LIV Golf threw everything at the 2026 season to regain some ground in their ongoing war with the PGA Tour.
LIV abandoned its 54-hole format, which once gave the tour its name, in favor of a more traditional 72-hole format. This was partly to better prepare its players for the major championships, a move Jon Rahm had been calling for.
It helped to get their star players in form and at the top of the leaderboards. Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau won the last three LIV events in the build-up to The Masters, and with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy out of form, the two superstars were many people’s favorites to claim the Green Jacket.
After no LIV player won a major last year, the tour needed to prove that signing with the Saudi-backed league wasn’t the end of your competitiveness in the biggest events of the year. That’s why the start to the 2026 Masters was such a disaster for them.
No LIV Golf player finished under par on day one of The Masters
Not a single LIV Golf player finished their opening round under par on day one of The Masters. That’s a really worrying statistic for LIV, and its players.
DeChambeau shot an opening round 74 and looked completely bewildered by his play. He was hooking all of his iron shots, and his bunker play was horrendous. For a man who held the lead on Sunday last year, this was a devastating Thursday.
In the later tee times, all eyes turned to Rahm, the other contender from LIV. And somehow, he was even worse. He could not buy a putt all day and finished six over par for his round. He had four bogeys and a double on his scorecard to immediately fall out of contention.
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Meanwhile, 2020 champion Dustin Johnson was one over par for his round, and Tyrrell Hatton was two over. They looked completely out of their depth on the challenging Augusta National, in this incredible field of players.
And to rub salt in the wounds, Patrick Reed, who left LIV this season to play on the DP World Tour, was totally prepared for the challenge. He was three under through two holes, and finished Thursday two shots back of the lead.
So LIV might have changed to a 72-hole format, but playing easier golf courses with weaker fields might have destroyed the careers of Rahm and DeChambeau on the major stage.
Sir Nick Faldo slams LIV Golf after round one of The Masters
Speaking on the Sky Sports broadcast of the opening round, Sir Nick Faldo was highly critical of LIV Golf because of their players’ performances at Augusta.
The three-time Masters winner said, “I think they have come in with a lot of pressure. It’s LIV and the Tour so you have that side.
“Jon is having a battle with the European Tour over the Ryder Cup stuff. I was wondering if that would inspire him and he was going to say I’ll do you know what to this. I thought maybe that was inspire him.
“I was thinking fast that they have just played two tournaments on LIV where Singapore was 25 under to win and then South Africa 25 under to win, and then you come here and you are not doing that here.
“This is a completely different mindset where you are making a couple of birdies and hanging on. I don’t believe that is the best preparation. Whereas the Tour was at TPC, which is pretty tough.
“It’s the mindset and the thinking and strategy. There’s no strategy to shooting 25 under. You fire at the flag and it works. Whereas here you have a lot of thinking about good shots, bad shots and all the challenges of Augusta National.”
If this is how LIV players play at every major this year, it could be the nail in the coffin for the tour.
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