After his performance at The Masters, there was no question that Brooks Koepka was back and would be a force at the PGA Championship. At Augusta Brooks dominated early, jumping out to a big lead—but faltered in the final round. The PGA, however, was a different story. Koepka started slowly, gradually building momentum each day before bringing the hammer down on Sunday afternoon.
After posting 2 over in the first round, Brooks lurked in the shadows, 6 shots off the lead held by Bryson DeChambeau at -4. On Friday he glided through the front nine at even par, slowly moving up the leaderboard on the immensely difficult Donald Ross layout at Oak Hill.
And then Brooks kicked it, pouring in 5 birdies on the back nine for 31 and a second round 66, climbing to fifth—3 shots behind the leaders as the championship headed into the weekend.
Oak Hill Country Club: The Ultimate Grind
As if Oak Hill wasn’t tough enough already, Saturday’s weather for the third round featured continuous rain, making the already nasty rough that much more difficult and taking the opportunity to post a low number out of the equation.
It was the perfect storm for Koepka though, who loves nothing more than a hellishly difficult golf course combined with horrendous conditions and maximum pressure. Again, Brooks quietly glided through the front nine with a 1 under 34, and then battered the back with 3 birdies for another 66—going into Sunday with a 1 shot lead over young Victor Hoveland.
Brooks Koepka: 5 Major Championships
Unlike Sunday at The Masters, Koepka put his foot on the gas right out of the box with 3 birdies in the first 4 holes, extending his lead to 3 shots. Hoveland wouldn’t quit though, pulling to within a shot on the sixth hole and staying right there until a double on 16, combined with yet another Koepka birdie, ended his chances.
The win was Koepka’s fifth major championship, one more than Rory McIlroy, and the same number reached by Byron Nelson, Seve Ballesteros and Peter Thomson. It will be hard to bet against Brooks at the Los Angeles Country Club for the U.S. Open Championship in June—although Jon Rahm and Scotty Scheffler won’t just step aside and hand it to him.
On the other hand, Koepka will no doubt relish the competition—and we can look forward to the kind of gunfight not seen at a major championship in a long time.
DJ: Holding onto #1
LIV Power Ranking Update
Players have been rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the 2022 and 2023 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).
While seventy-five players have participated in one or more tournaments since the inaugural event in London last year, we’ve included only the top forty-eight. With Brooks Koepka’s win at the PGA and Cam Smith recording a Top 10, a big bite has been taken out of Dustin Johnson’s lead in the Power Rankings—and if either were to win this weekend at Trump National in DC, Johnson may find himself knocked from his perch.
Top 3
No. 1 Dustin Johnson: 95.4 Rating Dustin is still the only player with a Top 10 average finish (9.6). He has also recorded the most wins (2) and the most top 10’s (7).
Unfortunately, DJ wasn’t sharp at The Masters (T48), and after firing a 67 in the first round of the PGA he followed up with 3 consecutive rounds of 74 to finish far back at T55.
Dustin will have to pick up his game to keep Koepka and Smith at bay—perhaps he’ll put it in gear over the weekend in DC.
Cam Smith: Open Champ plus Two Major Top 10’s
No. 2 Cameron Smith: 89.7 Rating
With a T10 in Singapore, runner-up in Tulsa and final round 65 at the PGA to record a Top 10, Cameron Smith has moved back up into the No. 2 position. If Cam takes home the trophy in Washington and DJ were to finish back in the pack, he can vault past Johnson and grab the top spot.
No. 3 Brooks Koepka: 87.2 Rating 2023 is shaping up to be a monster year for Brooks Koepka. His second LIV win at Orange County National/Orlando in early April was immediately followed by the fantastic performance at the Masters where he made it clear that the injuries were in the past and his game was back.
Following the runner up at The Masters, Brooks finished 11th at Adelaide, 3rd in Singapore and 5th at Tulsa—and then came his magnificent PGA Championship victory.
It will be fun to see if Brooks keeps the peddle to the metal at Trump National in DC this weekend—and the field better take cover if he does.
Pat Reed: Masters T4 and PGA Top 20
Notables
Patrick Reed: No. 5—73.5 Rating While Reed is still looking for his first LIV win, he has recorded 5 Top 5 finishes in 12 starts, including a runner up and 3 third place finishes. Patrick is also second only to DJ in average finish at 12.5.
Reed also followed up his T4 at The Masters with a top 20 finish at the PGA—perhaps this is his week to nail down that first win.
Bryson DeChambeau: Before and After
Bryson DeChambeau: No. 15–52.5 Rating With only one Top 10 finish in his first 11 LIV events, Bryson was treading water in the middle of the pack—and then he recorded a 5th place finish two weeks ago at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa and followed that up with a T4 at the PGA Championship.
Bryson decided to shed much of his bulk toward the end of 2022, and it seems he now feels comfortable in the new slimmed down version of himself—look to see him start packing on more LIV Top-10’s and make some noise at the U.S. Open in LA.
Phil: 100 Major Championship Cuts
Phil: No. 31—40.3 Rating
Phil is an enigma, no doubt about it. In thirteen LIV events he has recorded only one Top-10—but let him step foot on Augusta National and suddenly he fires a 65 in the final round and adds another runner-up to his amazing major championship record.
And making the cut in the PGA at Oak Hill, as an army of pros half his age packed up and headed home, was yet another milestone in Phil’s illustrious career—the 100th time he made the cut in a major championship.
Only Jack (131) and Gary Player (102) are in front of him—so Phil has a chance to tie Player for second before the year is over.
Now if only he’d stop fooling around and put up some numbers in the regular LIV events…
Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester NY
PGA Championship: Summary
Brooks Koepka
WIN
Bryson DeChambeau
T4
Cameron Smith
T9
Patrick Reed
T18
Mito Pareira
T18
Harold Varner III
T29
Thomas Pieters
T40
Dean Burmester
54
Dustin Johnson
T55
Phil Mickelson
T58
Sihwan Kim
T62
Pablo Larazabal
T65
Joaquin Nieman
MC
Taylor Gooch
MC
Abraham Ancer
MC
Anirban Lahiri
MC
Trump National Washington D.C.
2023 Upcoming LIV Schedule
DC Trump National Golf Club, Washington (May 26-28)
To the surprise of many, twelve of the eighteen LIV players who were invited to Augusta for The Masters made the cut. On top of that, three finished in the Top 5 (Phil and Brooks Koepka tied for runner-up, while Patrick Reed landed a T4). Young Joaquin Niemann also had a solid week, finishing among the Top 20 (T16).
The big story of the 2023 Masters was Koepka, dominating the field through the first three days of rain interrupted play. When the third round was halted through 6 holes on Saturday, Brooks appeared to be unstoppable in pursuit of his 5th major championship, standing at 13 under par with a 4-shot lead over Jon Rahm.
And as play resumed on Sunday, with both Phil and Pat Reed rocketing up the leaderboard, it looked like the PGA Tour’s worst nightmare was about to unfold.
