STARS OF LIV GOLF LEAGUE

Find out our top picks of the star names on the current LIV Golf roster

Since LIV Golf launched in 2021, the breakaway circuit has aimed to revolutionise the sport by doing things a little differently.

From shortening tournaments to 54-holes and team competitions playing a major role to bumper prize funds and paying their marquee players a signing on fee, it’s fair to say the Saudi-back circuit has caused plenty of disruption in the golfing world.

But who has the made the move to the league since its inception? Find out below as we pick out our star names on the current LIV Golf roster.

THE STAR ATTRACTIONS

Jon Rahm

A marquee signing for LIV Golf last December for a rumoured $500m, Jon Rahm has amassed over 20 wins on the DP World and PGA Tour, including a record-breaking three titles at the

DP World Tour Championship.

The fiery Spaniard’s career defining moments came at the 2021 US Open, where he birdied the final two holes to win his first Major Championship and at the 2023 Masters Tournament, when he won on what would have been the 66th birthday of the late, great Seve Ballesteros, who was the first Spaniard to win a Green Jacket.

Brooks Koepka

The man for the big occasion over the last seven years has undoubtedly been Brooks Koepka. The American has been the player to beat at Major Championships — the game’s four biggest tournaments — where he has amassed five vic- tories since 2017.

The first of those came at the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills before becoming just the seventh player in history to successfully defend the following year at Shinnecock Hills. Two months later he would get his hands on a first PGA Championship, defeating Tiger Woods by two strokes at Bellerive Country Club.

Could he go back-to-back in a Major Championship once again? He sure could, this time beating Dustin Johnson by the same margin to become the first golfer to win consecutive titles in two Majors simultaneously. Last year the no-nonsense 33-yearold added a third PGA Championship trophy to his collection.

Dustin Johnson

Another no-nonsense American, who you’d be forgiven for thinking doesn’t give a damn about the game with his laidback approach, is the straighttalking Dustin Johnson.

The 39-year-old is a 24-time winner on the PGA

Tour, with two of those Major Championship victories courtesy of his triumphs at the

2016 US Open and the 2020 Masters Tournament, which was the only edition of the tournament to be played in November due to the covid pandemic.

He was the LIV Golf League’s inaugural individual seasonlong champion in 2022, banking a huge $18m bonus to take his season earnings well over $35m.

Cameron Smith

Before joining LIV Golf in the summer of 2022, Cameron Smith was one of the hottest players on planet golf, with the Australian winning The Open Championship just a few weeks prior to joining the Saudibacked circuit.

Rory McIlroy, who Smith had swept away at St Andrews in the final round thanks to a perfect putting display, called Smith shortly before joining LIV to persuade him to stay with the PGA Tour, but the rumoured $100m singing on fee was too good to turn down for the 30-year-old, who became the first top ten player to join the breakaway league.

Joaquin Niemann

Between 2017-2018 Joaquin Niemann he was ranked as the No. 1 amateur in the world and has been on the fast-track to success ever since, racking up 12 worldwide wins in the process. Six of those came while still an amateur on the Chilean Tour, before turning professional ahead of the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open in 2018, where he finished in a tie for sixth.

He went on to earn Special Temporary Member Status for the remainder of the season, before securing full membership for the following season thanks to four top ten finishes, which saw him join Jordan Spieth and Rahm as players who were able to earn membership despite starting the year without any status.

He picked up a maiden PGA Tour win at the 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and added a second title in America three years later at Tiger Woods’ Genesis Invitational. In the last four months alone, he has won three titles, two on the LIV Golf League and one on the DP World Tour, which helped him earn a special invitation into next month’s Masters Tournament.

THE SUPPORTING CAST

Louis Oosthuizen

Owner of one of the smoothest swings in the game, Louis Oosthuizen greatest achievement to date was winning The Open Championship at St Andrews in 2010, where he cruised to a seven-stroke triumph — the second-biggest winning margin in the tournament since 1913.

He arguably should have added to that Major haul over the years, with the South African finishing as runner-up an astonishing seven times across the game’s marquee events, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, US Open and Open Championship.

Talor Gooch

Talor Gooch, whose first name is intentionally spelt without a ‘y’ thanks to a family custom on his mum’s side of the family in which names are often spelt “weird”, won just once on the PGA Tour before joining the LIV Golf League in 2022.

