Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka have struggled in the major leagues since joining LIV Golf, with only one of the breakaway league’s stars winning a major since the Civil War began.
Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, two of LIV Golf’s most prominent players, have endured a difficult time in their careers, particularly in the majors, since the inception of the controversial splinter golf league.
Johnson, 39, has played in eight majors since joining LIV Golf, but has only managed to crack the top 20 twice. His best performances were a 10th-place finish at last year’s U.S. Open and a tie for sixth at the 2022 British Open at St. Andrews.
Koepka, on the other hand, is the only LIV Golf player to have won a major during the league’s existence, triumphing at the PGA Championship in 2023. However, his subsequent major appearances have seen him consistently fall outside the top 25.
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His recent results include a 45th-place finish at the Masters and a tie for 26th at this year’s PGA Championship. Asked about his performance in majors, Koepka was blunt: “Not very good,” he admitted. “I think that’s pretty obvious, right?”
The challenges aren’t limited to Johnson and Koepka. Jon Rahm, another big name who left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf, also had a disappointing run at the Masters and failed to qualify for the PGA Championship.
With talk of a potential merger between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour, such a development couldn’t come soon enough for players like Johnson. Yet when it comes to the idea of loyalty bonuses for those who remain with the PGA Tour, Johnson is skeptical. “No, I don’t have one,” he stated plainly in the Netflix series “Full Swing.”
“The guys who went to LIV were criticized a lot. We’re the ones who took all the risks. So why should they be paid? Obviously, if this merger goes through, a lot of players will regret not signing with them.”
The two-time golf champion reportedly earned more than $100 million by defecting to the Saudi tour. Meanwhile, the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have remained loyal to him.
Last month, the PGA Tour notified 193 players who qualified for a massive $900 million payout from a “player equity program” under the new PGA Tour Enterprises. However, McIlroy appears to be warming up to LIV Golf after initially being one of its most vocal critics.
“I think what LIV has done is exposed the flaws in the golf system, because we’re all supposed to be independent contractors and we can pick and choose which tournaments we want to play,” he suggested.
“But I think what LIV and the Saudis have revealed is that you’re asking for millions of dollars to sponsor these events, and you can’t guarantee the sponsors that the players will be there. I can’t believe the PGA Tour has done so well for so long.”
*An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process of this story.
