This is already going to be a special week for LIV Golf.
The rebel circuit has 19 golfers teeing it up in the Open at Royal Portrush and that is a record tally for them, beating their 18 players at the 2023 PGA Championship.
LIV golfers have won the PGA Championship, they have won the US Open, they have come very close to winning the Masters, but they are yet to genuinely contend for the Claret Jug.
There’s a good chance that will change this year. So, are LIV’s best bets to claim Open glory this year?
Here are all 19 LIV golfers heading to Royal Portrush next week – rated for recent results, major championship form and Open credentials.
1. Jon Rahm
The Spaniard remains a LIV Golf legend, one who is yet to finish outside the top 10 in any of his completed starts on the rebel circuit. He’s also finished top 12 in four of the last five Opens including second at Royal Liverpool two years ago and T11 at Royal Portrush in 2019. That consistency, quality and Open form earns him top spot in the rankings.
2. Bryson DeChambeau
The big-hitting social media star has finished top five in five of his last six American major championships but his Open record remains a problem. He did finish eighth at St Andrews in 2022 but on the other rota courses he has a best of T33 and he missed the cut at Portrush in 2019. An elite performer but this is not his sweet spot.
3. Tyrrell Hatton
The Englishman loves the links. In fact, he’s a three-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship including last autumn. He will also be keen to return to Royal Portrush because he loved it in 2019 and finished sixth. He was T14 in this year’s Masters and fourth in the US Open. An elite links performer in major form.
4. Joaquin Niemann
There’s absolutely no doubt that the Chilean is a sensational golfer. He’s won four times on LIV this year which is four times as many as Rahm, DeChambeau and Hatton put together. But he has only one major championship top 10 in 25 starts and is yet to finish in the top 50 in an Open after five starts. Very good, but flawed.
5. Brooks Koepka
The five-time major champion always has to be considered a threat and this might be a good chance for him to win an Open because his career-best finish (fourth) was at Royal Portrush in 2019. The worry is his form and his grumpy temperament (he battered a tee box last month). An elite performer but how happy is he?
6. Patrick Reed
A first-time winner on LIV at the end of last month in Dallas, the 2018 Masters champion also won an Asian Tour event at the end of last year in Hong Kong. Third in April’s Masters but a best of T10 in nine Opens suggests links is not his game.
7. Carlos Ortiz
One of LIV’s most in-form players this season, the Mexican won on the Asian Tour in March, was second on LIV in Australia and fourth in the US Open last month. He has, however, very little links experience and missed the cut in his only Open start.
8. Cameron Smith
You can’t argue with the Aussie’s links or Open pedigree because he won the 150th Open at St Andrews in 2022. The problem is his major form: 80-74 in last year’s Open and this year: 71-78 in the Masters, 78-71 in the PGA, 75-73 in the US Open.
9. Tom McKibbin
Top 10 on last year’s Race to Dubai, the Belfast man has impressed on LIV. He’ll be confident because he says he has played Portrush “hundreds of times”. He plays out of Holywood GC in Belfast like Rory McIlroy and will have lots of support.
10. Lucas Herbert
The Aussie qualified at West Lancashire and he is already a winner on the island of Ireland after landing the Irish Open at Mount Juliet. He’s got three top 10 finishes on the links in Scotland, too. He plays well in wind and is a dynamite putter.
11. Louis Oosthuizen
The 2010 Open champion last contended for the Claret Jug in 2021 but he was second at LIV Dallas at the end of last month.
12. Sergio Garcia
A fine Open performer at his best, he lost in a play-off in 2007, but he has no major championship top 10 since winning the Masters in 2017.
13. Dean Burmester
A superb 8-under 64 secured his spot in Final Qualifying and he’s looking to record a third Open top 20 finish in a row.
14. Marc Leishman
In his heyday the Aussie landed three top six finishes in the Open in four starts including play-off defeat in 2015.
15. Lee Westwood
The Englishman is a three-time top three finisher in the Open (and a three-time major runner-up), but he has one top five finish anywhere since September 2022.
16. Dustin Johnson
His major championship scores this season reveal everything: 74-73 at the Masters, 78-76 in the PGA Championship and 75-75 in the US Open.
17. Jason Kokrak
He has just one top 20 on LIV this season (T10 in Singapore) and is 0-for-23 at recording a major top 10.
18. Phil Mickelson
The 2013 champion and a two-time runner-up but he’s missed the cut in five of his last seven Opens and was T60 last year.
19. Henrik Stenson
A winner in 2016 and he did finish T13 just two years ago at Royal Liverpool. But he hasn’t finished top five on LIV since late 2023.
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