Since then, he has become one of the game’s newest stars, with the American enjoying a breakout season in 2023, winning three events in Singapore, Adelaide and Andalusia to win the season-long Individual Championship.

Bryson DeChambeau

Often referred to as ‘The Scientist’ for his analytical approach to the game, Bryson DeChambeau became one of the longest drivers of the ball after putting himself through an intensive wight-gain become the longest driver on the PGA Tour thanks to an intensive weight-gain and muscle-building programme.

His bomb and gouge approach to the game approach to the game helped him secure a first Major Championship at the 2020 US Open, while also entertaining fans with his incredible distance off the tee, once hitting is as far as 480 yards.

In recent years, DeChambeau has dropped his bulk-up scheme in favour of losing huge amounts of weight to combat health problems.

Patrick Reed

Patrick Reed is golf’s bad boy, simple as.

Over the years, the American has earned a reputation as the villain in golf for a number of reasons, including allegations of cheating, shushing crowds at the Ryder Cup and having a bitter rivalry with Rory McIlroy.

The latter got particularly heated at last year’s Dubai Desert Classic when the duo went head-tohead for title in the final round, just days after Reed had thrown a LIV Golf tee at McIlroy after the Northern Irishman ignored him.

On the course, Reed has arguably the best short game in golf, which helped him win nine PGA Tour titles, including a memorable Masters victory in 2018.

Anthony Kim

Anthony Kim was a cult hero amongst fans before he seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth after withdrawing from the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship with injury.

He underwent surgery the following month to repair an injury to the Achilles tendon in his left leg, and hadn’t participated in a professional tournament since, until he made a shock return to the sport when signing with LIV Golf last month.

Before heading into exile, Kim won three PGA Tour events before the age of 25, starred in a US Ryder-Cupvictory in 2008 and set the record for birdies in a Masters round with 11 at Augusta National in 2011. He possessed an undeniable swagger and flamboyant flair that rendered him essential viewing.

OLD BUT GOLD Phil Mickelson

One of the most decorated players in the game, Phil Mickelson has been a firm fan favourite over the years, notably for going toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods during his heyday.

Since winning on the PGA Tour as an amateur in 1990, the left-hander, who is righthanded, has amassed a total 45 titles on the circuit, including six Major Championships, with just a US Open short of completing the Grand Slam. The last of those Major Championship wins came in 2021 at the PGA Championship, where he became the oldest winner of a Major at the age of 50 after he saw off Brooks Koepka at Kiawah Island.

Ian Poulter

Renowned as one of the most colourful players in the game for his flamboyant fashion, Ian Poulter is another firm fan favourite mainly down to his exploits in the Ryder Cup.

From his unstoppable selfconfidence to his intense passion, he was a force to be reckoned with, striking fear into the hearts of his American rivals every time the biennial contest rolled around.

Known as ‘The Postman’ for always delivering, the 48-yearold’s overall record in his seven Ryder Cup outings is an impressive one — 15 wins, eight defeats and two ties in the 25 matches he has been involved in.

Sergio Garcia

Another Ryder Cup great comes in the form of Sergio Garcia, who became the competition’s all-time leading points scorer when he reached 25.5 points after defeating Rickie Fowler 2&1 at Le Golf National in 2018.

That record came just one year after the Spaniard finally get his hands on Major silverware at the 74th time of asking when he beat Justin Rose in a play-off at the Masters Tournament on what would have been the 60th birthday of Seve Ballesteros.

His triumph at Augusta was the 10th of 11 victories on American soil, no fewer than six of them coming in playoffs. He also has 16 DP World Tour titles and was one of the circuit’s star attractions.

Lee Westwood

A DP World Tour stalwart before making the move to LIV Golf in 2022, Lee Westwood has enjoyed a successful career despite being arguably one of the greatest players not to win a Major Championship.

The Englishman wrote his name in the history books in the UAE in 2020 when joined an elite club of players including Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie with 25 wins on the DP World Tour thanks to his two-stroke win at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

That triumph helped him on his way to winning a third Race to Dubai title later that year, 20 years since picking up his first. He became just the sixth man to win the Harry Vardon Trophy three or more times since 1972.