The golf pundits had universally been saying that the LIV players would have a rough time because they were not used to stiff competition, and LIV tournaments were only 3 rounds. Phil (at 52 years old) closed with a fourth round 65 and Reed fired a 68—both finishing in the top 5 and putting a stopper on that theory.
Although Brooks faltered on Sunday and Rahm was able to overtake him, he exhibited a degree of humility and class worthy of a four-time major champion. There is no question that Koepka is back, and you can expect to see him among the leaders at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in May.
Dustin Johnson: Giving some Ground
LIV Power Ranking Update
Players have been rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the 2022 and 2023 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).
While seventy-five players have participated in one or more tournaments since the inaugural event in London last year, we’ve included only the top forty-eight. Not surprisingly, Dustin Johnson has dominated pretty much from day one. With his T4 at The Masters, however, Patrick Reed continues to move closer to DJ, and Brooks Koepka is beginning to bull his way toward the top with his second LIV win and runner-up at Augusta National.
Top 3
No. 1 Dustin Johnson: 81.9 Rating After opening with an 8th place finish at the initial event in London, Dustin recorded a T3 in at Pumkin Ridge Portland, a T2 in Bedminster and then won the fourth event in Boston. In the ten stroke play tournaments held thus far, DJ has recorded a win, a runner-up, three top 5’s and two top 10’s with an average finish of 9.1.
While DJ made the cut at Augusta, his T48 finish was very forgettable—and allowed Reed and Koepka to close the gap quite a bit in the LIV Player Rankings.
Patrick Reed: Masters T5
No. 2 Patrick Reed: 67.6 Rating Reed recorded a T3 in his first LIV event in Portland, and finished among the top 5 in four of the ten events he’s played (including a T3 at Orange County National in March). Patrick is also among the top echelon for consistency with an average finish of 12.4.
On the heels of his Top 5 finish at the Masters, Reed will look to carry the LIV banner through each of the remaining majors in 2023.
No. 3 Brooks Koepka: 67.0 Rating After a slow start in 2022, Brooks recorded a T8 at Bangkok and followed that up with a win in his next event (Jeddah). After mediocre finishes in the first two events of 2023, Koepka recorded his second win in Orlando last week—making him the only LIV player with multiple wins thus far.
While his Sunday stumble at Augusta was no doubt a major let down for Brooks, he certainly sent a message that he’s far from done—and Rahm will have his hands full at the PGA this year.
Cameron Smith: Looking to Heat Up at the PGA
Notables
Cameron Smith: No. 7–60.6 Rating After a fast start, Cameron Smith has tumbled from No. 2 at the conclusion of ‘22 to No. 7 after finishing 24th at The Gallery Golf Club in Tucson, 26th in Orlando, and a disappointing T34 at The Masters.
He will be a force at the PGA, however, should he brandish the wand as he did at The Open Championship last year.
Joaquin Niemann: Young Gun
Joaquin Niemann: No. 9–57.3 Rating At 24 years old, Joaquin Niemann is one of the brightest young stars in golf. After joining the PGA Tour at 19, Niemann recorded 22 Top-10’s including 2 wins in 5 years–making the cut in just under 80% of the events he entered while reaching the Tour Championship in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Joaquin had an excellent Masters with a T16 finish, but we won’t see him at another major until the U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club in June—where you can expext him to make some noise with his precision ball striking.
Mito Pereira: No. 12—55.3 Rating Virtually unknown in the U.S. prior to bursting onto the scene with a T3 at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, Pereira’s outstanding play came as no surprise to golf fans in his native Chile. After winning multiple junior titles, including a victory on the Chilean Professional Tour in 2013 as an Amateur, Mito climbed to number 5 in the official World Amateur Golf Rankings in 2015 at twenty years old.
Mito made the cut and had a solid week at Augusta, and we’ll see him at the PGA Championship in May. Like his fellow Chilean, Joaquin Niemann, look for Mito to have a solid season at the majors in 2023.
Phil: Masters Runner-Up
Phil: No. 37–34.6 Rating While Mickelson’s LIV career could only be described as a lead balloon thus far, leave it to Phil to pull a giant rabbit out of his hat when you least expect it. The stunning 65 that he fashioned in the final round at Augusta was a flashback to his incredible PGA win in 2021.
While the Masters runner-up finish propelled Phil from No. 46 to No. 37 in the LIV Player Rankings, it also appears to have ignited a flame as we head toward the PGA (Phil fired a solid 2 under round of 70 in the first round at Adelaide in Australia this week, and followed up with 65 in the second round to move into the Top 10).
Could Phil pull off another bit of magic at Oak Hill? We’ll have to wait and see….
The Masters: 12 of 18 Make the Cut PGA Tour (https://www.pgatour.com/)
The Masters: Summary
Brooks Koepka T2
Phil Mickelson T2
Patrick Reed T4
Joaquin Nieman T16
Harold Varner III T29
Cameron Smith T34
Talor Gooch T34
Abraham Ancer T39
Mito Pareira T43
Dustin Johnson T48
Thomas Pieters T48
Charl Schwartzel T50
Sergio Garcia MC
Bryson DeChambeau MC
Jason Kokrak MC
Bubba Watson MC
Louis Oosthuizen WD
Kevin Na WD
The Grange Golf Club: A Greg Norman Design
2023 Upcoming LIV Schedule
Adelaide The Grange Golf Club, Australia (April 21-23)
With the 2022 LIV season in the rearview, the first three events of 2023 completed, and eighteen players headed to The Masters, let’s take a look at who tops the charts after the first ten events.
Players have been rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the 2022 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).
While seventy-five players have participated in one or more tournaments since the inaugural event in London last year, we’ve included only the top forty-eight. Not surprisingly, Dustin Johnson has dominated pretty much from day one. With his T3 at Orlando last week, Patrick Reed moved from No. 5 at the close of 2022 to No. 2 heading into The Masters, and Brooks Koepka has muscled his way from No. 9 to No. 3.
After a fast start, Cameron Smith has tumbled from No. 2 at the conclusion of ‘22 to No. 8 after finishing 24th at The Gallery Golf Club in Tucson and 26th in Orlando last week—perhaps Augusta National will get his juices flowing again.
Top 5
No. 1 Dustin Johnson: 80.9 Rating After opening with an 8th place finish at the initial event in London, Dustin recorded a T3 in at Pumkin Ridge Portland, a T2 in Bedminster and then won the fourth event in Boston. In the ten stroke play tournaments held thus far, DJ has recorded a win, a runner-up, three top 5’s and two top 10’s with an average finish of 9.1.
Patrick Reed: Moving Closer to DJ
No. 2 Patrick Reed: 62.6 Rating Reed recorded a T3 in his first LIV event in Portland, and finished among the top 5 in four of the ten events he’s played (including a T3 at Orange County National last week). Patrick is also among the top echelon for consistency with an average finish of 12.4.
Brooks Koepka: 2 LIV wins
No. 3 Brooks Koepka: 62.0 Rating After a slow start in 2022, Brooks recorded a T8 at Bangkok and followed that up with a win in his next event (Jeddah). After mediocre finishes in the first two events of 2023, Koepka recorded his second win in Orlando last week—making him the only LIV player with multiple wins thus far.
