The Trump Doral in Miami hosts the fifth event of the LIV Golf season this weekend. An important tournament, not so much for its prize money, always substantial in the Saudi tour, or for being the first of the season on American soil, but for its proximity to the Masters de Augusta which starts in just over a week. This event in the colourful coastal city of Florida will serve as a testing ground for some of the players aspiring to the Green Jacket. And the question is clear: is it an advantage or a disadvantage that LIV tournaments are played over three rounds when it comes to the majors?
Bryson DeChambeau, one of the tour’s stars and always a contender for victory, also in Augusta, although he has never won there, was asked about this today. “I think it’s a great point you mention, it’s that every shot matters more here in LIV because if you make a double or a triple you’re so far behind that it’s hard to recover. Very rarely have we had players make a triple or a double and come back and win, if they have at all.”
For the ‘scientist’, playing three rounds is an advantage because it has accustomed LIV players to go all out from day one. “I think the key is getting that initial jump, that quick start, which allows us to be in that attack, attack, attack mindset, it has helped us in certain scenarios, and obviously when you have a US Open or a British, where extreme patience is required, it’s a bit different. But for the most part, going for it has definitely helped the three of us here,” he said, referring to himself, Koepka, and Niemann.
However, playing three rounds, no matter how much it helps to focus on the importance of starting strong from day one, can’t it also cause a four-round tournament to feel long? Let’s review the data. Since LIV Golf started in June 2022, with its first event in London, 13 majors have been played: three Masters, three PGA Championship, three US Open, and four Open Championship. And of the 13 titles up for grabs, only two have gone to LIV players.
Cameron Smith won the Open Championship in July 2022, but it was before he moved to LIV, when he was still competing on the PGA Tour. And Jon Rahm won the Masters in 2023 also during his time on the American circuit, before packing his bags for the Saudi tour at the end of that year. Only the 2023 PGA Championship by Brooks Koepka and the 2024 US Open by Bryson DeChambeau went to the Saudi tour players, who, to be fair, are fewer in percentage terms.
This has been one of the topics discussed at the official press conference ahead of the LIV Golf in Miami. Another was the fact of having had fewer events since the year started before visiting the Augusta National. This week’s event in Doral is the fifth tournament of 2025 on the Saudi tour. On the PGA Tour, the Valero Texas Open is being played this week, the 15th tournament of the year on the American circuit (although there was a week with two tournaments and several reduced field events).
“We keep playing a lot when we’re at home,” said Koepka on the matter. “Yes, I think everyone has their own preparation. Personally, I like to have time off, prepare for these events, focus on them and put my game in a good place, establish a strategy and a game plan. So, if anything, I think it has been of great help to me personally, giving me a bit more time to prepare for these events, and honestly, it has been a blessing for me,” added DeChambeau.
“I feel the same. I feel like all of us are working together to get a good schedule for the majors, and I think it fits very well with what we want, and for me especially, having weeks at home working with my team and trying to push myself more during the free time I have at home is where I feel I can gain the most confidence in my game,” insisted Niemann. “It’s a good balance between preparing at home and then playing on courses like Singapore, like this week,” concluded the Chilean.
