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A majority of LIV Golfers, including big names like Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, have performed worse on average in majors since joining the Saudi-backed circuit. The PGA Tour data analyst, Ron Klos, analyzed the performances of 18 LIV Golfers in major championships, before and after joining the Saudi-backed Tour.
In the data, the average position for the 18 players worsened from 43.6 on the PGA Tour to 58.5 in majors after joining LIV Golf. A similar trend was noticed in average strokes gained per round, which has dropped from 1.51 to 0.80. Further, their combined top-10 finishes also fell from 22.9% to 15.1%.
Klos wrote on X:
"Out of the 18 golfers that have signed with LIV and played in at least three majors since joining, 14 have performed worse on average in major events compared to their 3-year strokes gained average per round in majors before joining."
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Jon Rahm, the 2024 LIV Golf champion, has also seen a dramatic decline. His average strokes gained per round (SG) fell from 2.58 to 1.50, while his average finish in major championships has dropped from 16.8 to 39.8, a drop of 23 places.
Similarly, Brooks Koepka, who has had five wins on LIV Golf, has seen his strokes gained drop by 1.26 strokes per round and his finish position slide by 20.8 spots. 24-time PGA Tour winner Dustin Johnson's average finish also fell from 29.4 to 59.8, and his SG plummeted by 2.07 strokes per round.
Adrian Meronk has also struggled, 26.5 places in the average finish, and his SG has declined by 2.12. Only three LIV golfers, such as Bryson DeChambeau, Dean Burmester and Patrick Reed, have improved their strokes gained per round and their finishes.
DeChambeau gained 0.70 strokes per round, and his average finish improved by 12.6 positions. In 42 rounds prior to joining LIV Golf, he had only two top-10 finishes, which increased to six after joining the Saudi league.
Similarly, Dean Burmester saw a 14.0-place jump in average finish and a slight SG increase of 0.24 strokes. Tyrell Hatton has also maintained his numbers in major championships after joining LIV Golf with an SG of 0.26 strokes and an average finish of 2.1 positions.
Joaquin Niemann, Thomas Pieters, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia haven’t seen a sharp drop in performance, but their numbers have still declined.
How many LIV Golfers have won in major championships after joining the Saudi league?
Only two LIV Golfers have secured major championship wins since joining the Saudi-backed league. Brooks Koepka was the first LIV Golf player to win a major at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. He won by two strokes over Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland.
Bryson DeChambeau followed suit by winning the 2024 U.S. Open by one stroke over Rory McIlroy in a dramatic finish. It was his second major championship win after he won the 2020 U.S. Open.
