Tag: Brooks Koepka

LIV Golf 2025: Preview and Power Rankings

**Jon Rahm: Looks to light it up in 2025**

Jon Rahm had a phenomenal 2024 LIV season, capping off the year with a dominating 3-shot victory over Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia at the final event of the year in Chicago and finished atop our LIV Power Rankings by a wide margin.

Rahm’s performance at the ’24 majors, however, has no doubt left him burning through the winter with just one Top-10 finish (Open Championship)—so you can bet he will be laser focused in 2025 (uh-oh Scottie).

2024 was a break-out season for Joaquin Niemann as he led our Power Rankings through most of the year until Rahm finally ran him down with a win at the UK and then followed with a runner-up at the Greenbrier.

Although Niemann faltered a bit down the stretch, he still finished well ahead of #3 Bryson DeChambeau, in spite of Bryson’s fantastic performance at the ’24 major championships.

It also seems the Masters Tournament Committee was keeping an eye on Niemann’s fantastic 2024 LIV season, offering Joaquin a special invitation to Augusta National in April.

**Joaquin Niemann: Heading for Augusta**

All the leaders in our year-end rankings recorded a Top 10 finish in the final event of 2024 at Bolingbrook Golf Club, so when you look at the way the big guns finished up the year, the 2025 LIV season should deliver a ton of excitement.

Keep in mind that 12 LIV players are included among our All-Time Top 100 Players, starting with Phil at #9, DJ at #29, Sergio at #32 and Lee Westwood at #34.

Jon Rahm broke into the top 50 with his T7 at The Open Championship, and Bryson BeChambeau moved up to #91 with his win at the U.S. Open, runner-up at The PGA and T6 at The Masters.

Brooks Koepka, currently #57, can move into the the top 50 all-time with a big year at the ’25 majors (and he is due after last year where he made all the cuts but failed to record a Top-10).

Power Rankings Overview

Players are 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 major championships.

Top 5

No. 1 Jon Rahm: 110.2 Rating Jon started the ’24 season with a T3 at Mayakoba and kept his foot on the gas all year, finishing in the top 10 week after week until finally torching the field with 2 wins and a runner-up in the final 3 events of the year.

In 12 LIV tournaments, Rahm recorded 2 wins, a runner-up, 5 Top 5’s and 4 Top 10’s—with an average finish of 4.8.

Unless he suffers a signifacant injury, Rahm will dominate again in 2025—and it’s a good bet there will be another major championship trophy on his mantel before the year is out.

No. 2 Joaquin Niemann: 99.1 Rating

Joaquin jumped out early winning 2 of the first 3 events of 2024 (Mayakoba and Jedda), and applied heat through the final round of the last tournament of the year in Chicago.

In 13 events, Joaquin recorded 2 wins, 2 runner-ups, 3 Top 5’s and 3 Top 10’s, with an average finish of 8.9.

Rest assured, the sweet swinging Niemann, who only just turned 26 in November, will continue to dog Rahm though the 2025 season (and perhaps grab a major championship as well).

**Bryson: Huge year at the Majors** **in ’24**

No. 3 Bryson DeChambeau: 90.2 Rating

The 2024 LIV season was a good one for Bryson with 2-Top 5’s and 5-Top 10’s, but considering his powerhouse performance at the major championships (including his second U.S. Open win), you would have expected quite a bit more—particularly after recording 2 LIV wins in 2023.

Still, DeChambeau was very consistent throughout the season and ended the year at 4th in average finish (12.8)—look for Bryson to elevate his game further at LIV events, while remaining a force (and a big draw) at the majors in 2025.

No. 4 Tyrell Hatton: 87.8 Rating

Hatton posted a win in Nashville at The Grove in 2024, his debut season with LIV, and also recorded a runner-up, 4 Top 5’s and a Top 10.

Tyrell posted an average finish of 10.2, 3rd in the league behind Rahm and Niemann, while recording his best ever showing (T9) at The Masters.

Hatton is loaded with talent, and if he keeps his temper in check it’s almost certain he will record another win (or two) in 2025

No. 5 Brooks Koepka: 79.6

Brooks notched 2 more LIV wins in 2024 (Singapore and Greenbrier), bringing his league leading total to 5 since joining LIV in 2022 (and matching his number in major championship victories).

In spite of the wins, Koepka’s 2024 season was dissapointing, with an average finish of 16.4 which ranked him at 10th in the league. Brooks also failed to record a Top-10 at any of the majors (although he made the cut in all of them).

Koepka appears as fit as he’s ever been, but he will turn 34 years old in May and the clock is beginning to tick—it’s time for Brooks to bring the hammer down more often at LIV events to sharpen his game, particularly those preceding the major championships.

A sixth major win would bring Koepka even with Phil and Lee Trevino, and two more tie’s him with Arnie and Sam Snead—look for Brooks to make his move in 2025.

Movers

Sergio Garcia: Sergio nailed down his first LIV win in 2024 at Andalucia, and also recorded 3 runner-up finishes (Mayakoba, Miami and Chicago), while adding a T5 at Houston and T8 at The Greenbrier.

Sergio ended the year at No. 6 in our Power Rankings and 6th in average finish at 14.7—a big jump from his 2023 season.

Although Garcia just turned 45, he’s in fantastic shape and remains one of the premier ball-strikers in golf–don’t expect him to fade away any time soon.

Louis Oosthuizen: Oosthuizen looked like the Louis of old in 2024, recording a runner-up (Adelaide), a T4 (Andalucia), and 4 Top 10’s. He also ended the year 5th in average finish at 14.6, jumping to 9th in our power rankings.

Let’s hope the back holds up in 2025, because there is nothing more enjoyable than watching Oosthuizen strike a laser-like long iron pin seeker (see double eagle at Augusta in 2012.)

Cameron Smith: After leading our Power Rankings in ’23 with 2 LIV wins, a runner-up, 2-T5’s and a pair of Top-10’s (as well as a couple of major Top-10’s), Smith went winless in 2024 and plummented all the way down to No.7.

Cam didn’t exactly fall off a cliff though, with 3 runner-up finishes, 4 Top-10’s and a T6 at The Masters—but two extremely poor performances (Houston and Chicago) knocked his Average Finish down to 17.3 (12th in the League).

Expect Smith and his putter to get back on track with a couple of wins in ’25, and if that wand heats up at a major he will be very tough to beat.

**Riyadh Golf Club, Saudi Arabia: Feb 6-8, 2025**

2025 LIV Schedule

Riyadh: Riyadh Golf Club, Saudi Arabia(February 6–8)

Adelaide: The Grange Golf Club, Australia (February 14–16)

Hong Kong: Hong Kong Golf Club, Hong Kong (March 7–9)

Singapore: Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore (March 14–16)

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LIV Golf: 2024 Recap and Power Rankings

Jon Rahm put an exclamation point on his phenomenal season with a dominating 3-shot victory over Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia in Chicago, finishing atop the final 2024 LIV Power Rankings. Niemann led the field throughout the year until Rahm finally ran him down with a win at the UK and followed with a runner-up at the Greenbrier.

Niemann had a break-out season, finishing well ahead of #3 Bryson DeChambeau, despite Bryson’s fantastic performance at the 2024 major championships that gave him a big boost in the power rankings.

All of the top players in the year-end rankings recorded a Top 10 finish at Bolingbrook Golf Club, keeping the heat on Rahm right through the last round of the season’s final event.

When you look at the way the big guns finished up the year, the 2025 LIV season should provide a lot of excitement.

