Tag: LIV Player Rankings

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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LIV Golf: 2024 Power Rankings through Andalucia and The Open

Jon Rahm keeps packing on the Top 10’s and Bryson DeChambeau lit up the first three majors of the year–yet Joaquin Niemann continues to hold the lead in the LIV Power Rankings.

Of the 18 LIV players to tee it up for The Open Championship at Royal Troon, 11 made the cut where brutal wind and gnarly rough saw 10 of the Top 20 players in the World Rankings head home for the weekend.

The weather continued to play havoc with scoring as rain came in on Saturday afternoon, adding another element to the difficult conditions at Troon, and then on Sunday the wind abruptly turned 180 degrees presenting the players with an entirely new look—and requiring a big shift in strategy and approach amidst the pressure of the final round at a major championship.

As the leaders came back to the field, Jon Rahm battled the elements and stayed within striking distance at 2 over through the first three rounds. On Sunday Jon came out guns blazing with 3 birdies on the first 3 holes and 32 on the front-nine to pull within 2 shots of the lead before a wayward tee shot on the 11^th hole led to a bogie that derailed his run.

Although Rahm didn’t pick up his third major, his T7 adds another Major Top 10 to an already phenomenal record, and he will join Phil, DJ, Sergio and Lee Westwood among the first 50 in All-Time Top 100 Players.

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 Joaquin Niemann: 87.4 Rating

Along with his two wins at Mayakoba and Jeddah, Niemann has also recorded 6-Top 10’s including his T6 at Andalucia last week, and improved his average finish of 9.6, second only to Jon Rahm.

Although his performance at the major’s has not met expectations thus far in his early career, it is only a matter of time before Joaquin breaks out in a big way—and there is nothing not to like about this young man (exemplified by the 4 birdies he made on the back nine Friday at Troon following a nightmare 8 at the Postage Stamp Par 3).

No. 2 Jon Rahm: 86.0 Rating

Still no LIV wins (incredibly), but five Top-5’s and four Top-10’s in nine LIV events this year is pretty tough to beat. And with all those great finishes, it’s not a surprise that Rahm also holds a substantial lead in average finish at 6.0.

Although Jon came up short at The Open, there was a glimpse of the fire that the world is used to seeing from Rahm when he is in the hunt on Sunday—look for him to break through with his first LIV win this weekend at The UK.

No. 3 Bryson DeChambeau: 84.6 Rating

In addition to his U.S. Open win, runner up at the PGA and T6 at The Masters, Bryson has recorded 2-Top 5’s (Jeddah and Nashville) along with 4 Top-10’s (including a T9 at Andalucia last week).

While Bryson missed the cut at The Open this week, his 2024 season has been nothing less than spectacular—and you can look forward to watching him bomb his way to the top of the leaderboard at major championships for many years to come.

No. 4 Tyrell Hatton: 77.9 Rating

Hatton recorded a T3 at Andalucia on the heels of his first LIV win in Nashville at The Grove, where he dominated for a six-shot margin of victory.

For the season, Tyrell has recorded 3 Top-5’s and a Top-10 to go along with his win, while sporting the third best average finish at 10.1—just behind Niemann.

No. 5 Sergio Garcia: 67.9 With his home-court win at Andalucia last week, Sergio jumped into the Top 5 on the Power rankings. In addition to his win, Garcia has also recorded a pair of runner-up finishes (Mayakoba and Trump Doral in Miami), as well as a T5 at Houston.

No. 5 Dean Burmester: 67.0 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—but cooled off with no Top 10’s in his last four LIV events.

It seemed that the Burmester magic was back as he stayed among the leaders through Thursday and Friday at The Open, but as the rain and wind grew stronger on Saturday afternoon Dean’s hopes were washed away with a 41 on the back, and a 3^rd round 76.

Burmester re-set and shot an even par 71 on Sunday for a solid Top 20 Open finish, so it seems that he’s ready to resume his early season success.

Notables

Brooks Koepka (No. 6/63.9 Rating)

For a lot of players making the cut at all four majors wouldn’t be all that bad, but for Koepka it’s a dismal year.

Brooks has recorded a win, a Top 5 and 2-Top 10’s thus far in 2024 however, so he’s still in position to make a move with big finishes at the U.K., Greenbrier and Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago. But will he be motivated?

Phil (No. 41/33.0 Rating

Phil continues his slumber in the LIV events, but he was teeing it up on Saturday at Royal Troon while ten of the top twenty players in the world were lounging on the couch.

