LIV Golfers proved they could still compete in majors last year when Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson finished T2 at the Masters and Koepka won the PGA Championship.
This year, the question was less about if they could hang with the stars of the PGA Tour, but how much longer they would still be in the field at the majors.
Previous major winners like Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Phil Mickelson, among others, have plenty of starts left. But for others like Joaquin Niemann, who was the 13th and final member of LIV Golf to earn his invite to Augusta last week, it isn’t so clear cut.
Yet, the Chillean who has won two LIV events already this year and openly campaigned for a the special invite he received this week, is optimistic.
You just mentioned about coming back next year. Right now there’s no guarantees.
“We’ll find a way,” Niemann said.
While LIV golfers didn’t have the finish they had in 2023, taking three of the top six places and later adding winner Jon Rahm to their stable, many of them still factored into the tournament.
Check out a full breakdown of each LIV golfer’s performance at the 2024 Masters below.
Bryson DeChambeau
Finish: T6
Scores: 65-73-75-73 (-2)
How it happened: DeChambeau put the whole tournament on notice when he opened with 65 behind a brutish display off the tee to take the first-round lead. But he never seemed to have the same mojo from mid-way through his back nine Friday through the end of the tournament. He managed to entertain the whole way by heaving up a patron sign and holing out on 18 Saturday to make it clear he’s still a serious threat in majors.
Cameron Smith
Finish: T6
Scores: 71-72-72-71 (-2)
How it happened: Smith had by far the most consistent week of anyone in the field, hanging around the entire tournament, but never really mounting a serious charge. He made 32 pars on the weekend despite hitting just 20 greens. His eagle on the 2nd Sunday brought him within four of Scheffler, but he didn’t make another birdie the rest of the tournament and gave one back at the 4th.
Tyrrell Hatton
Finish: T9
Scores: 72-74-73-69 (E)
How it happened: The third of the LIV trio to finish in the top-10, Hatton logged his best career finish at the Masters thanks to a final-round 69. The hot-headed Englishman was one of the hottest men on the course Sunday, getting to five under for the day before bogeys at 17 and 18 brought him back down to earth. One to regularly criticize Augusta National, Hatton said the famous par-5 15th “lives rent-free in my head. I hate it. I absolutely hate it.” His finish guarantees him an invite back next year.
Patrick Reed
Finish: T12
Scores: 74-70-73-72 (+1)
How it happened: The 2018 Masters champ also was critical of an Augusta National hole this week; the penultimate par-4 17th. After he hit a 215-yard drive off that tee Saturday, his caddie/brother-in-law Kessler Karain had some tough love for him. “I could barely advance the golf ball, and my caddie staring at me in the face and saying: ‘Your driving has cost us a lot this week.’”
Joaquin Niemann
Finish: T22
Scores: 70-78-71-73 (+4)
How it happened: After a solid opening round, Niemann was one of Augusta National’s many victims during a brutal Round 2. After a 78, he was never a factor despite eight weekend birdies.
Phil Mickelson
Finish: T43
Scores: 73-75-74-74 (+8)
How it happened: Armed with a new caddie, Mickelson was unable to replicate his historic magic from a year ago when a Sunday 65 propelled him into a tie for second. He had a relatively quiet week, although he did find a new way to play the 9th hole.
Brooks Koepka
Finish: T45
Scores: 73-73-76-75 (+9)
How it happened: The other co-runner-up from 2023, Koepka too had a quiet week after making a putter change in the run-up to the Masters. On Tuesday, however, he did raise some eyebrows when he seemed to indicate that he did, in fact, violate the rules last year, during a viral incident in the first round.
Jon Rahm
Finish: T45
Scores: 73-76-72-76 (+9)
How it happened: The final LIV golfer to make the cut also happened to be the defending champion. Rahm flirted with the cut line for a time Friday after three bogeys and a double had him on the number with four holes to play. Thankfully, back-to-back birdies, including a 50-foot bomb on 16, salvaged his week, meaning he wouldn’t have to stick around until Sunday just to hand out the green jacket.
Missed the cut
Sergio Garcia (+7)
Bubba Watson (+10)
Charl Schwartzel (+11)
Dustin Johnson (+13)
Adrian Meronk (+14)
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