Keep in mind that 12 LIV players are included among the All-Time Top 100 Players, with Phil in the top 10, Jon Rahm breaking into the top 50 with his T10 at The Open Championship, and Bryson moving up to #91 with his win at the U.S. Open, runner-up at The PGA and T6 at The Masters.

Team Championship

At the year-end Team Championship held at Maridoe Golf Club in Texas, Ripper GC, the Australian contingent of Cam Smith, Lucas Herbert, Mark Leishman and Matt Jones recorded a 3-shot victory over the Aces (Dustin Johnson, Pat Reed, Harlod Varner III and Pat Perez). Iron Heads, consisting of Jinichiro Kozuma, Kevin Na, Danny Lee and Scott Vincent finished in the 3rd position.

Power Rankings Overview

Players are 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 major championships. DJ led the league in 2022 at 80.9, and Cameron Smith set a new standard in 2023 at 89.0—but Jon Rahm’s rating of 110.2 in 2024 is truly mind-blowing.

Top 5

No. 1 Jon Rahm: 110.2 Rating Jon started the season with a T3 at Mayakoba and kept his foot on the gas all year, finishing in the top 10 week after week until finally torching the field with 2 wins and a runner-up in the final 3 events of the year.

In 12 LIV tournaments, Rahm recorded 2 wins, a runner-up, 5 Top 5’s and 4 Top 10’s—and his average finish was 4.8.

It would seem impossible to improve on the year Jon had in 2024, but you don’t want to bet against him in 2025—plus he’ll be loaded for bear at the majors next time around.

No. 2 Joaquin Niemann: 99.1 Rating

Joaquin jumped out early winning 2 of the first 3 events at Mayakoba and Jedda, and battled Rahm tooth and nail all year to the bitter end.

In 13 events, Joaquin recorded 2 wins, 2 runner-ups, 3 Top 5’s and 3 Top 10’s, with an average finish of 8.9.

In the tournaments Rahm won at the UK and Chicago coming down the stretch, Joaquin was right there fighting his heart out—but came up just short with runner-up finishes in both.

Before shedding too many tears for Joaquin though, remember he is just 25 years old, having turned pro at age 19—and with that swing he’s going to pile up plenty of wins before too long.

No. 3 Bryson DeChambeau: 90.2 Rating

Bryson had a good year in 2024 with 2-Top 5’s, and 5 Top 10’s, but considering his incredible performance at the major championships, you would have expected a bit more—particularly after recording 2 LIV wins in 2023.

Still, DeChambeau was very consistent throughout the season and finished 4th in average finish at 12.8—and it’s pretty hard to complain about a year that includes a U.S. Open win.

No. 4 Tyrell Hatton: 87.8 Rating

Hatton posted a win at The Grove in Nashville in his debut season with LIV, and also recorded a runner-up, 4 Top 5’s and a Top 10.

Tyrell also posted an average finish of 10.2, 3rd in the league behind Rahm and Niemann. Hatton is loaded with talent, and when he keeps a handle on the temper it’s almost certain to see him among the leaders come Sunday.

Keep in mind as well that in 2024 Tyrell was seeing many of the LIV tournament courses for the first time, which is always tough—and that won’t be the case in 2025. Don’t be surprised if next year is a multiple win season for Hatton.

No. 5 Brooks Koepka: 79.6

Brooks notched 2 more wins in 2024, bringing him to a total of 5 since joining LIV in 2022, matching his major championship total, and 2 more than DJ, Cam Smith and Talor Gooch who each have 3.

For all the even tempered consistency Koepka brings to the major championships, Brooks is remarkably inconsistent when it comes to regular events. Along with his two wins, Koepka recorded a Top 5 at Mayakoba and 3 Top 10’s—but then had a couple of big-time stinkers at Trump National Doral in Miami (45) and Nashville (42).

With an average finish of 16.4, Brooks ranked 10th in the league behind Richard Bland (8) and Paul Casey (9). Bland and Casey are fine players, but they are not close to the level of Brooks Koepka.

It looks like Brooks is past the injuries and appears as fit as he’s ever been—so what’s up? Certainly the putter went cold at some key points in the majors this year, but that doesn’t explain so many poor performances at the regular LIV events.

Brooks needs to step it up in 2025, and he will no doubt be a bigger force at the majors—but Koepka should borrow a page from Jon Rahm and show up every week ready to play. And wouldn’t that be fun to watch.

Movers

Bryson DeChambeau: Bryson joined LIV the first year back in 2022, played the second event in Portland and recorded a T10. The rest of his year, though, was underwhelming with only 1 more Top 10 (Chicago) while finishing up the year at No. 17.

In 2023 DeChambeau pumped it up and recorded 2 wins, vaulting to No. 4, and in 2024 Bryson continued to move up, finishing at No. 3. Look for some good battles with Rahm and Koepka in 2025.

Sergio Garcia: Sergio has played every event since LIV began in 2022, finally breaking out for his first win this year at Andalucia. Garcia recorded 4 top 10’s in 7 events back in 2022, finishing the year at No. 6 in the rankings, but slipped to No. 17 in 2023—and at 43 years old it looked like Sergio was fading fast.

Garcia made a statement that he wasn’t done quite yet in the first event of 2024 with a runner-up at Mayakoba. On top of his win in Spain, Sergio notched 2 additional runner-up finishes in Miami and Chicago, along with a T5 in Houston and a T8 at The Greenbrier.

Sergio ended the year at No. 6 in the power rankings, and also 6th in average finish at 14.7—a huge move from his mediocre 2023 season.

Louis Oosthuizen: With the prettiest golf swing you’ll ever see, it had to be the bad back that caused Louis to finish 2023 in the middle of the pack (No. 23).

Oosthuizen looked like the Louis of old this year though, recording a runner-up (Adelaide), a T4 (Andalucia), and 4 Top 10’s. On top of that, he finished the year 5th in average finish at 14.6 and jumped all the way to No. 9 in the power rankings.

Let’s hope the back holds up in 2025, because there is nothing more enjoyable than watching Oosthuizen strike a laser-like long iron tracking the pin (see double eagle at Augusta with a 4 iron at No. 12 in 2012.)

All-Time LIV Wins

Brooks Koepka: 5
Cam Smith: 3
Dustin Johnson: 3
Talor Gooch: 3
Jon Rahm: 2
Bryson DeChambeau: 2
Joaquin Niemann: 2

2025 LIV Schedule

Riyadh: Riyadh Golf Club, Saudi Arabia(February 6–8)

Adelaide: The Grange Golf Club, Australia (February 14–16)

Hong Kong: Hong Kong Golf Club, Hong Kong (March 7–9)

Singapore: Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore (March 14–16)

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All-Time Top 100: Active Player Update

There are twenty-six active players among the all-time Top 100 golfers, with Tiger leading the list as he continues his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus for #1.

Tiger will be 49 years old when the 2025 season gets under way, and it appears that injuries suffered in the 2021 auto accident combined with ongoing back issues will ultimately keep him from overtaking Nicklaus.

Don’t try telling that to Tiger though–he just underwent another surgery to alleviate persistent back spasms that slowed him in 2024 with every intention of playing more tour events in ’25 and getting competitive again in the majors.

Tiger holds a pretty good lead over Jack in tour wins, and he is very close to Nicklaus in cut and top 10 percentage, but Jack’s 3 additional major wins along with his tremendous number of major top 10’s make it seemingly impossible for Tiger to run him down at this point.