And although it wasn’t the same Phil who fought Henrik Stenson tooth and nail at Troon in 2016, firing that brilliant final found 65, he’s still got some game at 54 years old (finished in a tie with 2023 Open Champion Brian Harmon and ahead of Hideki Matsuyama, another World Top 20 player).

The 2024 Open Championship was also the 102^nd time that Mickelson has made the cut at a major championship, tying Gary Player for second behind Jack.

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

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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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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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: 2022-23 PGA Wrap-up and Power Rankings

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.

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 11^th at Adelaide, 3^rd in Singapore and 5^th 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.

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: 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 5^th 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: 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 100^th 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…

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

2023 Upcoming LIV Schedule

DC Trump National Golf Club, Washington (May 26-28)

Valderrama Real Club, Spain (June 30-July 2)

London Centurion Club, Hertfordshire UK (July 7-9)

Greenbrier Old White/The Greenbrier WV (August 4-6)

Bedminster Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster NJ (August 11-13)

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LIV Golf: 2022-23 Power Rankings and Masters Look Back

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 5^th 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.

LIV Power Ranking Update

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 8^thplace 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.

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 24^th at The Gallery Golf Club in Tucson, 26^th 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: 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: 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)

Singapore Sentosa Golf Club (April 28-30)

Tulsa Cedar Ridge Country Club (May 12-14)

DC Trump National Golf Club, Washington (May 26-28)

Valderrama Real Club, Spain (June 30-July 2)

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LIV Golf: 2022-23 Power Rankings and Masters Preview

**Dustin Johnson: Continues to Dominate**

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 24^th at The Gallery Golf Club in Tucson and 26^th 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 8^thplace 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.

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.

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.

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 (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.

**Augusta National**
**PGA Tour (https://www.pgatour.com/)**

Playing The Masters

Dustin Johnson No. 1 (80.9)

Patrick Reed No. 2 (62.6)

Brooks Koepka No. 3 (60.0)

Cameron Smith No. 8 (59.6)

Sergio Garcia No. 10 (55.6)

Talor Gooch No. 11 (55.5)

Mito Pareira No. 12 (54.3)

Charl Schwartzel No. 14 (53.2)

Joaquin Nieman No. 15 (52.7)

Louis Oosthuizen No. 16 (51.3)

Abraham Ancer No. 17 (48.0)

Kevin Na No. 18 (44.7)

Bryson DeChambeau No. 23 (41.6)

Jason Kokrak No. 26 (41.0)

Harold Varner III No. 30 (37.6)

Phil Mickelson No. 46 (29.6)

Thomas Pieters No. 52 (24.0)

Bubba Watson No. 62 (17.7)

2023 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Adelaide The Grange Golf Club, Australia (April 21-23)

Singapore Sentosa Golf Club (April 28-30)

Tulsa Cedar Ridge Country Club (May 12-14)

DC Trump National Golf Club, Washington (May 26-28)

Valderrama Real Club, Spain (June 30-July 2)

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LIV Golf: 2022 Power Ratings

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 8^thplace 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.

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.

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.

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 5^th at Trump National Bedminster).

Reed also ended the season with a 10.8 average finish (3^rd behind DJ and Niemann).

**Charl Schwartzel**
**https://pictures.reuters.com/**

No. 5 Charl Schwartzel: 54.3 Rating

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.

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 (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).

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.

**Mayakoba: Greg Norman Design, Mexico**

2023 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Mayakoba El Camaleon, Mexico (February 23-26)

Adelaide The Grange Golf Club, Australia (April 21-23)

Singapore Sentosa Golf Club (April 28-30)

Valderrama Real Club, Spain (June 30-July 2)

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LIV Golf: Top 5 Through Boston

**DJ and Cam Smith Lead the Field**
**https://www.si.com/**

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.

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 8^th 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.

**Talor Gooch, Henrik Stenson and Brandon Grace**
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Talor Gooch: No. 3 / 56.0 Rating (Tie)

While Talor has yet to record an LIV win, he has finished among the top 10 in all four events (9^th in London, 7^th in Portland, T6 at Bedminster and a 6^th 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 12^th last week in Boston, Grace has the 3^rd 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 Oosthuizen and Patrick Reed: LIV Top 10**
**https://www.si.com/**

Notables

Louis Oosthuizen: No. 9 / 49.2 Rating

Louie is among the Top 10 on the strength of a T10 in London, 5^th 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 5^th at Bedminster). Patrick also made the cut at all four of the major championships in 2022.

**Brooks and Bryson: Need to Kick it in Gear**
**https://www.si.com/**

Treading Water

Brook Koepka: No. 25 / 35.3 Rating

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 55^th 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).

Missing in Action

Phil Mickelson: No. 60 / 15 Rating

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 35^th 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.

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