in the PGA Tour. Jay Monahan & Co. can certainly rely on a large pool of great golfers to show up during the majors. Even on weekends when Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, or Rory McIlroy aren’t performing, they can go to Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry, or many other big names.

When we look at the composition of the top 10 players in the majors, the PGA Tour pros dominate the list. As Joseph Lamagna confirmed about LIV Golf, “they had four golfers finishing in the top 10” in the majors in 2024. That’s not a huge number, considering the salaries they are being paid by LIV Golf. There are very low expectations set for the PIF-funded league’s pros to perform at the majors, which is concerning.

Lamagna, who was a part of a Fried Egg Golf podcast with Andy Johnson on YouTube, also stated that the best LIV Golf pros are “ageing out of their competitive windows”. That’s what prompted him to talk about their performance in 2024. He said, “Outside of Bryson, 2024 was not a successful year for LIV in majors. They have four golfers finishing in the top 10. 24 of them got at least 1 start”. This just shows the lack of depth in the LIV Golf talent pool at the moment. Lamagna added, “the consistent standard that is being set on that tour is lower than the consistent standard that is being set on the PGA Tour right now”. There is no question about it, as the remaining three majors were won by PGA Tour pros last year.

The analyst did acknowledge the abilities of Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann. However, he also mentioned, “But there aren’t any golfers on LIV who are consistently playing at the top end level on LIV. Finishing T5 every time, finishing T2”. Both Rahm and Niemann have been incredibly consistent. But others have only shown moments of excellence before disappearing in the shadows for the remainder of the season.

Lamagna stated, “If you’re not finishing there on LIV, you’re not going to stack up well in a major championship”. He shared the example of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Co., who have been far more consistent at winning and also proving to be serious contenders even when they don’t win. Going back to DeChambeau & Co., the journalist stated, “With LIV, in general, some of those guys probably don’t have the right expectation about where their game stacks up right now. They’re going to finish lower on leaderboards, especially at the Masters and the subsequent majors than they might expect”. It’s difficult to develop a winning mentality when they don’t have the expectations to perform better. After a few back and forth, Johnson also chipped in with “some of their guys aren’t guys anymore”. He seems to suggest that the players have lost their caliber due to low expectations at LIV Golf.

Despite not finishing in the top 10 often, are LIV Golf pros really struggling to be able to win at majors? Let’s take a look at their records from the last few years.

Bryson DeChambeau & Co.’s majors record

Bryson DeChambeau was a lone warrior from LIV Golf dominating the majors in 2024. Yes, he did win the 2024 U.S. Open. But DeChambeau also nearly won the PGA Championship and had a T6 at the Masters Tournament. Just goes to show how amazing he was last year.

However, in 2023, it was Jon Rahm who was dominating the course. Granted, the Spaniard was still a PGA Tour player then. But his win at the Augusta Nationals is still worth mentioning as he made the switch the same year. Brooks Koepka had also succeeded at winning the PGA Championship in the same year. He did so while being a LIV Golf pro.

In 2022, Cameron Smith dominated the course to capture The Open Championship. It was only 1 month later that he had signed for the inaugural season of LIV Golf. Interestingly, DeChambeau finished at T8 in the event. He had already signed with Greg Norman before participating in the major. So we can say that LIV Golf pros are still able to win the majors. However, they are not able to dominate the leaderboard otherwise. But with the rumors of Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka wanting to leave LIV Golf, the dynamic might change a lot.

After learning all this, do you think LIV Golf pros are really struggling at the majors? Share your views in the comments section.