For the first three majors of the year, the LIV leaderboard has been quite informative.
The guy at the top? Now a two-time major champion, Bryson DeChambeau has quickly rebuilt his standing in the golf world. One could argue that DeChambeau is outperforming world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in this major. He recently won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, finished second at the PGA Championship at Valhalla, and finished sixth at the Masters.
Who else among his LIV rivals? They have been very disappointing for the most part.
Only one player from LIV, 44-year-old Sergio Garcia, made it into the top 25 at the U.S. Open, outside of Bryson. Garcia battled his way through sectional qualifying and finished in a tie for 12th place.
Furthermore, just one of the 12 players who made the cut in all three majors but finished below par overall are from LIV:
DeChambeau Bryson -28
Schauffele Xander -23
Collin Morikawa, age 17
-16 Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy (13).
Tommy Fleetwood (-10
Patrick Cantlay (five)
Henley Russell (4)
Matsuyama Hideki -3
Shane Lowry (2), Corey Conners (2)
Tony Finau (2)
I discussed last week how Jon Rahm has been a significant absentee in 2024. The world’s top player of late struggled in the opening two majors before withdrawing due to an injury before the U.S. Open began.
This has been Brooks Koepka’s worst major season in terms of his health, assuming he is not injured, which he claims he is not. Injuries prevented him from playing in 2022, but there isn’t a similar justification this time. Unusually, he has gone T45-T26-T26 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Tyrrell Hatton and Cameron Smith both finished in the top ten in the Masters. Smith went T63-T32 and Hatton went T63-T26 in the next two majors. The fact that their performances this year rank among LIV’s major highlights demonstrates how quiet the group has been.
That’s at least better than Dustin Johnson, who at this point appears to be pleased to ride off into the sunset with his enormous fortune.
Finding a LIV player that has seen a significant improvement in their performance since changing tours is difficult.
But there is one enormous exception.
LIV and Bryson were the ideal couple.
It’s simple to forget that Bryson was the PGA Tour’s outcast. Supporters were yelling “Brooksy” at him; his peers didn’t think much of him; the competitive schedule was more demanding, which limited his free time; and the general consensus was that Bryson needed to grow up.
Over time, a mountain of both public and private evidence accumulated. Due to his inflated ego, lack of self-awareness, and general over-the-top behaviour, Bryson made a number of blunders. After winning, he quickly listed off his sponsors, sought third opinions from officials, and donned a tacky hat that seemed to be meant as a tribute to Ben Hogan (more on that later).
Bryson has always reminded you of that flamboyant friend you love spending a weekend with but can never put up with. After a few days of enjoying yourselves, you’re ready for them to go. Your patience wanes when you communicate with that friend nonstop.
Our group’s tolerance for Bryson grew thin. He was exposed too much. My God, he was posting 15-minute “day in the life” films at COVID that had him doing his usual shirtless bacon cooking act.
Yes, he did deserve his notoriety.
However, Bryson’s exposure to the average golfer began to change as he made the switch to LIV. Now, the majority of tournament golf fans only get to see him play four times a year. In a professional golf setting rife with players who lack feeling behind the scenes a la Patrick Cantlay, Bryson’s acceptance of his role as an entertainer suddenly took on a tremendous new meaning.
Even if you still find him repulsive—and there are good reasons for that—his presence is a huge plus for golf, and he obviously values the fan experience. In the midst of a major championship round, he is signing autographs, giving valiant fist pumps after saving par with ten holes to go, mentoring Johnson Wagner on how to hit the 55-yard bunker shot that won him the U.S. Open, carrying the trophy into the crowd for fans to touch, spending a good amount of time signing autographs after the round, and the next morning, he is flying to New York City to appear on talk shows.
.@Johnson_Wagner re-creates Bryson DeChambeau’s winning bunker shot with some help from Bryson himself! 😂👏 @b_dechambeau
📺: Golf Central Live From the #USOpen pic.twitter.com/cjqhdlnMMc
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 17, 2024
Does it really matter if what he does is sincere? Is it significant how much of this is the development of a thirty-year-old kid-grown-old and how much of it is a skillfully crafted public relations campaign? Does it matter that during his initial visit to SMU, Bryson seems to have made up the story that he saw a mural of Payne Stewart, even though one didn’t exist at the time?
Not with me. He is an entertainer. For the sake of entertainment, reality and perception will become more hazy. And that’s exactly what happened on Sunday in a tournament that instantly became legendary and was greatly aided by Bryson’s rise to prominence.
The fact that we only get to see him four times a year enhances his persona and, considering how uncommon a fight like that has become, it made that big Sunday seem even more significant.
His schedule became more flexible after moving to LIV, which enabled him to start making YouTube videos. Bryson had 695,000 YouTube subscribers when I first saw Alan Shipnuck’s incredible game story from yesterday’s thrilling final round at Pinehurst. About twelve hours later, when I write this, he is at 715,000. It’s bound to be higher by the time you read this.
He appears to be the most significant golfer on the site as of right now. I believe Bryson when he says that without the switch to LIV, it would not have been feasible. There would have been much more limitations on his ability to make films and develop his own brand had he remained on the PGA Tour.
And it appears that he has grown somewhat as a result of not being in the spotlight. On LIV, seasoned players are mentoring him. He can go play golf somewhere where people are more interested in the show than in the scores he makes.
But Some People on LIV Are Having Troubles
Bryson and the other LIV celebrities have amassed unfathomable wealth. From that vantage point, I’m sure they’re all generally happy with their decision.
But the best of LIV have been reversing their fortunes in terms of on-course performance and general repute.
Give Koepka credit for his victory in the major last year—he is the only other player from LIV to do so since the league’s founding—but who else do you know whose on-course performance has clearly improved?
Since money is no longer an issue, some will argue that there is a lack of motivation, but I believe the issue goes deeper than that.
Shipnuck recently brought up several important points, one of which being that LIV’s schedule—which includes travel and making players play at odd times—isn’t helping players prepare for majors in a way that makes them feel comfortable.
Shipnuck tweeted, “I was chatting to one of DJ’s people today.” They claimed that he is a creature of habit and that LIV significantly and negatively altered his run-ups to the majors. Prior to the Open Championship of last year, DJ spent three weeks abroad. less than ideal.
LIV is hosting a tournament for three of the four majors this year. Actually, a lot of men would rather not play that week. Had Rahm not tried to push himself at LIV Houston the week before, maybe hurting himself even more, he could have been able to participate in the U.S. Open.
Halfway around the world, in Singapore, LIV was just 11 days before the PGA Championship got underway. That is quite a bit of travel to get adjusted for a major in Louisville, Kentucky. They’ll be in Spain the week before the Open Championship, competing on a course that is completely unlike Royal Troon.
Some players may find it useful, but they are not fully in control of all the crucial preparation decisions. Prior to majors, the Tour hosts two flagship events, but participation in those is voluntary. The Tour’s lead-up to majors is likewise more mindful of geography, limiting travel.
Can you name another LIV player that the public seems to like more now than they did while they were on tour? The explanation for every instance that comes to mind is that supporters are just less interested in such players than they formerly were.
DeChambeau has found that LIV balance and freedom to be appropriate, for whatever
reason. It has helped him grow into what is arguably the most well-liked golfer.