Don’t be surprised if Koepka makes some noise at Augusta this week.
Uihlein and Wolf: Moving up the Board
No. 4 Peter Uihlein: 61.6 Rating After a 4-0 record as a member of the 2009 Walker Cup team and then winning the U.S. Amateur in 2010, Uihlein struggled to make it on the PGA Tour, flying largely under the radar with stints on the European Tour (where he recorded a win) and the Korn Ferry Tour (recording 2 wins).
Since joining LIV in 2022, however, Peter’s game has fulfilled the promise of his early career. After opening with a T3 in London, Uihlein recorded five additional Top-10’s including runner-up finishes in Chicago, Jeddah and Mayakoba.
No. 5 Matt Wolf: 61.1 Rating At 22 years old, Matt Wolf is one of the brightest young stars in golf. After joining the PGA Tour at 19, Wolf recorded a win at the 3M Championship in his rookie year, a runner up at the 2020 U.S. Open and a T4 at the 2020 PGA Championship.
In nine LIV events, Matt has finished among the Top 10 six times, including a runner-up at Trump Bedminster in ’22 and a T5 in Orlando last week. Wolf also has the best average finish behind DJ at 11.9 for players who have participated in at least 5 LIV events.
Carlos Ortiz and Charles Howell III
Notables
Carlos Ortiz: No. 7—60.1 Rating Ortiz opened with a runner-up in his first LIV event in Portland last year and has finished among the Top-10 in five of the nine events he’s played. Thus far in 2023, Carlos has recorded a T7 in Mayakoba, a runner-up in Tucson and a T8 last week in Orlando. He is also tied with Matt Wolf with an average finish of 11.9, just behind DJ.
Charles Howell, III: No. 9–57.3 Rating Charles won his first LIV event at Mayakoba in February with a dominating four stoke margin over Peter Uihlein, and has finished among the Top-10 in four of the eight events he has played.
Only five players were better than Howell’s average finish of 13.7.
Phil: Poised for a run in 2023
Phil (No. 46—29.6 Rating) Mickelson’s LIV career has not been memorable to say the least, dropping even further to No. 46 (he finished 2022 at No. 38).
And Phil’s T41 last week in Orlando, his worst showing ever at an LIV event, does not bode well for Augusta this week—but you never know, perhaps the familiar surroundings and past success will boost him into the weekend.
Now that the first LIV season has been completed, we’ve taken a look at which players had the greatest success heading into 2023. Players have been rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, top five and top ten’s–as well as performance at the 2022 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).
While sixty-eight players participated at various events throughout the year, we’ve included only the top forty-eight, using finishes in the individual portion of each tournament.
Not surprisingly, Dustin Johnson dominated pretty much from start to finish. Cameron Smith had an immediate impact following his jump to LIV after winning The Open Championship, and Joaquin Niemann played superb golf—at 24 years old, the young gun that LIV hopes will attract other talented PGA stars in their twenty’s.
Top 5
No. 1 Dustin Johnson: 80.9 Rating
After opening with an 8th place finish at the initial event in London, Dustin recorded a T3 at Pumkin Ridge in Portland, a T2 in Bedminster and then won the fourth event in Boston. In the seven stroke play tournaments on the schedule, Johnson recorded four top 5’s, a top 10 and a win—with his worst finish being a T15 in Bangkok. For the season, Dustin’s average finish was 5.1. When you add a T6 at the Open Championship, Johnson is at the top of the LIV power rankings by a wide margin.
Cameron Smith
No. 2 Cameron Smith: 62.2 Rating
Following his brilliant performance at St. Andrews, Cam came up a shot shy of joining the playoff in his first LIV event at The International Club in Boston, settling for a T4 at 14 under par. He kicked it up a notch by winning in his second event at Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago, so in the four events he played, Cameron recorded a win and top 5.
With his Open Championship victory and a T3 at The Masters, Smith is second on the LIV power rankings.
Joaquin Niemann: Young Gun
No. 3 Joaquin Niemann: 58.7 Rating
At 24 years old, Joaquin Niemann is one of the brightest young stars in golf. After joining the PGA Tour at 19, Niemann recorded 22 Top-10’s including 2 wins in 5 years–making the cut in just under 80% of the events he entered while reaching the Tour Championship in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Joaquin joined LIV prior to the fourth event in Boston, and immediately recorded a runner-up finish (losing to DJ in a playoff). With a T4 at Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago and a T3 at the final regular event in Jeddah, Nieman recorder three Top 5 finishes in the four events he played, with an average finish of 7.3–just behind Johnson.
Pat Reed
No. 4 Patrick Reed: 57.2 Rating
Patrick recorded a T3 in his first LIV event in Portland, and finished among the top 5 in three of the five events he played (including a runner-up at Bangkok and a 5th at Trump National Bedminster).
Reed also ended the season with a 10.8 average finish (3rd behind DJ and Niemann).
After winning the first LIV event in London, Charl recorded two additional Top 10’s (Chicago and Jeddah.). When you add his Top 10 at The Masters in April, Schwartzel comes in at number 5.
Notables
Sergio Garcia (No. 6–54.1 Rating)
Garcia got off to a slow start in his first two LIV events, but recorded four Top 10’s in his last five tournaments (including Top-5’s in Chicago and Jeddah). Garcia’s average finish for the year was 12.9 (the 6th highest of the top 48 players who competed in the 2022 LIV events)
Talor Gooch (No. 8–52.4 Rating)
Gooch finished among the Top 10 in each of the first four LIV events in 2022, but dropped off significantly in the final 3 (although he recorded a T12 at the final regular event in Jeddah).
Only seven players were better than Talor’s average finish of 13.6.
BrooksKoepka
Brooks Koepka (No. 9–52.2 Rating)
Brooks’ mediocre play in his first four LIV events is likely due to lingering pain from the knee injury he suffered in 2021, but he finished strong with a T8 at Bangkok and a win at the final regular LIV tournament in Jeddah.
Look for Koepka to make his presence felt in a big way when the 2023 season gets going—particularly at the major championships.
Phil: Poised for a run in 2023
Phil (No. 38—27.6 Rating)
Mickelson’s LIV season was not memorable to say the least, but he showed signs of the old Phil with a T8 at Rich Harvest in Chicago and a T15 in Bangkok.
While the media swarm undoubtedly took a toll in 2022, look for Phil to shake it off and come out strong at the first LIV event in February (Mayakoba).
Should Phil win at Mayakoba, it will be difficult for the powers that be at Augusta National to keep him out again (although they did it last year when he was the reigning PGA champion).
Trump National Doral
Team Championship-Miami
Dustin Johnson, Pat Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez (the Aces) took home the team championship at Trump National Doral with a composite score of -7, one shot clear of Punch GC(Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Wade Ormsby).
Smash GC (Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Peter Uhlein and Chase Koepka) finished a distant third with a composite score of +4.