Even should Tiger coax another major championship from his battered body, he would still come up just a bit shy—unless he could also add another tour win and a major top 10 or two.

It’s a long shot, but then again betting against Tiger Woods has never been a wise thing to do.

Scottie

With 7 wins including a Masters Championship, no missed cuts and 16 top-10’s in 19 starts, Scheffler’s 2024 season was among the greatest of all-time.

And Scottie’s ’23 season was pretty fantastic as well, with 2 wins and 17 top-10’s (including 3 major top-10’s).

Scheffler ended the 2022 season at #112 among the greatest players of all-time, jumping to #97 in 2023 and he now stands at #60—while Scottie won’t turn 30 years old until 2026. If he continues at this pace, Jack and Tiger will start to see him in the rearview coming on fast in the not-too distant future.

Xander

Xander Schauffele is no slouch either, with 2 major championship victories in 2024 and 26 top-10’s in the last 2 seasons (including 4 major top 10’s in addition to the wins).

Schauffele ended the ’22 season at #94, moved to #85 in 2023 and jumped all the way to #68 with his 2 majors and a boat load of additional T-10’s.

At 30 years old, Xander has plenty of time to build his record—and all-time top 10 is by no means out of reach.

Rory

Everyone talks about the fact that McIlroy has not won a major in almost ten years, but he is still just 35 years old, looks as fit as he did when he was twenty (perhaps even more so), and still drives it better than anybody.

After the 2022 season Rory stood at #21 and moved past Cary Middlecoff and Lee Trevino to #19 in 2023. While 2024 was a disappointment, particularly the painful loss at the U.S. Open, Rory still made 18 of 19 cuts and recorded 7 top-10’s, including a pair of Tour wins—propelling him past Lloyd Mangrum into a tie with Peter Thompson at #17.

Jack won his last major at 46 and Phil captured The PGA Championship at 51, so Rory still has plenty of opportunities in front of him. While it’s unlikely that Rory can get close to Sam Snead, Tiger and Jack, he definitely has a shot at the top 5—and there are a ton of golf fans pulling for him.

LIV

Participating in LIV events does not elevate standing among the greats of the game, so DJ (#29), Sergio (#32), Jon Rahm (#49), Brooks Koepka (#57) and Bryson DeChambeau (#91) are relying on major championship performance alone to move up in the rankings.

While the clock is winding down on DJ and Sergio, now north of 40, Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau have plenty of time–but they need to play lights out whenever they tee it up in a major.

Jon Rahm is currently the only player in the all-time top 50 who is under 30 years old, and his PGA Tour cut and top-10 percentages are the highest of any modern-day player other than Jack and Tiger.

Brooks Koepka: **5 major championships**

Koepka always focused on the majors anyway, even when he played on the PGA Tour, but it’s tough to be at the top of your game when it counts without regular big-time competition. Still, it’s a pretty good bet that Brooks will bag at least one more major and move into the all-time top-50.

Hopefully there will be a resolution between LIV and the PGA Tour in the near future, because it would sure be great to see Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau tee it up against Scheffler, Schauffele and McIlroy more than just 4 times a year.

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LIV Golf: 2024 Power Rankings through Greenbrier

**Jon Rahm: Moves to #1** (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez)

Jon Rahm has been chasing Joaquin Niemann in the LIV Power Rankings all year, and with his first LIV win at the UK and a runner-up at The Greenbrier, he finally ran him down.

Niemann certainly didn’t give it up without a fight though, finishing one shot behind Rahm at the UK as runner up. Jon came out swinging with a first round 63 and a 6-shot lead over Niemann, but Joaquin fired 67 and 65 on the weekend only to come up just shy.

Niemann certainly didn’t play poorly at The Greenbrier either, finishing at 11 under par and a T15 (along with Bryson DeChambeau), but Rahm has been relentless in 2024 and his runner-up to Koepka on Old White pretty much sealed the deal.

Niemann will need to win Chicago with Rahm finishing outside the top 10 to retake the lead, and the way Rahm has played that doesn’t seem likely. As the year winds down, there are twelve LIV players included among the All-Time Top 100 Players, with Phil at the top and Bryson the most recent addition on the strength of his fantastic major championship season.

LIV Power Ranking Update

Players are 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 major championships.

Top 5

No. 1 Jon Rahm: 100.8 Rating

Jon started to heat up with his final round at The Open and a Top 10 finish, and then kept rolling when he held off Niemann for his first LIV win at the UK. Although the last nine holes at the Olympic Tournament in France were excruciating after the first 63 holes of flawless golf, Rahm came back with another powerful performance at The Greenbrier where he recorded a runner-up, losing in a playoff to Brooks Koepka.

In 11 LIV events, Rahm has recorded a win, a runner-up, 5 Top-5’s and 4 Top-10’s—and his average finish is 5.2.

What separated Jack and Tiger was brilliant consistency and professionalism—and Jon Rahm epitomizes exactly that.

Think Jon will be among the leaders on Sunday at Bolingbrook? You can take it to the bank.

No. 2 Joaquin Niemann: 93.6 Rating

Joaquin has had an amazing year with 2 wins, 6 Top-10’s and a runner-up at the UK, going toe-to-toe with Rahm throughout the year.

Keep in mind that Niemann is only 25 years old, although you may think he’s far older (Joaquin turned pro at 19 and won his first Tour event at 20).

He charged hard but finished a shot back at the UK, and finally relinquished his lead in the LIV Power Rankings when Rahm recorded yet another Top-10 at The Greenbrier—but unfortunately for Niemann it was like trying to hold back a tidal wave.

And while he has yet to make his presence felt at the major championships, Niemann has had extraordinary success at every level since first picking up a club as a toddler—so his time will come without doubt.

No. 3 Bryson DeChambeau: 86.7 Rating

Bryson got off to a slow start at both the UK and Greenbrier, finishing strong but just outside the top 10 in both events.

With his U.S. Open win, runner up at the PGA and T6 at The Masters, Bryson had an incredible year at the majors—and 2 Top-5’s (Jeddah and Nashville) along with 4 Top-10’s in 12 LIV events is one heck of a regular season.

Bryson is back, and he’ll be hitting eye-popping bombs at Bolingbrook—so Rahm and Niemann will need to bring their A games to keep him at bay.

No. 4 Tyrell Hatton: 83.3 Rating

Hatton played great at the UK, recording a T2, but followed up with a less than stellar performance (25^th) at The Greenbrier—which pretty much sums up Tyrell’s 2024 campaign.

Tyrell’s season included brilliant performances (a win, runner-up, 3 Top-5’s and a Top-10), along with forgettable finishes (Hong Kong—21 and Houston—18) and mediocrity (T15 in Jedda and T14 at Adelaide).

Which Tyrell Hatten will show up in Chicago? We’ll have to wait and see.

No. 5 Cameron Smith: 76.9

Smith is having about as good a season as you can have without recording a win. Including a T2 in the UK, Cameron has recorded 3 runner-up finishes in 2024. When you add 4 Top-10’s and a T6 at The Masters, Smith has had a very successful season.

Like Brooks Koepka however, Cameron puts the bulk of his stock in performance at the majors, and after the good start at Augusta he was outside the top 20 at the PGA and U.S. Open, and then missed the cut at The Open Championship.

Still, Cam is coming off back-to-back Top-10’s at The UK and The Greenbrier, so a win in Chicago would be a great way to wind up the year and make a statement for 2025.

