Are LIV Golfers Tournament-Tested Enough for the Masters? We're About to Find Out

The Saudi-backed circuit has only played three times leading up to the year's first major, in its 54-hole, no-cut format.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The much-chided talking point that LIV Golf members are playing less, and thus happier, is a constant source of derision, even if is not exactly true in most cases.

With a 14-tournament LIV schedule, the potential for four major championships, a commitment to the Saudi International and potentially worldwide events, LIV golfers—with perhaps the notable exception of Patrick Reed—are not playing much less than they ever did while competing on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.

But there is no denying they are playing far less heading into the Masters Tournament this week.

And that understandably leads to questions about their readiness to compete against peers whom most of them have not played against in months.

LIV golfers have competed in just three 54-hole events and the Saudi International going back to early February. Dustin Johnson, for example who missed the Saudi event with a back issue, has played just nine competitive rounds this year.

Brooks Koepka goes to Augusta on the heels of a win Sunday in  :: Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports

Scottie Scheffler, the defending Masters champion, has played six stroke-play events, winning the WM Phoenix Open and the Players Championship, and 24 competitive rounds. He also competed in the WGC-Dell Match Play, playing seven matches over five days.

More is not necessarily better, but competition certainly helps. It’s why players start eyeing the Masters in the winter and developing a game plan through the first three months of the year to be ready.

Playing in Saudi Arabia followed by recent courses in Cancun, Tucson and Orlando might not be the best way to get ready for the rigors of Augusta National. It’s all based on perspective.

“For me, honestly, I don’t feel like it’s going to be much different," said Reed, who won the Masters in 2018—when he played nine events from January through March leading into the tournament. Reed typically played 30 events a year prior to joining LIV Golf. “If anything I just feel like I’ll be more rested, have a little bit more prep and be ready to go.’

Several of the LIV golfers among the 18 in the Masters field referenced the “more rest, more practice" feature as something to embrace. Reed said he never played the week prior to Augusta but competed in the LIV Golf Orlando event that ended Sunday, tying for third.

Reed at least had two DP World Tour events on his schedule prior to the LIV events beginning in late February. He missed the cut in Abu Dhabi then finished second to Rory McIlroy in Dubai. He tied for 25th at the Saudi International, giving him 10 rounds prior to the nine he played for LIV.

“Three events before Augusta," Brooks Koepka said. “It’s definitely a lighter schedule than what we normally would have."

“To be honest, I wish there was more front loading to get ready for Augusta. But that’s part of the learning curve. This is all so new."

Koepka won on Sunday at Orange County National, becoming LIV's first two-time event winner. In his first two events of the season, he finished tied for 27th and tied for 24th. He also played outside of LIV, missing the cut at the International Series event in Oman after tying for 46th in Saudi Arabia—where he won his LIV event last year.

Koepka said his various knee and hip issues have kept him at his best at the Masters since finishing in a tie for second behind Tiger Woods in 2019, but now he's healthy.

“I’m able to move now how I want to move," he said. “Get the swing in positions that I want to get it in, everything becomes a lot easier, and the game becomes a lot easier than it’s been over the past three years.

“I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be nice just to get up there."

Neither British Open champion Cam Smith nor 2020 Masters winner Dustin Johnson head to Augusta with much momentum. Smith’s situation was self-induced, as he admitted he let himself slide a bit in the offseason after winning five times last year.

“I’ve always been a process person, waking up every day wanting to get better," said Smith, who finished T26 in Orlando. “And I strive to do that and I don’t know that I really ticked all those boxes at the start of the year and that’s why it’s kind of been a bit of a slow start. We learn from our mistakes and that won’t ever be happening again.

“But I feel like I’ve got a pretty good record around there," said Smith, who has four top 10s, including a third last year and second in 2021. “I feel like I’ve played my best golf that I’ve ever played around there. And some weeks they just don’t really click. I feel like I’ve played absolutely my best stuff."

That’s why Smith, who won the British Open at St. Andrews last year with a final-round 64, would be considered among the pre-tournament favorites, his form coming in being the biggest question among those leading players.

Johnson tweaked his back prior to the Saudi International and withdrew. He didn’t pick up a club again until a few days prior to the LIV Mayakoba event in late February, which also makes his run-up to the year’s first major less than ideal.

“My game feels like it’s starting to come together at the right time and seeing a lot of good things out of the golf swing," Johnson said. “The most important thing would be the short game and getting that dialed in."

Johnson visited Augusta National prior to the LIV Orlando event for two days. “I’m just trying to get the game in as good a shape as I can," he said.

Same for Bryson DeChambeau, who said “I think having three events is fine for me. I personally like that because I feel like I can work on my game. And you’re ready for the event instead of gassing myself early, right?

“I played so many events leading up to it and I felt like I was just done before I got there. And now I feel like I’m ramping up."

DeChambeau was probably best served taking a new approach to the Masters anyway.

The 2020 U.S. Open champion, who has dropped to 155th in the world, has not fared better than a tie for 21st in his first attempt in 2016 as an amateur. Despite all the weight gain and distance gain—remember how in 2020 Augusta National was deemed a par 67 for him?—he’s struggled. Last year he missed the cut.

So perhaps there might be something to this idea that less is more. For the LIV golfers as it relates to the Masters, there’s been no other choice.