Ernie Els was 42 years old back in 2012, and it had been ten years since he won The Open in 2002. He had missed the cut in 3 of the 4 major championships in 2011, with only a single Top 10 finish on the PGA Tour in 21 starts. And although Els recorded 5 consecutive Top-10’s at Augusta National from 2000 through 2005 (including 2 runner-up finishes), he had dropped out of the top 50 in the World Golf Rankings, and The Masters Committee declined to offer him a special exemption—so he missed the Masters for the first time in 17 years.
As the sting of missing The Masters receded, Ernie’s game began to get in gear with a runner-up at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April, and he started looking very much like the Els of old with a Top 10 at the U.S. Open in June at the Olympic Club.
The 2012 Open was played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, and Ernie got off to a solid start with a 67 in the first round—but Adam Scott fired a brilliant 64 and he was 3 shots off the lead. Els continued to play well in the second and third rounds to stand at 5 under, but Adam was playing even better, and as the final round got under way on Sunday Scott had opened up a 6-shot lead.
It didn’t get any better for Ernie through the first 9 on Sunday as he posted a 2 over 37, including a bogey at the ninth, and Scott’s lead remained at 6 shots going to the back—with seemingly little hope that Els would lift the Claret Jug for a second time.
Although Ernie got hot and birdied 3 out of the first 5 holes on the back nine, he still trailed Scott by 4 with only 4 holes to play. But anything can happen down the stretch at an Open Championship.
Scott struggled on the closing holes, finishing with 4 consecutive bogies to finish at 6 under. Els made par at 15, 16 and 17, and then hammered a perfect tee shot down the middle on the last. After a crisp wedge that came down 20 feet from the pin, Ernie drilled the putt for birdie to shoot 31 on the back and a 68, posting 7 under to become the 2012 Champion Golfer in one of the greatest comeback victories of all time.
Ernie Els: 2012 Open Championship
Number 9: 1995 PGA Championship– Steve Elkington
Seventeen years before his dramatic comeback victory at The Open, Ernie Els began the final round of the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera Country Club with a 3 shot lead over Mark O’Meara and Jeff Maggert, 5 shots over Colin Montgomerie, and a 6 shot margin over Steve Elkington and Craig Stadler.
Ernie was at the top of his game in 1995, having recorded 4 major Top-10’s and a U.S. Open title between 1992 and 1994. The only player among the leaders with a major victory was Craig Stadler, and his win at The Masters had come almost twenty years earlier in 1976—so it seemed inevitable that Els would raise the Wanamaker Trophy when play concluded on Sunday.
Steve Elkington, however, was on a mission. With perhaps the greatest swing of all-time, Elk was at the top of his game with a T5 at Augusta in April and a T6 at The Open Championship in July. And although he was again battling the severe sinus problems that plagued him throughout his career, Elkington knocked down stick after stick on Sunday to post a magnificent final round 64—overcoming a 6 shot deficit to finish in a tie with Montgomerie at 17 under par.
When his birdie putt dropped on the first playoff hole, Elkington had won the PGA Championship—and completed one of the greatest comebacks in history.
Phil Mickelson: 2013 Open Championship
Number 8: 2013 Open Championship– Phil Mickelson
Phil had suffered yet another devastating U.S. Open loss at Marion in June, his sixth runner-up finish at the championship he so much wanted to win, so it seemed unlikely that Lefty could bounce back and make a serious run at the Claret Jug in July.
Mickelson, however, continued to push by sharpening his links game while winning the Scottish Open in the week leading up to The Open Championship at Muirfield.
While Phil got off to a good start with a 69 in the first round, he disappeared from the leader board completely with a second round 74—so it seemed highly unlikely that lefty would make The Open his 5th major championship. Muirfield was proving a tough test, however, and Phil fought his way back with a solid 72 in the third round, but still found himself 5 shots off the pace set by leader Lee Westwood heading into the final round.
As the wind started to blow on Sunday, Phil uncharacteristically went to his 3 wood and fashioned a masterful closing round 66 to finish at 3 under par—one of the greatest performances of his illustrious career. And when Westwood faltered with a closing 75, and the other players at the top of the leaderboard succumbed to the weather, Phil won going away with a 3 shot victory in one of the most memorable comebacks in major championship history.
Nick Faldo: 1996 Masters
Number 7: 1996 Masters– Nick Faldo
In the fifteen Masters championships Norman had played heading to August National in 1996, Greg had recorded 2 runner-up finishes, 2 third place finishes, 2 top-5’s and a top 10. And when he opened with a dominating 63 in the first round, it appeared that 1996 would be the year that Norman would slip the green jacket over his shoulders at last.
Norman continued to play solid golf on Friday and Saturday, posting rounds of 69 and 71 for a 54-hole total of 13 under and a commanding 6-shot lead over Nick Faldo going to Sunday.
With his customary laser focus, Faldo applied the pressure in the final round by posting 2 under on the front nine as Norman began to disintegrate with 3 bogeys and a lone birdie—a 4 shot swing that left Faldo only 2 behind going to the back nine.
While Norman imploded completely with 41 on the back, Faldo kept his foot firmly on the gas with a 33 on the closing nine, a final round 67, and a 5 shot victory. Most remember the 1996 Masters for Norman’s colossal collapse, but Faldo’s magnificent final round was stunning—and one of the all-time comebacks in major championship history.
Padraig Harrington: 2007 Open Championship
Number 6: 2007 Open Championship– Padraig Harrington
Sergio Garcia fired a sizzling opening round 65 in pursuit of his first major championship at Carnoustie Golf Links in the 2007 Open Championship, jumping out to a 2 shot lead over Irishman Paul McGinley. At 27 years old, Garcia had recorded 12 major Top-10’s in his career without a win, and it was looking like this would be the week when he finally broke through.
Sergio increased his lead through 54 holes with rounds of 71 and 68 on Friday and Saturday as he climbed to 9 under par going into the final round on Sunday—and it seemed he would just need to hold off Steve Stricker, who had pulled within 3 shots with a brilliant 64 on Saturday.
With all eyes focused on Garcia and Stricker, another Irishman, Padraig Harrington, who had begun the day six shots back at 3 under, slowly began creeping up the leaderboard with birdies on the 3rd, 6th and 9th holes. Meanwhile, Garcia began to stumble with 3 bogeys and a birdie on the front, so his lead had shriveled to a single shot over Harrington.
When Padraig made birdie at 11 and then eagle at 14, he moved to 9 under par and the outright lead. At the 18th hole, however, it suddenly appeared that Padraig’s gutsy charge had come to an end when his approach found the water—resulting in a disastrous double that dropped him once again to a shot back of Sergio’s lead.
Garcia, however, was unable to make par at 18, and his bogey gave Harrington a reprieve as they both finished at 7 under par and headed to a 4-hole playoff.
Padraig made the most of it, playing the extra holes in even par to defeat Sergio by a shot— completing.one of the most exciting finishes (and greatest comebacks) in major championship history.