Notables

Brooks Koepka (No. 6/75.7 Rating)

Brooks applied the brakes to the Jon Rahm freight train with a playoff win at Greenbrier for his second victory of the 2024 season and 5^th career LIV championship.

It’s been a strange year for Koepka though, making the cut in all four majors while finishing outside the top 20 in every one of them. And although he has a pair of LIV wins along with a T5 and 2 Top-10’s, Brooks was downright lousy in a couple of events (Miami—45 and Nashville—42) and lackluster in others (Hong Kong—28 and Andalucia—27).

Koepka is an enigma for sure, with all that power and ability. Seems like if the putts are falling early, it’s lights out for the field—but if not, the fire begins to fade.

Let’s hope Brooks has it going in Chicago, it would be great to see another bare-knuckle brawl with Rahm.

Louis Oosthuizen (No. 8/67.2 Rating)

Is there a golf swing in golf more enjoyable to watch? Or a nicer guy on the planet? Once again Louis Oosthuizen is quietly having a solid year with a runner-up (Adelaide), T4 (Andalucia), and 4 additional Top-10’s.

Louis is also the picture of consistency, in spite of a balky back, ranking fourth in average finish at 12.8.

If you can tear yourself away from watching Bryson bomb it, check out the simple elegance of a Louis Oosthuizen long iron—brings a smile every time.

Phil (No. 44/32.8 Rating)

Still no Phil. After tying Gary Player for second behind Jack with 102 major cuts when he made it to the weekend at Royal Troon, it almost seems that Phil has packed it in for the season.

Following a mediocre performance at the UK (T34), Mickelson appeared ready to make some noise at The Greenbrier with two solid rounds, but then blew up on Sunday to finish 50th.

Mickelson also passed a comment that at 54, perhaps it was nearing the time he should “step aside,” but it’s looked like Phil was done before and then he suddenly popped back up.

Come on Phil, give us one more thrill in Chicagoland.

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Chicago: Bolingbrook Golf Club (September 13-15)

Team Championship Dallas: Maridoe Golf Club (September 20-22)

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LIV Golf: 2024 Power Rankings through Nashville

While all eyes have been on Jon Rham since he joined LIV for the 2024 season, Joaquin Niemann quietly remains atop the LIV Power Rankings through the first nine events. And although Rahm has finished among the top 10 in every LIV event he’s played, Bryson DeChambeau has bulled past him into the No. 2 slot with his powerhouse performance at the U.S. Open.

Not only has DeChambeau moved to the top of the LIV Power Rankings, his fantastic play at the 2024 major championships (U.S. Open win, runner-up at the PGA Championship and Masters T6), has also moved Bryson onto the list of the All-Time Top 100 Players.

Bryson (No. 90) joins a long list of LIV players already residing among the Top 100, starting with Phil at No. 9 and DJ at No. 29, Sergio (32), Lee Westwood (34), Rham (52), Koepka (57), Paul Casey and Hendrick Stenson (T64), Louis Oosthuizen (85), Charl Schwartzel (90), Bubba Watson (T99) and Cameron Smith (T99)

Should DeChambeau keep it rolling and win The Open Championship, he would vault all the way into the All-Time Top 75.

And if Jon Rahm were to kick it up a notch and win The Open, he would move into the All-Time Top 50.

Young Joaquin Niemann will need to marshal all of his talent to keep the big guys at bay—and keep in mind that Brooks Koepka is also due for a big performance at a major.

One thing is for sure, the race is heating up and the next few weeks will be about as exciting as it can get.

LIV Power Ranking Update

Players are 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 major championships. There is one LIV event coming up before The Open Championship—Andalucia at The Real Club Valderrama (July 12-14).

Top 5

No. 1 Joaquin Niemann: 83.0 Rating

Niemann has won two LIV events in 2024 (Mayakoba and Jeddah), and also recorded 5-Top 10’s with an average finish of 10.0, second only to Jon Rahm.

Coming off a solid T3 at The Grove in Nashville, Joaquin will need to keep it going at Valderrama and have a good showing at Royal Troon if he hopes to hold off Rahm and a hard charging DeChambeau.

No. 2 Bryson DeChambeau: 81.1 Rating

Bryson moved steadily up the board last year after a strong showing at the 23’ PGA Championship (T4), finishing at No. 10 on the LIV Power rankings.

In 2024 DeChambeau has ramped it up further, mashing the pedal to the floor with a win at the U.S. Open, runner up at the PGA and a T6 at The Masters—not to mention 5 LIV top 10’s.

It’ll be a wild ride watching Bryson bomb it off the tee at Royal Troon.

No. 3 Jon Rahm: 78.5 Rating

Rahm has still not notched an LIV win, but he’s recorded a top 10 in all eight events he’s played. His amazing 5.5 average finish leads the league by a wide margin, but that first win has somehow eluded him—perhaps some home court vibes at Valderrama will push him over the top (and get him revved up for The Open as well).

No. 4 Tyrell Hatton: 73.1 Rating

Hatton recorded his first LIV win at Nashville last week, dominating the field at 19 under and a six-shot margin over runner-up Sam Horsfield. Tyrell has also posted 3-Top-10’s in the ’24 campaign and added a strong showing at The Masters (T9).

At 32 years old, Hatton is in the prime of his career—and he’s been knocking on the door at The Open for a while now (2016–T5, 2019–T6, 2022–T11 and a T20 in 2023). Tyrell was born and still resides in Buckinghamshire, England, so The Open Championship is a prize he would dearly love to take. His game is very sharp right now, so look for Hatton among the leaders on the weekend at Troon this year.

No. 5 Dean Burmester: 66.0 Rating

Dean got off to a fast start in the ’24 season with a T3 at Mayakoba, a T8 in Hong Kong, a win in Miami at Trump National Doral and another T3 at Adelade.

Following a solid tournament in Singapore (T14) and a terrific performance at The PGA with all four rounds under par and a T12 finish, Burmester was pretty mediocre in Houston and Nashville (T18 and T 25).

He still holds the 5^th highest average finish in the league at 14.0, but Dean will need to step it up at Valderrama and The Open if he hopes to stay in touch with the leaders.

Notables

Brooks Koepka (No. 6/62.9 Rating)

Brooks was showing signs of life before his dismal performance in Nashville (42) with a win in Singapore and 2-Top 10’s (Adelade and Houston). And although he hasn’t recorded a major Top 10 in 2024, he’s not been very far off (a poor third round knocked him out at the PGA and a tough second round cost him at the U.S. Open).

Koepka’s trademark at major’s has been his consistency and resilience—so three consecutive mediocre major championship finishes is a surprise.

In his last 7 starts at The Open, Brooks recorded 4 Top 10 finishes (2015–T10, 2017–T6, 2019–T4, and a T6 in 2021).

Looks like Brooks is due.

Cameron Smith (No. 7/62.6 Rating)

Cam recorded his second runner-up of the year in Singapore after a T6 at The Masters, and had a strong finish in Nashville last week (T9). When Smith has a putter in his hands, anything can happen—and if the short stick heats up as it did in 2022, there’s a good chance he’ll be raising the Claret Jug again in July.

Carlos Ortiz (No. 9/58.8 Rating)

After a slow start to the 2024 LIV season, Carlos posted a T4 in Hong Kong in April and climbed into the Top 10 with his first LIV win 3 weeks ago at the Golf Club of Houston and continued his strong pay with a T9 in Nashville.

Phil (No. 43/30.1 Rating

Phil hasn’t made the cut at The Open Championship since 2018, and it’s been over ten years since he fired that brilliant 66 in the final round at Muirfield to come from 5 back and win the 2013 Championship.

