Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are yet to feel the cost of their move to LIV Golf, enjoying the best of both worlds, but that will not last forever without significant changes
Two years after leaving the PGA Tour and founding LIV Golf, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau have reaped the benefits of both worlds.
However, there isn’t much longer for the two to live in luxury thanks to LIV’s millions and still be eligible to compete in the major championships. Both Johnson and DeChambeau have had fantastic starts to the LIV season. On February 10, the former won in Las Vegas, taking home a cool $4 million (£3.2 million), following a week earlier in fifth place in Mayakoba, Mexico.
Although he lost a significant lead on the last day of the Las Vegas Country Club and dropped to 11th place, DeChambeau has also spent a lot of time near the top of the leaderboard early in the season. However, the American pair will be optimistic about their prospects when the major season kicks off at Augusta National on April 8.
Like all of their LIV peers, these men have fallen precipitously in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) since deciding to join the Saudi Arabian-funded breakaway tour in 2022. Due to LIV’s 54-hole format and inadequate qualifying procedure, the OWGR does not recognize the tour, and players do not receive ranking points.
Because of their sharp decline in the rankings, players like Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, and Lee Westwood have been shut out of the majors. However, LIV’s top players, including Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, DeChambeau, and Johnson, have been able to punch their tickets into the four biggest events of the year thanks to their recent success in major championships.
However, this benefit is only temporary, and they risk being barred from the majors if the proposed merger between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund is not resolved.
The two-time major champion Johnson’s victory in 2020 earned him a lifetime exemption to The Masters, and his victory at Oakmont in 2016 secured him a spot in the US Open through 2026. However, at the end of the 2025 season, his exemptions from the PGA Championship and The Open Championship expire.
former top-ranked person in the world With no ranking points since The Open at Royal Liverpool last summer, Johnson is ranked 231 by the OWGR. Johnson will be playing with borrowed time in The Open and PGA Championship, which puts pressure on him to perform well in the majors this summer, unless an agreement is reached between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s backers, or the breakaway league meets the requirements of the OWGR.
DeChambeau is in a similar situation to his LIV rival because of his one and only significant victory at the 2020 US Open, which grants him exemptions through 2025 and 2030. They also run the risk of finding themselves in a similar predicament to that of Sergio Garcia, the winner of the 2017 Masters, who has a lifetime pass to Augusta but must watch the other three majors from home.
Having won majors in the previous two seasons, Koepka, Cameron Smith, and Jon Rahm, however, are in a more comfortable position.
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