Payne Stewart: 1989 PGA Championship
Number 5: 1989 PGA Championship– Payne Stewart
Payne Stewart opened the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes Golf Club with a 74, 8 shots behind Mike Reid, who fired a flawless round of 66. And although Stewart came back strong in the second round with a 66 of his own, he picked up only a single shot as Reid followed up with another great round of 67.
Reid began to back up a bit with a 70 in the third round on Saturday, but again Stewart picked up only one shot while recording a solid round of 69, so Payne found himself six shots back of the lead going into Sunday. On top of that, there were four major champions on the leaderboard between he and Reid (Craig Stadler, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, and reigning back-to-back U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange).
Having recorded 10 Top-10’s in his previous 17 major championships and coming up empty, Stewart refused to be denied once again. After playing the front nine at even par, Payne birdied 5 holes on the back without a bogey for 67, a tounamnet toal of -12, the first of his 3 major championship wins, and a comeback victory that continues to bring a smile to the face of everyone who witnessed his magnificent performance all those years ago.
John Mahaffey: 1978 PGA Championship
Number 4: 1978 PGA Championship– John Mahaffey
John Mahaffey had a solid career on the PGA Tour with 10 wins, but his performance at the 1978 PGA Championship would become his defining moment. Opening with a first round 75 at historic Oakmont Country Club, Mahaffey began the final 54 holes in a very deep hole—eight shots behind Hall of Famer Tom Watson, who had posted a 67.
Mahaffey began to claw his way back into contention with a 67 on Friday, but still found himself six shots behind going into the weekend. And although he backed it up with an outstanding round of 68 on Saturday, he actually lost ground to Watson, who fired a third round 67 and stood at -10 heading into Sunday, 7 shots clear of Mahaffey who was at 3 under par.
But when Tom faltered on Sunday with a 73, Mahaffey maximized his opportunity by carding a magnificent 66, erasing a 7 shot deficit to force a 3-man playoff with Watson and Jerry Pate.
When Mahaffey birdied the second playoff hole, he claimed the Wanamaker Trophy and recorded the biggest Sunday comeback in PGA Championship history.
Gary Player: 1978 Masters
Number 3: 1978 Masters– Gary Player
Gary Player had already won at Augusta twice before with 11 Top-10’s when play got under way at The Masters in 1978. With even par rounds of 72 on Thursday and Friday, Player appeared to be treading water while waiting to make a move, and trailed the leaders (Rod Funseth and Lee Trevino) by 5 shots going to the weekend.
Although Gary kicked it up a notch with a 69 on Saturday, it seemed he had waited just a bit too long as Hubert Green fired a 65 in the third round for a 54-hole total of -10, opening up a 3 shot lead on the field, and a whopping 7 shot margin over Player.
As Sunday’s final round began to heat up, Player crept closer to Green with 3 birdies and a bogey on the front, but Hubert was playing solidly at even par and Gary was still 5 shots behind him going to the back nine.
Since it appeared that Green would not be giving anything away, and Tom Watson had made eagle at 13 to join the lead at 10 under, Player decided it was time to light the afterburner.
With 6 birdies on the back (7 in his last 10 holes), Player charged to the clubhouse with a 30 on the back nine for a final round 64 and a 72-hole total of 11 under par—a shot ahead of the field, and biggest comeback ever at Augusta National.
The 54-hole leaderboard at the 1973 U.S. Open included many of the all-time greats in the history of golf, including Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player (tied for ninth, 4 shots back at +1), Lee Trevino and Bob Charles (tied for 6th, 2 shots back at -1), and Tom Weiskopf (alone in 5th, 1 shot back at -2). The co-leaders at -3, included Arnold Palmer and Julius Boros, as well as two unheralded tour pros–Jerry Heard and John Schlee.
With so many great players at the top of the leaderboard, it would be pretty much impossible for anyone more than four shots back to win the championship, since even if all of the co-leaders were to falter, one of the other legends who were lurking in the wings was likely to post a low score.
Johnny Miller was seven shots behind the leaders at +4 when play began on Sunday, and to win the championship he would have to go extremely low. Making it even more improbable, the ’73 Open was being played at famed Oakmont Country Club, one of the toughest U.S. Open venues in the rotation.
But Miller did exactly that, firing laser-like approach shots to record 9 birdies on his way to a record setting 63 and the U.S. Open Championship trophy in one of finest rounds ever played, and one of the greatest comebacks in history.
What most remember when thinking back on the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie is Jean Van de Velde’s disastrous triple bogey on the 18th hole—and that was certainly a difficult and painful moment for the Frenchman who fought so hard throughout the week.
What is less often talked about is the fantastic final round played by Paul Lawrie. Carnoustie, one of the most difficult courses in the Open Championship rotation, had played particularly tough all week with no one in the field under par when play began on Sunday.
Lawrie began the day in a tie for 14th place at +10, ten shots behind Van de Velde. In one of the greatest rounds ever recorded at a major on Sunday, Lawrie navigated the yawning pot bunkers and gnarly rough through gusting winds to post a magnificent four under round of 67. In the entire field, only 3 other players were able to break 70 (Davis Love, Scott Verplank, and Steve Allen—who each shot 69).
When Lawrie defeated Van de Velde and Justin Leonard in a playoff to claim the Claret Jug, his charge from ten shots off the lead became the biggest Sunday comeback in the history of major championship golf.
Now that the first four LIV events have been completed, it’s a good time to take a look at which players have had the greatest success heading to Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago (September 16-18). We’ve rated and ranked players based on events played, average finish, wins, Top-10 finishes (including runner-up, top-5 and top-10) as well as performance at the 2022 major championships (LIV Player Rankings). To date, 68 players have competed in one or more of the LIV tournaments played thus far, and each has been rated on the performance criteria outlined above to provide a basis for our rankings.
Rich Harvest Farms, Chicago IL
The Leaders
Dustin Johnson: No. 1 / 72.5 Rating
Late Sunday afternoon at The International in Boston, DJ found himself in a sudden death playoff with newly minted LIV players Joaquin Niemann and Anirban Lahiri. When DJ rammed in a lengthy putt for eagle on the opening playoff hole, he raised the trophy for his first LIV tournament win. Having already recorded top 10’s at each of the first 3 events (T2 at Trump National Bedminster, a T3 in Portland and 8th place finish in London), along with a T6 at the Open Championship, Johnson is at the top of the LIV player rankings.
Cameron Smith: No. 2 / 64.0 Rating
Although Cam came up one shot shy of joining the playoff in Boston, a T4 (14 under) along with his Open Championship victory in July and T3 at The Masters back in April vaulted him all the way to Number 2, just behind Dustin.
While Talor has yet to record an LIV win, he has finished among the top 10 in all four events (9th in London, 7th in Portland, T6 at Bedminster and a 6th place finish in Boston). Gooch also made the cut in 3 of the 4 majors he played in 2022 (including a T14 at Augusta), which places him in a tie for No. 3 with Henrik Stenson.
Henrik Stenson: No. 3 / 56.0 Rating (Tie)
Stenson held off Matt Wolff and DJ at Bedminster to win the only LIV event he’s played thus far. Unfortunately, Henrik had to withdraw from the field in Boston last weekend—but all indications are that he will be ready to go in Chicago.