Mickelson has done nothing in the LIV events this year other than a T6 at Jeddah back in March, and he missed the cut at both the PGA and the U.S. Open.

His last two starts at Houston (T37) and Nashville (T40) were disappointing to say the least, but as George Patton would say that is exactly why you should expect Phil to mount a major offensive at Troon a couple of weeks from now.

On the other hand, Phil may finally have run out of hat rabbits—but it’s always fun to watch him tee it up again a major championship.

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Andacucia: Real Club Valderrama, Spain (July 12-14)

United Kingdom: JCB Golf and Country Club (July26-28)

Greenbrier: Old White-Greenbrier (August 16-18)

Chicago: Bolingbrook Golf Club (September 13-15)

Team Championship Dallas: Maridoe Golf Club (September 20-22)

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2024 PGA Championship: Showdown at Valhalla

**Scottie Scheffler: Amazing 2024 Season**

Seem’s like we were just watching Scottie Scheffler slip the green jacket over his shoulders, and suddenly the PGA Championship is upon us. The eve of a major championship is always alive with anticipation and excitement, but the ‘24 PGA has the protentional for all-time greatness.

This may be the most highly talented field ever assembled for a golf championship, when you consider Tiger’s 15 majors, Phil with 6, Brooks Koepka at 5, Rory at 4, and Jordan Spieth with 3—a total of 33 major championships between them.

For perspective, the 1963 PGA Championship included Ben Hogan with 9 majors, Sam Snead and Arnie with 7 each, while Gary Player had won 3 majors at that point and Jack 2 (the ’63 PGA was Jack’s third major)—28 total majors.

In addition, the 2024 PGA includes future Hall of Famers Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler–each with 2 major championships.

**Tiger and Phil (21 Majors Between Them)**

And although the odds are pretty long that Tiger or Phil will be among the leaders on Sunday, it won’t be for lack of will—and watching them battle once again to turn back the hands of time will make for memorable viewing (and hopefully they will both be teeing it up on the weekend).

The big show without doubt, however, will be Scottie Scheffler–and if anybody can take him down.

Scottie’s Run

With victories at The Masters and The Players, and 9 Top-10’s without missing a cut in his first 10 starts, Scheffler is off to the hottest start on the PGA Tour since 1960 (including Tiger in 2000 and Jack in 1963).

On top of that, Scottie’s momentum has reached a crescendo coming into the PGA, with 4 wins and a runner-up in his last 5 starts. Keep in mind as well that this wave has been gathering strength for quite a while, with 26 Top-10’s in his last 33 starts going back to last year (and with no missed cuts)—so anybody who steps up to take him on better be ready to absorb some heavy blows.

**Brooks Koepka: Looking for Sixth Major**

The Top Contenders

Koepka: Defending champion Brooks Koepka is coming off a Top-10 and a win in his last two LIV events, and looks like he is primed and ready in pursuit of his sixth major. Koepka lives for major championships, so don’t expect him to take a dive.

McIlroy: It’s been ten years since Rory won his last major championship, but it was The PGA and it was at Valhalla. And although Rory was the invisible man in his first 8 starts of 2024, he’s posted a win in each of his last 2 (including a heavyweight performance at Quail Hollow last week). If McIlroy is making a few putts, even Scheffler will need his best to hold him off.

Rahm: Jon Rahm put up the highest career cut and Top-10 percentages on the PGA Tour outside of Tiger and Jack, and has finished in the top ten of every LIV event he’s played. At 29 years old, Rahm is just now coming into his prime—look for him to rebound from the lackluster Masters performance and put some heat on Scheffler as he goes for major number 3.

Schauffele: Xander is having a heck of a 2024 season with 8 Top-10’s in 12 starts, and he hasn’t missed a cut in two years—but somehow that first major championship has eluded him. Always a great ball striker, Schauffele has made vast improvement from the tee (currently 6^th in Total Driving) and stands at No. 2 behind Scheffler in scoring average. It’s just a matter of time before he breaks through at a major, and remember that Phil didn’t win his first until he was 33.

Notables

Twenty-four-year-old Ludwig Aberg is going to be a major force on the PGA Tour for another decade and more, currently standing at No. 3 on the Tour Power Rankings with 5 Top-10’s in 10 starts, including a runner-up at The Masters. He bombs it from the tee and sticks his irons like Miller, but the putter has been holding him back—if the short stick heats up look for Ludwig toward the top of the leaderboard late on Sunday.

Joaquin Niemann is the young star on the LIV circuit, and he’ll be flying under the radar with Koepka and Rahm grabbing most of the attention—but he has 2 wins and leads the LIV Power Rankings by a pretty wide margin. Niemann has major championship ability and a golf swing that’s easy on the eyes—watch for him this weekend.

Valhalla Golf Club

A Jack Nicklaus masterpiece, Valhalla will present a stiff test for the PGA Championship with a USGA Course Rating of 77.5 and a Slope of 154. 2024 will be the fourth time that Valhalla has hosted the PGA (1996, 2000, 2014).

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LIV Golf: 2024 Power Rankings and PGA Preview

There will be sixteen LIV players teeing it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship next week, led by the reigning champion—Brooks Koepka.

If Koepka can go back-to-back at the PGA, it will be his sixth major championship, matching Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil. His chances looked a bit dim only a few weeks ago after the no-show at Augusta and mediocre start to the ’24 LIV season, but then Brooks notched a T9 down under at Adelaide and a 2-shot win over Cam Smith in Singapore.

Koepka is plenty long, and he can hit an iron with anybody, but what separates him from the field at major championships is the putter from 10 feet and in, where steel nerve under stifling pressure is a requirement. Brooks wasn’t making many putts at Augusta, but the short stick started heating up in Singapore—so it’s a pretty good bet he won’t relinquish his title without a fight next week.

Rahm v Scheffler II

A 74 in the first round at Augusta led to an early K/O for Rahm when Scheffler came out smoking with a 66, sending him to the canvas—and he never got up.

Don’t look for that to happen again. In the seven LIV events Rahm has played this year, he’s recorded four Top 5’s and 3 Top 10’s. Before moving to LIV, Jon notched 9 PGA Tour wins along with his 2 major championships (’21 U.S. Open and ’23 Masters).

Rahm’s cut percentage (90.2) and Top 10 percentage (50.2) is second only to Tiger (90.4/54.3) among active players, and his next major Top 10 will move him into the Top 50 players of all-time—and he’s still only 28 years old.

In addition to his two wins, Rahm’s major championship record includes a runner-up, 5 Top-5’s and 4 Top-10’s. And like Koepka, Jon saves his best for the toughest tracks and the biggest stage—so this time he’ll come out swinging for sure.

Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Joaquin Niemann

While Cam will look to deliver magic with the wand, Bryson will be launching bombs into the stratosphere. If Smith drives it in the fairway, the short stick will keep him among the leaders—and then anything can happen (as it did at the ’22 Open Championship).

DeChambeau had the driver under control at Augusta, but his putter let him down—and unfortunately following up with a T26 and a T27 could not have done much for his confidence. Still, with all that power you can’t count Bryson out.

Joaquin Niemann has been showcasing his talent at every LIV event this year, and its high time he stands up to take his place among the elite players in the world. With the way he hits it tee to green, you have to believe he’ll break through soon—but will Valhalla be his first?

