How the Move to LIV Has Affected Some of the Best Players in Golf
Back in 2022, a group of golfers, including some of the best in the world at the time, made a life-altering decision when they left the PGA. Stars like Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, and Bryson Dechambeau decided to take hundreds of millions of dollars to form a Saudi-run golf league called LIV that aligns with playing golf on teams, with not nearly the pressure or needed commitment as the PGA Tour. Since the move, we have seen all types of movement from these players, as Bryson and others have taken full advantage of the added free time, while others, like Koepka and Dustin Johnson, have quickly become shells of themselves that we saw on tour just a couple of years ago. So what happened, and why have we seen so much movement from these players during the majors that would have been said to be extremely unexpected even after they made the move back in 2022?
The main person to look at in terms of a downfall in his golf game is Brooks Koepka. Brooks came into 2022 in the prime of his career, having won five total majors and being in line to become what Scottie Scheffler is now. After the move to LIV, however, and especially in the past year, Brooks’ play in the majors has been lackluster at best. Over the last two years, his best finish on tour has been a tied 26th finish, including two back-to-back missed cuts to start his 2025 campaign. The big difference in Brooks’ game seems to be his mindset and attitude, as his interviews and personality show that the happiness of the money he received might be starting to wear off. Dustin Johnson is another player who we haven’t seen much on the big stage later in tournaments over the past couple of years. DJ has been cut from four of his last six major starts, finishing at best in 31st place and only receiving an invite to this year’s PGA Championship due to an exemption. As hard as it is to see some of golf’s former greats not be the same player, it’s hard to blame the move to LIV, as even though the emotions of leaving might still be there, the money in most cases seems still hard to pass up.
Not all players have felt such a fall in their rankings, however, with golfers like Bryson, John Rahm, and Patrick Reed all still showing signs of their expertise when it comes to Majors. The simple reason for such success: practice and taking advantage of the free time. While LIV still offers many tournaments throughout the year, it’s not nearly as weekly as the PGA, and hence there is plenty of time off for these pros to either work on their game even more or spend the time with their family and new money. There’s a balance to everything, including golf, and guys like Bryson with his YouTube channel or other pros who truly dedicate the same time have shown to be still at the top of their game whenever we see them with the PGA guys. The move to LIV and the decision with it was made a long time ago, now it’s truly just a matter of the priorities of these golfers, including their perception as well as the time they put in to perfect their games. Players aren’t just better cause they are on the PGA and play more often, they are better because they have to practice harder to handle the stress of playing tournaments every weekend to make a living, instead of players not even having to win a tournament to hoist a trophy due to LIV’s team format.