Brandon Grace: No. 5 / 55.7 Rating (Tie)
Brandon recorded a T3 in the first LIV event in London, and followed that up by winning at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland. With his T13 at Bedminster and a 12th last week in Boston, Grace has the 3rd highest average finish (7.3) of any player who has competed at all four LIV tournaments (behind DJ at 3.5 and Taylor Gooch at 7.0).
Louie is among the Top 10 on the strength of a T10 in London, 5th place finish in Portland, and a T9 last week in Boston. With one of the great golf swings in history, it’s a pretty good bet that Oosthuizen will record his first LIV win before the final event of the season at Trump Doral in October.
Patrick Reed: No. 10 / 48 Rating
Reed has recorded 2 top-5 finishes in the 3 events he’s played thus far (T3 in Portland and 5th at Bedminster). Patrick also made the cut at all four of the major championships in 2022.
While Koepka puts the most stock in major championships, it’s still a surprise that Brooks hasn’t made a bigger showing in his first three LIV events (a T16 in Portland, T11 at Bedminster and a T26 last week in Boston). 2022 has also been Koepka’s worst season in memory at the majors with missed cuts at The Masters and The Open Championship, along with a 55th place finish at the U.S. Open and a T55 at the PGA.
Although Brooks hasn’t made any excuses, it looks like the knee injury he suffered back in 2021 is a likely a factor in his mediocre performance thus far in 2022.
Bryson DeChambeau: No. 26 / 34.7 Rating
Bryson recorded a T8 at The Open Championship and a T10 in his first LIV event in Portland, but followed that up with a T31 at Bedminster and a T17 last week in Boston. Given his tremendous length from the tee, those performances are significantly below what most would expect.
I’m guessing that “The Scientist” will be heading for the lab, however, and will soon come up with a potion to improve his average finish number (currently at 19.3).
To say Phil’s first four LIV tournaments have been a struggle is an understatement. In twelve rounds, Mickelson has carded only two under 70 (a first round 69 in London and a second round 69 last Saturday in Boston). At the first event in London, he finished at T33 (+10). In Portland he came in at T40 (+10), and then followed that up with a 35th place finish at Trump National Bedminster (+6).
Unfortunately, it didn’t get any better in Boston where he finished with a T40 (+2). When you throw in missed cuts at the two major championships he played this year, it’s hard to believe this is the same Phil who won the PGA only last year—perhaps he’s waiting for the big stage at Trump Doral in October.
Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry: Defied the Laws of Nature
Not surprisingly, when PGA Tour players hit forty years old the wins start to become fewer and far between, and top 10 finishes occur with far less frequency. And by forty-five, the Champions Tour starts to look pretty attractive if the competitive juices are still flowing.
Phil Wins PGA at 51
When Phil won the PGA Championship in 2021 at 51 years old, it sent shock waves through the golf world. A half century had passed since Julius Boros, the oldest to win a major before Phil, won the PGA in 1968 at 48 years old. And while Mickelson maintained his skills at a high level throughout his 40’s, he was still not the same player he was in his 30’s. Phil recorded 21 wins in his 30’s with a 37% top 10 percentage, but won only 6 times in his 40’s with a top 10 percentage of 22% (still very high).
Hale Irwin and Bernhard Langer: 88 Wins on Champions Tour
Hale Irwin and Bernhard Langer lead the list for wins on the Champions Tour (Irwin with 45 and Langer with 43), but even they did not come close to carrying the success they had when they were in their 30’s into their 40’s. In his 30’s, Langer recorded 18 wins on the European Tour (now the DP World Tour) and also won the Masters, but won only 9 times in his 40’s. And while Hale Irwin won the U.S. Open at 45, he recorded only 2 other Tour wins in his 40’s as compared with 13 wins while in his 30’s.
Players who actually got better in their 40’s are extremely rare, but Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry did exactly that—and seemingly defied the laws of nature.
Vijay Singh: 23 Wins After Turning 40
Vijay Singh
Vijay was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2006, and with 3 major championships and 31 additional tour wins, he is among the top twenty players in golf history. Over the course of his career, Vijay made the cut in 87% of the tournaments he entered and finished in the top 10 over 35% of the time—but what really sets him apart is the age at which he recorded so many of those wins.
While in his 30’s, Singh recorded 11 wins, including 2 major championships while finishing among the top 10 in over 34% of the tournaments he entered. In his 40’s, Vijay won 23 times, including another major championship and ten major Top-10’s.
Most amazing is that Vijay’s top 10 percentage was over 37% from 40-49 years old, higher than it was in his 30’s—and no other player in the history of the game has performed at that level through his 40’s.
Vijay was always recognized as one of the greatest drivers of all-time, and he maintained his length and accuracy far beyond the boundaries of what mere mortals generally achieve. If his putting stroke had approached the level of his game tee-to-green, Singh would surely be smiling down from the Mt. Rushmore of golf alongside Jack and Tiger.
Kenny Perry: Aged Like a Fine Wine
Kenny Perry
Kenny Perry turned 27 years old in August of 1987, his first full season on the PGA Tour—so his golf career got started quite a bit later than most. In his first 3 years, Kenny finished in the top 10 only 7 times in 85 starts, and he didn’t record his first Tour win until he was 31 (The Memorial in 1991).
In his 30’s, Perry won 3 times on Tour and made the cut in just over 68% of the events he entered, finishing in the top 10 just over 13% of the time (solid, but not among the top echelon on Tour). While Kenny had a very good year in 1998 at age 36 with a runner-up at the PGA Championship and 8 Tour top-10’s, his next 3 years were pretty mediocre as he failed to record a win and finished in the top 10 a total of 7 times.
But as the 3rd millennium arrived and Kenny turned 40, the flood gates suddenly opened and Perry rose like the phoenix, tacking on 11 additional tour wins and 4 major top 10’s.
From age 40-49, Kenny made the cut in over 84% of the tour events he entered and finished in the top 10 nearly 25% of the time—a massive increase from the numbers he recorded in his 30’s.
No player in Tour history ever elevated his game to such a degree after turning 40, and we rank Kenny Perry among the Top 100 players of all-time. Perry also won 10 times on the Champions Tour (including 4 Senior Major championships).
Major championship performance and PGA Tour wins are the biggest factors in determining where players stand in the history of golf, but making cuts and Top-10 finishes are also important for identifying excellence and consistency.
In deriving our ratings, major championship wins carry the most weight, followed by major runner-up finishes and Tour wins. Top-5 and Top-10 finishes at the majors are also given strong consideration, along with wins on the DP World Tour and to a lesser degree, wins on other recognized Tours (Japan Tour, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour, etc.).
Making cuts and Top-10 finishes are calculated on the basis of percentage in relation to total starts at PGA Tour sanctioned events through age 49 (when players become eligible for the Champions Tour). Top 10 percentage is given considerable weight, and cut percentage is also a factor in the rating a player receives.