PGA Championship Field

Brooks Koepka
Jon Rahm
Cameron Smith
Joaquin Niemann
Bryson DeChambeau
Dustin Johnson
Tyrell Hatton
Phil Mickelson
Patrick Reed
Talor Gooch
Dean Burmester
Adrian Meronk
David Puig
Lucas Herbert
Martin Kaymer
Andy Ogletree

LIV Power Ranking Update

Players are rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner ups, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the major championships (LIV Player Rankings).

Joaquin Niemann continues to hold the top spot in the Power rankings with a pair of wins, 2 Top-5’s and 2 Top-10’s. Jon Rahm is close behind with 4 Top-5’s and 3 Top-10’s.

Major championship performance moves the needle in a big way, and Rahm would jump to the top with a win at Valhalla–unless Niemann records a Top 10.

Top 5

No. 1 Joaquin Niemann: 80.1 Rating

Niemann added a couple more Top 10’s with a T3 at Adelaide and a T7 in Singapore, and also improved his average finish to 7.9, edging closer to Rahm’s league lead of 5.9—and well ahead of the rest of the field.

No. 2 Jon Rahm: 74.1 Rating

Although remaining winless, Rahm keeps churning out the Top 10’s, adding a T3 and a T10 while continuing to lead the league in average finish at 5.9—so you have to believe that first LIV win is right around the corner.

No. 3 Dean Burmester: 65.1 Rating Burmester maintained his No. 3 position with a T3 and a T14, and also punched his ticket to the PGA Championship.

No. 4 Abraham Ancer: 62.1 Rating

Since his win in Hong Kong, Ancer has posted 3 consecutive Top 10’s (T9’s at Miami and Adelaide with a T10 in Singapore), while improving his Average Finish to 12.9. Abraham will also be among the LIV contingent looking to make some noise this week.

No. 5 Tyrell Hatton: 61.7 Rating Tyrell held his position among the Top 5 with a T14 and a T5 following the solid performance at The Masters. Hatton is loaded with talent, so don’t be stunned if he’s hanging around the leaderboard again at Valhalla.

Notables

Cameron Smith (No. 6/61.3 Rating)

After a solid showing at The Masters, Smith posted a T14 at Adelaide and a runner up to Koepka in Singapore—and as long as that putter doesn’t break, expect to see him lurking on the leaderboard come Sunday next week.

Brooks Koepka (No. 8/59.0 Rating)

With a T9 and a win in Singapore (his fourth since joining LIV), Brooks jumped from the middle of the pack to the Top 10—and he’s tuned and ready to defend at Valhalla.

Dustin Johnson (No. 10/57.4) Johnson started the season right on track with a T5 in Mayakoba followed by a win in Vegas, but then the train left the rails as he finished outside the top twenty in each of the following four events—while also missing the cut at The Masters. Hopefully his T7 at Singapore last week means that Dustin is back in the groove and ready to put some heat on Scheffler next week.

Phil (No. 40/28.9 Rating

Come on Phil, 38th at Adelaide and a T22 in Singapore? Really?? One of these days you’re going to reach into the hat and there won’t be any more rabbits.

This will be his 102^nd major cut if he can pull it off, tying him with Gary Player for number 2 all-time behind Jack—let’s hope there’s one more bunny hiding in there…

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Houston Golf Club of Houston (June 7-9)

Nashville The Grove (June 21-23)

Andalucia Valderrama, Spain (July 12-14)

United Kingdom JCB Golf and Country Club (July 26-28)

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LIV Golf: Masters Wrap-up and 2024 Power Rankings

**Bryson DeChambeau: Finds His Footing at Augusta**

Thirteen LIV players teed it up at Augusta last week for The Masters, eight made the cut, and 3 finished in the Top 10. Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith both finished at 2 under (T6) while Tyrell Hatton came in at even par (T9).

The big story at the 2024 Masters was the weather, where extremely high winds wreaked havoc with scoring as only eight players finished under par (as compared with twenty-five players under par in 23’). After storming out of the gate with an opening round 65, Bryson followed up with three mediocre rounds of 73-75-73—mainly because the continual buffeting by the wind eventually turned his putter into a block of ice.

Cam Smith was steady throughout, recording rounds of 71-72-72-71, anchored by the short stick. While not the pure magic seen at his 2022 Open Championship victory, his putter and short game held up well in all that wind—securing him another major T10.

LIV Power Ranking Update

Players are 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 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).

**Joaquin Niemann: #1 in the Power Rankings**

While fifty-five players have participated in one or more tournaments this season, we’ve included only the top fifty. While most would expect Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith or Dustin Johnson to be occupying the top spot, instead you will see a 25-year-old Joaquin Niemann standing atop the mountain. There are two LIV events coming up before the PGA Championship in mid-May, however–Adelaide at La Grange Golf Club in Australia (April 26-28) and Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club (May 3-5), so there’s opportunity for someone to make a big move.

Top 5

No. 1 Joaquin Niemann: 72.0 Rating

Niemann has won two of the five LIV events played in 2024 (Mayakoba and Jeddah), and also recorded a T4 in Hong Kong and a T9 in Miami with an average finish among the Top 10 (9.0–second only to Jon Rahm.)

While he didn’t have his best at Augusta, Joaquin still finished in the Top 25 at +4 (tied with Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantley.) He’ll have his work cut out for him to hold off Jon Rahm for the top spot in the LIV rankings all year, but keep a close eye on Joaquin at the PGA next month—he can hit it with anybody.

No. 2 Jon Rahm: 67.4 Rating

Although Rahm has not yet won a LIV event, he finished among the Top 10 every time he teed it up (3, 4, 5 and 2-8’s). His average finish of 5.6 is also the League’s best by a wide margin, so it’s just a matter of time before the door bursts open. While the much-anticipated showdown with Scottie Scheffler at Augusta didn’t materialize, you can be sure that the 23’ Masters champ will make his presence felt at Valhalla for the PGA Championship.

No. 3 Bryson DeChambeau: 62.8 Rating

Bryson moved steadily up the board last year after his strong showing at the 23’ PGA Championship (T4), and finished the year at No. 10 with 5 LIV Top-10’s. In 5 events this year, DeChambeau has recorded a T4 (Jeddah) and 3 Top-10’s (Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Miami). With his T6 at The Masters, Bryson is chomping at the heals of Niemann and Rahm—it would be a big surprise if he were not among the leaders again on Sunday at the PGA.

No. 4 Dean Burmester: 58.8 Rating

Who? Not a household name to American golf fans, South African Dean Burmester played his entire career on the Sunshine and European Golf Tours accumulating 14 wins before joining LIV for the 23’ season (where he picked up 3 Top-10’s). With a win in Miami at Trump National Doral, a T3 at Mayakoba and T8 in Hong Kong, Dean is making himself known in a big way. His average finish of 13.2 places him 7^th through the first five events, ahead of Dustin Johnson (15.6), Cam Smith (16.5), and Brooks Koepka (20.4).

No. 5 Tyrell Hatton: 56.0 Rating

Hatton recorded a Top-10 in his first LIV event at Mayakoba, but dropped steadily in his next 3 starts until a T4 in Miami propelled him upward to his strong showing at the Masters (T9). He’s a superlative ball-striker and there’s something piratical about Tyrell–look for him to hoist his Jolly Roger among the leaders at the PGA in a couple weeks (unless his temper sends him off the plank).

**Tyrell Hatton**: **T9 at The Masters**

Notables

Cameron Smith (No. 10/52.5 Rating)

After finishing #1 in the 2023 LIV Power rankings, Cam was wallowing in the middle of the pack until a runner-up in Hong Kong and a T6 at The Masters shot him up to the 10^th position.

