For LIV Golfers, the Time to Sweat is Coming for Spots in Majors
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For all the consternation and controversy surrounding LIV Golf and its quest for world ranking points, the situation is about to become very real—at least as it applies to the Masters.
With just one month to go in 2022—and not a lot of worldwide golf being played—those on the LIV Golf League hovering just inside the top 50 in the world will have to sweat out their position through the end of the year while hoping Augusta National does not change its invitation criteria.
While the latter is not likely, the idea that these guys could slip out of the top 50—and some already have—is quite real.
Here’s a look at the LIV Golf players and their prospects—assuming the major championships do not alter any of their current criteria.
No. 3 Cam Smith: The reigning British Open champion is in good shape, as he is qualified for that tournament until age 60 and his win at St. Andrews gave him a five-year exemption into the other major championships.
No. 22 Joaquin Niemann: The Chilean golfer who won the Genesis Invitational this year is safe for the Masters but has no major wins to fall back on for the other events. The PGA Championship has no world ranking criteria but has historically taken the top 100 in the world. Will it keep doing so? The U.S. Open takes the top 60 as of May 23, 2023, and June 6, 2023. If there are no ranking points given to LIV Golf, Niemann might be in trouble there, but could improve his position at the Masters and/or PGA. Same for the Open, whose top 50 cutoff is eight weeks prior to the tournament.
No. 30 Abraham Ancer: Similar to Niemann, the golfer from Mexico is safe for the Masters; he'll also be in the PGA by virtue of his T9 this year.
No. 38 Dustin Johnson: It’s been quite the drop for Johnson, who began 2022 at No. 3 in the world and began to slip out of the top 10 in the spring. The 2020 Masters champion is good to go at Augusta National, which will also keep him in the Open and the PGA through 2025. His 2016 U.S. Open win means he’s good there through 2026.
No. 40 Talor Gooch: He will remain in the top 50 but what will be interesting is how his finish in the final FedEx Cup standings is viewed by the U.S. Open and the Open. Both tournaments use qualifying for the Tour Championship as exemption criteria. Gooch was in the top 30 despite not playing in any of the playoff events due to his PGA Tour suspension. Do the rules require him to have been “eligible" for the Tour Championship or just qualify for it?
No. 45 Harold Varner III: He leapt into the top 50 in the world earlier this year by winning the Saudi International, earning his first Masters invitation. A second has been in peril although it appears that Varner will hang on.
No. 46 Jason Kokrak: Without any major titles, Kokrak is also hoping to hang on but chances are he will survive the top 50 cutoff.
No. 47 Kevin Na: Also hoping to stay in the top 50, Na can help himself this week as he is playing in the Australian Open.
No. 48 Brooks Koepka: Ranked 16th at the start of the year, Koepka—a former No. 1—has also seen a steady decline that began before moving to LIV. His 2019 PGA win gave him five-year exemptions to the other majors, so he is good through 2024 at the Masters and through this year at the Open. The PGA exemption is lifetime and his 2018 U.S. Open title exempts him through 2028. He is a good bet to drop out of the top 50.
No. 50 Louis Oosthuizen: The 2010 Open champion is good for Royal Liverpool but the other majors are in doubt because he is all but certain to drop out of the top 50 if he does nothing to improve his position. Oosthuizen is passing on this week’s South African Open in his homeland but is scheduled to play next week at the Alfred Dunhill.
No. 52 Paul Casey: He will need to add some non-LIV Golf events next spring to make a push for the Masters as well as other majors.
No. 58 Bryson DeChambeau: Fifth at the end of 2021, the 2020 U.S. Open champion is safe in the majors for this year; the Masters through 2024 and the others through 2025.
No. 66 Patrick Reed: He was 25th at the start of the year but his 2018 Masters win means one last year of British Open exemption in 2023.
Some other LIV Golfers appear to have qualified for the Open via the top 30 in the final Race to Dubai standings: Adrian Otaegui, 15th; Pablo Larrazabal, 23rd and Richard Bland, 24th.