Cuts and Top-10 percentage are overstated as a measure for Byron Nelson and Walter Hagan because fields were limited when they were playing–but this is offset by the fact that Nelson lost prime years in his career due to WWII (Nelson was 29 in 1941), and Hagan had fewer major championship opportunities because he was 42 years old when the first Masters was played in 1934.
While Bobby Jones is certainly among the top 5 players in history with 4 U.S. Open and 3 Open Championship titles, he chose to remain an amateur and therefore has no PGA record for reference–and has not been included in our player ratings. Harry Vardon is also among the greats of the game, with 6 Open Championship titles and a win at the US Open in 1900 (plus his famous runner-up to Francis Ouimet in 1913)—but like Jones, he has no professional record for reference and has not been included in our ratings.
The Top 5 in Volume I included Nicklaus (361), Woods (346), Snead (335), Hogan (281) and Palmer (265).
In Volume II we’ll take a look at the next five on the list of all-time greatest players to round out the Top 10.
On top of his 9 major championship wins, Gary Player recorded 35 major Top-10’s (6 runner-up’s, 8 Top-5’s and 21 Top-10’s). The Black Knight also won 15 PGA Tournaments and had 95 additional world-wide wins. Player made the cut in close to 90% of his starts and finished in the top ten over 45% of the time. He competed with Jack and Arnie head-to-head throughout his prime between 1961 and 1971—playing a substantial role in building the PGA Tour, while elevating the global popularity of the game.
Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus serve as the honorary starters at The Masters each year, and they were joined by Lee Elder in 2022.
Byron Nelson: 11 Consecutive Wins
Number 7: Byron Nelson (227)
Byron Nelson won 5 major championships and 47 PGA tournaments. He also recorded 6 major runner-up’s and finished in the top 5 another 10 times. In 1945 Nelson set the record for wins in a season with 18, including 11 in a row. After the 1946 season, at 34 years old, Nelson retired from the regular tour playing only The Masters (where he finished in the top 10 every year from 1947-1951), as well as a limited number of additional Tour events (including The Colonial in Ft. Worth).
In 1968 The Byron Nelson Classic was launched in Dallas Texas, and it continues to be one of the most popular venues on the PGA Tour.
Walter Hagan is the only player to make the cut in every tournament he played through the entirety of his career, and he finished among the top 10 in three out of every four events he entered. Hagan won 11 major championships (third behind Jack and Tiger) with 22 additional top 10 finishes, and he recorded 34 PGA tournament wins.
Hagan is considered the first American professional golfer. In the first half of the twentieth century, he and Bobby Jones were the towering figures of U.S. golf, forming the foundation for the game as we know it today.
Phil Mickelson: Wins PGA at 50
Number 9: Phil Mickelson (216)
Phil the thrill won 6 major championships, most recently at Kiawah in 2021 for his second PGA Championship at age 50 (the oldest player in history to win a major championship). Mickelson also recorded 11 runner-up finishes at the majors, second only to Jack, along with 11 Top-5’s and 11 Top-10’s.
In addition to his record at the majors, Phil won 39 PGA Tour events, making the cut in 82.3% of the tournaments he entered with a top 10 percentage of 31.5%.
Phil went up against with Tiger throughout his prime between 1996 and 2006, as well going to head-head with Ernie Els and Vijay Singh (each among the top 15 all-time).
Number 10: Tom Watson (211)
Tom Watson nearly did the impossible in 2009, when he came inches from recording his 6th Open Championship at Turnberry at the age of 58. Perhaps it should not have been such a surprise, however, when you consider Watson’s record of excellence and consistency throughout his career.
From his second full year on Tour in 1974 at age 23, through 1998 at age 48 (a quarter of a century), Watson recorded at least 4 top 10 finishes every year.
In total, Watson won 8 major championships with an additional 38 major top 10’s (including 8 runner-up and 10 top 5’s), along with 31 PGA Tour wins.
Tom made the cut in 83.9% of the tournaments he entered, and recorded top 10 finishes in just under 40% of his starts.
Gene Sarazen: No. 11
Keep an eye out for Greats of the Game Volume III, where we will take a look at Gene Sarazen (No. 11), Billy Casper (No. 12, Ernie Els (No. 13), Greg Norman (No. 14) and Vijay Sing (No. 15).
It is hard to see “LIV Golf” (Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed series of golf tournaments) posing much of a threat to the PGA Tour over the long term. At some point it will likely go the way of the USFL and the Canadian Football League, but for right now Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson have hit the jackpot. That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of room in the marketplace for an alternative golf experience, and perhaps Greg Norman’s brainchild is just the ticket for engaging broader appeal. The field for the first event this weekend in London is a bit thin though, so the individual stroke-play portion of the format is not likely to generate much excitement–unless a handicap system is implemented to give the field a fighting chance against DJ.
The “team” element, on the other hand, may provide a dynamic and emotional outlet not generally found at PGA Tour events—with the exception of the Phoenix Open of course. Fans only have a chance to let their hair down and root for a “team” once a year at the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. 12 teams will be competing at each LIV tournament, and each have a team name, logo and color scheme—with DJ’s team announced as the “4 Aces” and Phil’s squad the “High Flyers.” Perhaps “The Gunslingers” might have been a better choice for DJ as he sidles’ up to the first tee (complete with cowboy hat), and “Dark Thrill” for Phil’s squad, now that he’s been cast in the bad guy role (their team color could be all black—which Phil often wears anyway). And when Ricky Fowler finally makes up his mind to jump, perhaps his team can be called the “Biker Boys.”
Phil Makes it Official
Keep in mind that professional sport is essentially entertainment, and contemporary golf fans comprise a diverse cross-section of society, not just the high-brow country club set who expect serious golf in deadpan silence with a smattering of polite applause.
The Venues
The LIV Invitational Series will consist of eight events, with the first being played at Centurion Club in the UK just outside of London. Five of next seven will be held in the United States (two being Donald Trump courses—Trump National Bedminster in NJ and Trump National Doral, FL). The other two will be at international venues—one of which being Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jedda, Saudi Arabia (no surprise) and the other Stonehill Golf Club in Bangkok, Thailand.
Centurion Club, UK
The Format
Each event will include a field of 48 players, with both an individual and a “team” component over 3 rounds totaling 54 holes and no cut. The total purse for each event will be $25 million, with $20 million divvied up among the field for the individual competition, and $5 million split between the top 3 finishers in the team competition. The individual component is straight forward, with the winner for each event determined by the lowest 54-hole score. Individual winners will also accumulate “ranking points,” and the player with the most points will be named the over-all individual champion after the first 7 events have been completed (the overall champion will take home an additional $18 million).
The team component is a little harder to follow. Each event will include twelve 4-man teams, comprised of a “Captain” (named by “LIV”) and 3 additional players who will be selected by the captain in a “draft” prior to each tournament. Team competition is also based on stroke play, and for the first two rounds the team score will be the total of the 2 team members carding the lowest scores, with the third-round team score being the total of the 3 team members carding the lowest scores. The team with the lowest aggregate score after 54 holes will be the winner. Once the first seven events have been completed, the teams will be “seeded” and the final event will be a match play tournament held over 4 days in October at Trump National Doral, FL—with no individual competition.