Perhaps the first major of the year got his blood flowing.

Brooks Koepka (No. 19/42.6 Rating)

Outside of a T5 in the first LIV event of the year at Mayakoba, Brooks has been sleep-walking through the 2024 season—and his performance at Augusta (+9/T45) did nothing to indicate he was ready to emerge from his slumber.

As everybody knows, Brooks puts the bulk of his focus and energy into the majors, particularly the PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Hopefully The Masters will serve as a blaring wake-up call and he’ll arrive at Valhalla tuned up and ready to defend his title.

**Brooks Koepka:** **Reigning PGA Champion**

Phil (No. 43/37.2 Rating

At 53 years old, Phil can still play–there’s no doubt about it. Last year he did nothing in the LIV events leading up to The Masters, and magically recorded a runner up finish. Once again in 24’ he’s done virtually nothing in the LIV tournaments, yet makes the cut at Augusta by a comfortable margin —and finishes ahead of both Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.

What’s up with that? Perhaps Phil should put his foot on the gas in the upcoming LIV events at Adelaide and Singapore to sharpen his game and then see if he can add another PGA Championship to his major trophy case. The 2024 Masters was the one hundred and first major championship cut he’s made in his career, one behind Gary Player (who is second only to Jack).

**Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta GA**

Masters Summary

Bryson DeChambeau	T6
Cameron Smith	T6
Tyrell Hatton	T9
Patrick Reed	T12
Joaquin Nieman	T22
Phil Mickelson	T43
Jon Rahm	T45
Brooks Koepka	T45
Dustin Johnson	MC
Sergio Garcia	MC
Bubba Watson	MC
Charl Schwartzel	MC
Adrian Meronk	MC

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Adelaide The Grange Golf Club, Australia (April 26-28)

Singapore Sentosa Golf Club (May 3-5)

Houston Golf Club of Houston (June 7-9)

Nashville The Grove (June 21-23)

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Masters 2024: Clash of the Titans

Every year The Masters kicks off a new golf season, and the 2024 edition is shaping up to be one
for the ages. It seems like forever since Jon Rahm lifted the 2023 championship trophy, while his
departure from the PGA Tour to join LIV at the end of the season brought on a seismic shift in
the landscape of professional golf.

In addition to his Masters victory, Rahm recorded 9 Top-10’s in 2023 including 3
more Tour wins, a T2 at the Open Championship and a T10 at the U.S. Open. Since joining LIV,
Jon has played 5 events with 3 Top-5’s and 2 Top-10’s—so he’s primed and ready to defend his
Masters title this weekend.

Scottie Scheffler, the 2022 Masters Champion, will be standing in his way, however—and when
you look at the way Scheffler finished the 2023 season along with the incredible year he’s had
thus far in 24’, Mr. Rahm will need every bit of his A game if he hopes to repeat at Augusta.

**Scottie Scheffler: Current World Number 1**

In his last 11 starts of 2023, Scottie recorded 9 Top 10’s including a T2 at The PGA and 3rd at the
U.S. Open (for the year he made 23 of 23 cuts with 17 Top-10’s and 2 wins). Scottie’s 2024
season has been even more remarkable, with 7 Top-10’s in eight starts and 2 more wins
including The Players Championship.

Let’s get ready to rumble!

Supporting Cast

Rory McIlroy has had a dismal season, but showed signs of life last week when he closed with a
66 to record his first Top 10 of the year. If Rory is on his game and making a few putts, even
Scheffler and Rahm will have their hands full trying to hold him off—and he wants nothing more
than to add a Green Jacket to his major championship profile page.

**Rory McIlroy: Four Time Major Winner**

After such a tough loss at The Players, Xander Schauffele has to be laser focused on landing that
first major championship. Xander has 6 Top 10’s in 8 starts without missing a cut (42 in a row
going all the way back to 2022)—so he is definitely due.

Hideki Matsuyama had a forgettable 2023 season where he was making cuts (22 of 26), but
recorded only 2 Top 10’s. That was last year—in only 9 starts so far this year Hideki has 3 Top
10’s including a win at The Genesis in LA and T6 at The Players. Keep in mind that Matsuyama
already owns a Green Jacket (2021 Champ) and he’s coming off a strong showing (T7) at the
Valero last week—look for him among the leaders heading into Sunday.

Another player to keep an eye on is Wyndam Clark (reigning U.S. Open Champ). Wyndam
recorded a win at Pebble Beach in the AT&T back in February, and had back-to-back runner-up
finishes in March (Palmer Invitational and The Players). Clark crushes it, so if he’s dialed in this
week listen for some pretty loud noise around the leaderboard come the weekend.

Young Guns

This year’s Masters field will include perhaps the most talented group of young players ever
assembled at Augusta National. Nick Dunlap (20), Akshay Bhatia (22), Ludvig Aberg (24), and.
Sahith Theegala (26).

At only 20 years old, Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a Tour event since Phil when
he held off a strong field including Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele at the American Express in January. At 22, Akshay Bhatia has already won twice on Tour, including a gutsy win
at the Valero last week—and with his power you can look for a ton of wedges at Augusta.
Ludvig Aberg, by way of Sweden and Texas Tech, picked up his first Tour win at the RSM last
Fall, and with his power and ball striking the wins will pile up fast when the putter comes
around.

A 3-time All-American at Pepperdine, Sahith Theegala has already recorded 17 Top-10’s
including a win and a T-9 at the ’23 Masters—he’ll break out at a major more sooner than later,
and Augusta suits his eye.
Check out the current top 75 players on GolfDay’s 2024 Power Rankings.

The LIV Contingent

LIV will be sending 13 players to the Masters this year, and Jon Rahm is not the only one with a
solid chance to don the Green Jacket on Sunday. Joaquin Niemann leads the LIV Power Rankings after winning 2 of the 5 events played thus far in 2024—and that is with Jon Rahm
barking at his heels.
Of the top 5 finishers at the 2023 Masters, 4 are currently playing on LIV—so it’s a pretty good
bet that a few will be lurking among the leaders on Sunday. Remember that before he won the
PGA last year, Brooks Koepka was lapping the field at Augusta through 3 rounds until Rahm
chased him down.
Don’t forget about DJ either—he recorded a LIV win earlier this year. And as long as Cameron
Smith has a putter in his hands, he’s extremely dangerous—particularly on the immaculate
greens at Augusta National.
Probably not likely that Phil has another rabbit hidden under his hat like the one he pulled last
year to finish runner up, but you never know.
In any event, there’s no doubt the LIV group will make their presence felt.

Betting Odds

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Scottie Scheffler is the man to beat at (+400 to win)—but a
few names of interest are included below (as of Wednesday evening).

Rory McIlroy +1000.
Jon Rahm +1100
Xander Schauffele at +1400
Brooks Koepka +1800
Hideki Matsuyama +2000
Jordan Spieth+2200
Joaquin Neimann +2800
Ludvig Oberg+3300
Wyndham Clark +4000
Patrick Cantlay+4000
Cameron Smith +5000
Sahith Theegala +5000
Max Homa +7500
Akshay Bhatia +11000.
Tiger Woods +15000
Phil Mickelson +27000

History

Augusta National has provided some of the greatest moments in golf history—from Jack’s
magical victory at 46 years old in ’86, to Tiger’s win in ’01 that completed the “Tiger Slam.”
And of course, who can forget Greg Norman’s monumental collapse at the ’96 Masters, or when
Fred Couples’ tee shot on 12 miraculously defied gravity, clinging to the slope above Rae’s
Creek as he went on to win.
And then there was Phil’s leap, following his birdie on 18 to win his first major, and the amazing
approach on 13 from the pine straw when he took home his third green jacket in 2010.

