Essentials Inside The Story

• Is LIV Golf not for "die-hard professionals?"
• Mark Allen and Nick O'Hern side with Brooks Koepka.
• LIV hasn't been easy with Smith, Johnson, and Rahm, too.

Brooks Koepka once famously said, “I think sometimes the majors are the easiest ones to win. Half the people shoot themselves out of it, and mentally I know I can beat most of them.” But after winning 5 major championships from the 2017 US Open to the 2023 PGA Championship, he’s won zero titles in the last two years. Koepka even missed several cuts, including at three of the four majors in 2025, the Irish Open, and the BMW PGA Championship.

Now, when a fan pointed out to former player Mark Allen and former World No. 16 Nick O’Hern that “his game is unrecognizable,” the veterans didn’t hold back.

“His scores are unrecognizable. He still swings it like Brooks, and he still putts like Brooks, and everything else is like Brooks except the score on the board,” Allen stated.

Brooks still owns his swings. He even showed glimpses at the US Open first round at two under and ended tied at the 12th position. That led Allen to wonder if Brooks has come close to winning one of the LIV events.

O’Hern chipped in there.

“He was second in Singapore, so that’s the only one he had three top 10s. Looking at what I know from the year, it hasn’t been great. He did well in the US Open. But the other three missed cuts. He’s an interesting cat, Brooks, because when he first went to LIV, you thought this suits him and this schedule because it’s limited golf for him.”

Seeing Koepka become the first LIV golfer to win a major at the PGA Championship in 2023, just after moving to the LIV, and boasting the most individual victories with LIV, everyone thought the same. But the fortunes have dwindled somewhat since then.

O’Hern even recalled how Brooks has always been inclined toward building his year around the majors. So, what went wrong?

While Nick O’Hern thought that Brooks Koepka might’ve lost interest in the game, Mark Allen had a unique take.

He felt that most LIV golfers weren’t “die-hard professionals” and they played just for the sake of it, unlike Rory McIlroy!

According to Allen, “LIV has stuffed Brooks Koepka’s game.”

For Allen, “playing with music, pumping in your background isn’t for everybody.”

Such a louder golf environment can be distracting, especially with speakers on every tee box and green throughout the course. While players like Kim Min-kyu thrived in the environment, Cam Smith struggled in the majors with the worst drive and missed cuts last year.

“LIV golf has backfired for Brooks,” exclaimed Allen.

But despite the criticism, Allen said he loves watching Brooks play and wants to see him back in the Majors.

“Brooks came on the scene, and he won his five majors over a three or four-year period. It was Rory McIlroy-like; it was Tiger Woods-like, and he was really part of the excitement of a new name coming through that did things his way. It was great to watch, and we desperately want him back contending at majors.”

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And Koepka isn’t the only one in this downfall

Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, and even Jon Rahm couldn’t survive the storm.

Cameron Smith missed every single cut at the majors for the first time in his career this season. Smith won the 2022 Open Championship strongly and was among the top-five players in the world at that time. Three years later, he was a borderline player who had only two victories with LIV.

Speaking about that, Min Woo Lee recently said, “Cam was one of the best players in the world before he went to LIV, and I hope he can find a stride.”

Johnson was the No. 1 player in Data Golf just four years ago and had just won the 2020 Masters. But now, the 39-year-old Johnson has six cuts, eight majors he has played, tied for 10th in the U.S. Open two years ago, and tied for sixth at St. Andrews in the 2022 Open.

And then there’s Jon Rahm.

The former No. 2 in the world and defending Masters champion almost missed the cut in 2024. But he made a great comeback this season with two top 10 finishes at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, and made cuts in all four events he played.

It seems the “lighter schedule” might actually be extinguishing the fiery competitive edge these players actually need. Mark Allen just summarizes the heartbreaking reality by claiming the move simply “backfired” for these players. We all desperately miss the days when Brooks stared down rivals, and the sport needs these giants to wake up and rediscover their killer instincts.