The structure for the match-play finale is a bit baffling, however. Since the fields will vary for each event, and captains will be named from players among the individual fields, it is unclear how the final 12 “captains” are to be determined for the Match Play tournament (perhaps they are permanent, and required to participate in all 7 events). It is also unclear how the composition of the teams themselves will be determined—since there will be a separate draft of players held prior to each regular event (so players may end up on different teams for each event—unless previously drafted players are permanent members of a particular team, with the draft only applying to new players being added when a team player isn’t participating in a particular event). The basis on which “seeding” will be determined for the Match Play finale is equally mysterious—but all will no doubt be revealed in good time.
Kevin Na
The Field
Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Kevin Na comprise the list of familiar names. DJ made the cut in 7 of the 10 tournaments he played this year on the PGA Tour, with 2 Top 10’s (his best being a 4th at the Match Play and a T9 at the Players). Phil hasn’t played since he missed the cut at the Farmers back in January, and Louie Oosthuizen hasn’t recorded a Top 10 since last season. Sergio has 1 Top 10 this year (a T7 at Mayakoba) and Lee Westwood missed the cut in 5 of the 9 events he’s played.
That leaves Kevin Na (9 of 12 cuts made on Tour this year with 2 Top 10’s) standing in Johnson’s path for the $4 million individual first place check. No wonder DJ had that Cheshire cat smile on his face at the LIV press conference.
The Motivation
Johnson is reported to have received a $125 million bonus for making the move, and based on the competition, he’ll very likely pocket a great deal more. At the LIV press conference, DJ stated “I don’t want to play for the rest of my life,” so it would seem he just can’t get by on the $74 million he’s already won on the PGA Tour. On the other hand, DJ may also have looked around at Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, and a host of mega-talented young guns currently on Tour, and thought it was an opportune time to cash in his chips and slip out the door.
Phil received a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $200 million, and even though he’ll turn 52 in a couple of weeks, the light-weight fields without a cut will give him the opportunity to earn a great deal more. And since his skill with games of chance appears to be quite a few notches below his ability with a wedge, perhaps he simply needs the money.
DJ and Phil Hit The Jackpot
The Future
The second LIV event will be played June 30–July 2 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, a great track in North Plains, OR designed by Bob Cupp and Andy Johnson. It’s been reported that Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed will be joining the field, which should spice things up a bit. Chances are also pretty good that a few additional name players will announce their intention to jump over to LIV following the U.S. Open (and one of them is likely to be Ricky Fowler, who no longer enjoys exempt status on the PGA Tour).
When asked his reaction to LIV Golf at the Canadian Open press conference, Scottie Scheffler said “I haven’t really noticed anyone missing this week. Maybe outside of DJ.” Come on Scottie, you didn’t notice Kevin Na wasn’t around anymore?
Tiger still plans to make his tee time on Thursday at the PGA Championship, while Phil has cancelled—opting instead to remain behind his curtain of silence. This is only the fifth time in the last sixty years that a major champion has failed to defend his title. Three of the previous four were due to injury (Art Wall-1960, Tiger-2008, Rory-2015) and the fourth was the 2000 U.S. Open, when Payne Stewart was tragically killed in a plane crash. While the reason Phil has abruptly pulled out of the PGA is shrouded in mystery, the unfortunate result will be further damage to his image and legacy.
Tiger, on the other hand, has once again done the seemingly impossible, playing the Masters last month—and making the cut in his first start in more than year while favorites like Koepka, Spieth and Xander Schauffele were packing up and heading home on Friday. The odds makers will no doubt make Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm the favorites to win, but the overwhelming majority of fans will tune in to see the old guy—so let’s take a look at his chances.
Tiger and Phil
Tiger
Southern Hills will put far less stress on Tiger’s leg than the constant climbing at Augusta National, and 5 weeks of recovery between starts will undoubtedly help. Completing four rounds at a major championship, and the certainty that his body can still perform at the highest level of tournament competition, is also a tremendous step forward. The big question is—how much did Augusta take out of him? It was impossible to miss the pain he was playing through, particularly on Saturday and Sunday. Pushing through pain, however, is nothing new to Tiger (winning the 2008 U.S. Open on a broken leg comes immediately to mind). He also gave up a lot of distance off the tee at Augusta (Tiger averaged 285 yards, in comparison to McIlroy who led the field at 318). On the other hand, Scottie Scheffler was twenty yards behind Rory at 298 yards—and he’s wearing a green jacket (he did pump it up to 311 on Sunday, however). Power has always been synonymous with Tiger, but what set him apart from the moment he came out on Tour was mental toughness and an unmatched ability to focus, most notably on the greens where it matters the most. The number of clutch putts Tiger has drained over the course of his career is impossible to count. On Thursday and Friday at the Masters, he putted like the Tiger we are accustomed to seeing with 24 putts on Thursday and 28 on Friday. The weekend was a different story though, with 36 putts on Saturday and 34 on Sunday—where it appeared that the pain and discomfort finally impacted Tiger’s ability to maintain focus.
Southern Hills is a long course at 7,481 yards from the tips, but while length off the tee will certainly provide an advantage, the challenge will be taming extremely firm and fast greens with diabolical fall-offs to very tight lies. And that is where Tiger is always at his best. Keep in mind as well that Tiger won the PGA at Southern Hills in 2007, so he will have pretty good karma when he tees it up on Thursday. And something tells me Tiger will have a bit more juice on his tee ball in his second comeback start. The key will be the putting though, and how he feels physically heading into the weekend. Everyone has seen Tiger literally “will” the ball into the hole—particularly when a major championship is on the line. While winning may seem like a long shot, remember that this is Tiger—where everything is possible.
A Will to Win
Phil
The absence of a public statement from Phil leaves only speculation with regard to his sudden withdrawal from the PGA. The Alan Shipnuck “tell-all” book on Phil is scheduled for release two days prior to the start of the championship, so perhaps Phil believes that his absence will result in less public attention to the book. This doesn’t seem to be a likely reason, however, since the release date has been set for some time now. Some are saying that Phil may feel his game simply isn’t sharp enough after such a long lay-off from tournament competition. This wouldn’t appear to be a factor either, since he’s had plenty of time to practice over the past few months, and he could have pulled out weeks ago. The prevailing conjecture is that Phil is annoyed because the Tour denied his application for a waiver to compete in the LIV event this summer in London, and he is trying to exact some retribution. Unfortunately, if that is the case this will only add to the damage Phil’s image has sustained over the past few months. One thing is certain, the media frenzy and pressure on Phil as defending Champion has been building for some time, and would have reached a boiling point by the time the first round of the tournament got under way.
It’s possible that the confluence of events created an atmosphere where Phil just felt he could not perform to the standard he expects from himself, and he felt it was best for the other players as well to avoid a media circus. Still, it is a blow to his faithful fans who have stood behind him all these years, and were no doubt ready to cheer him on—win or lose.