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Drive for Show?

Every golfer has heard the saying “drive for show, putt for dough,” but you’ll find that’s pretty far from the truth once you’ve logged a round or two.

Think about your best days on the course. No doubt you holed some putts—but it’s pretty much guaranteed the driver was operating at or near full capacity. Golf is a whole lot easier from the middle of the fairway—and exponentially so when you’re hitting wedge into the green as opposed to middle or long iron.

You also have to work pretty hard to make a double after a solid drive in the fairway, but a snap hook tee ball that disappears in the woods or a weak flare that settles down in heavy rough a couple hundred yards from the green generally spells bogey at best.

A good way to demonstrate the paramount importance of driving is to look at the top echelon players in professional golf—and they have almost universally been big hitters down through the years.

The Longest and Greatest

Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are without question the greatest players in golf history, and also among the longest off the tee. Many consider Nicklaus the longest of all-time (according to Bobby Jones, Jack was ‘playing an entirely different game, and one which I’m not familiar with”). Unfortunately, official driving stats weren’t tracked by the PGA Tour until 1980 when Jack had already hit 40, but he still came in at No. 10 in distance and No. 1 in total driving with accuracy factored in (he hit 71.5% of the fairways).

Before knee and back injuries slowed him down in 2008, Tiger was in the top 10 for distance every year with the exception of 2003 (11^th) and 2007 (12^th). In 1999 Tiger was 3^rd in distance and 4^th in Total Driving, while piling up 7 Tour wins plus a major and 7 additional Top 10’s.

In 2000 Tiger amped up the big stick even further, finishing 2^nd in distance and No.1 in total driving on his way to 3 major championships, 7 more regular tour titles and another 7 Top 10’s,

Driving and the World Number 1’s

Since the World Golf Rankings were established in 1986, twenty-five players have reached number 1 in the world and the vast majority have been long off the tee. Bernhard Langer was the first to hold the Number 1 moniker after his win at the ’85 Masters (yes, the same Bernhard who is still winning on the Champions Tour). Although Langer was not generally regarded as a long hitter, he ranked 17^th in distance on the PGA Tour in ’85.

**Greg Norman: 331 weeks at #1**
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/sports/golf/greg-norman-pga-saudi-arabia.html

Norman and Seve

Following Bernard’s brief tenure as No. 1, the top spot oscillated between Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros though the end of 1990. Norman held World Number 1 longer than any player other than Tiger (331 weeks), and he is also regarded by many as the greatest driver of all time.

From 1984 to 1994, Norman was among the top ten in driving distance every year but two (No. 15 in 1989 and No. 32 in 1992). Not only was he long, but he was straight as well—No. 1 in total driving in 1988, 1989 and 1993 plus 5 years in the top ten.

**Seve Ballesteros: Power and Grace**
https://www.liveabout.com/seve-ballesteros-pictures-4056191

Seve Ballesteros played predominantly on the European Tour (now the DP World Tour) and driving distance stats are sketchy, but he possessed a powerful (though somewhat erratic) tee shot. Seve drove the green on the Par 4 10^th hole at the Belfry a number of times, a 290 plus yard carry over water calling for a high cut, including at the 1989 Ryder Cup where he dropped an Eagle putt from inside twenty feet. Keep in mind he was using a persimmon driver with a soft ballata golf ball, and the average distance off the tee on the PGA Tour that year was just under 262 yards.

Tiger

Tiger held the top spot in the World Golf Rankings from 1999 through 2010 with the exception of 6 months in 2004/2005 when Vijay Singh (another fantastic driver of the ball) briefly moved into the No. 1 position. In all, Tiger was World Number 1 for an astounding 683 weeks—and an intimidating presence on the tee.

Between 1997 and 2007, Tiger was among the top five in distance six times, and the top ten every year but two (11^th in 2003 and 12^th in 2007).

**McIlroy: 2023 Tour Distance Leader**
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/golf/rory-mcilroy-remote-controlled-ball-fan-spt-intl/index.html

Rory, DJ and Brooks Koepka

Rory first reached number 1 in the world back in 2012 when he had just turned 23 years old, and has held the Number 1 position on and off for a total of 122 weeks (most recently from October ’22 through February ‘23).

And of course, McIlroy can bomb it with anybody (picture that majestic high draw that seems to carry forever). Since 2017 Rory has been either first or second in driving distance every year but one (4^th in 2020) and led the Tour in distance last year averaging 326.3 yards.

**Brooks and DJ: Big hitters Rising to #1**

Dustin Johnson ascended to World No. 1 in 2017, and is behind only Tiger and Greg Norman for the longest time at the top (135 weeks). From 2009 through 2021, Johnson ranked among the top 5 in distance every year but 3 (6^th in 2018, 10^th in 2020 and 7^th in 2021).

After winning the CJ Cub on the heels of two major championships (US Open and PGA), Brooks Koepka first assumed World Number 1 in October of 2018, and through February of 2020 he spent 47 weeks at the top. Between 2014 and 2019 Brooks finished outside the top 10 in driving distance only once (19^th in 2016).

Knee and hip injuries at the end of 2019 through 2020 severely impacted Koepka’s driving distance and his ability to compete, but after rehab he was injury free in 2023 and recorded a runner up at the Masters, a win at the PGA and a top 20 at the US Open (where he was also second in driving distance averaging 320.6 yards).

Scheffler and Rahm

Jon Rahm or Scottie Scheffler have occupied the top spot in the World Golf Rankings since June of 2021 with the exception of DJ for a week in July of ’21 and Rory from October ’22 through February ’23.

Not surprisingly, both are fantastic drivers of the ball. Since 2017, Rahm finished outside the top 20 in distance only once (22^nd in 2020) and was #1 in Total Driving twice—2021 and 2022. Scheffler has plenty of distance (16^th in ‘20 and 19^th in ‘22) while finishing among the top 10 in total driving 3 of the last 4 years (his lowest ranking was 13^th in 2022).

The Putting Factor

There is no question that both Jack and Tiger were amazing putters, particularly on critical putts under maximum pressure, but while putting prowess separated them further from the field, the incredible record they each achieved would not have been possible without the power game.

Luke Donald possesses one of the finest putting strokes ever seen on the PGA Tour, finishing first in putting from 2009 through 2011. Luke was also a fantastic iron player, but struggled from the tee throughout his career.

In 2010 Donald ranked 186^th on tour in total driving, but made a dramatic jump in both distance and accuracy in 2011, allowing him to ride that great putter all the way to #1 in the world. Unfortunately, Luke’s difficulties from the tee returned in 2013 and as his driving numbers dropped each year, so too did his world ranking—even as his putting stroke remained as silky as ever.

This is not to minimize the importance of putting, only to illuminate the fact that driving is far and away the biggest factor in determining success on the golf course. Power players have reached #1 in the world without being particularly good putters (Freddie Couples and Vijay Singh come immediately to mind), but some of the greatest putters in modern history who were not great drivers of the ball are conspicuously missing from the list of #1’s (Ben Crenshaw, Corey Pavin and Brad Faxon for example).

Bottom line is you drive for the dough, and putt for—well, some additional dough perhaps…

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