In the three years since its controversial inception in 2022, LIV Golf has disrupted the professional golf landscape, drawing battle lines with the PGA Tour and shaking up traditional power structures. Fueled by billions in Saudi backing and headline-grabbing signings like Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, LIV promised to challenge the dominance of the PGA Tour—not just in money, but in performance. For a while, the rivalry felt real, especially when LIV players started contending in major championships. But as the dust settles on the 2025 major season, the numbers are painting a different picture—one that raises real questions about LIV’s competitiveness.

This year’s four men’s majors—the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and the Open—have revealed a stark performance gap between players on the PGA Tour and those aligned with LIV. While the PGA Tour’s elite have consistently appeared atop the leaderboards, only two LIV players, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, managed to make the cut in all four majors. While Rahm is currently having a dominant season on LIV, he has also finished within the top ten in the last two majors. Hatton, too, is currently tied 4th at Portrush, a position similar to what we saw at his Oakmont finish.

But Byrson DeChambeau, often regarded as LIV’s top and most consistent performer after strong finishes in 2023 and even in 2025, hasn’t had a similar streak. DeChambeau’s most surprising performance came at Oakmont this year, where he missed the cut by three shots after carding 10-over on the first two days. He even got to Oakmont a few days before the practice round to dial in a few rounds with his new irons, and said, “this is the hardest this golf course could ever play right now.” Clearly it was, as this was the first time he missed the cut at a U.S. Open. Perhaps the most startling of them all was Cameron Smith, who won the 2022 Open when it was hosted at St.Andrews. Smith, who was reportedly offered $140 million to leave the PGA Tour, missed the cut in all four majors this year. His 8-over performance at Royal Portrush led him to miss the cut for the fifth consecutive time since the 2024 Open.

At this point, the contrast is glaring. The PGA Tour’s top players are rising to the occasion on golf’s biggest stages, while LIV’s highest-paid stars are becoming increasingly irrelevant when the pressure’s on. Out of the sixteen players that have made the cut this year in all four majors, only 2 players (Rahm and Hatton) are from LIV. In contrast, PGA Tour players not only made cuts but also won every major this year. The remaining fourteen include the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. The two have had one win each in a major, clearly cementing PGA Tour players’ dominance on golf’s grandest stages.

If LIV Golf’s long-term vision was to earn respect through performance, the results of 2025 suggest that vision remains more aspiration than reality. These aren’t just isolated slumps, but they’re part of a broader pattern. LIV’s format, which lacks the week-in, week-out grind and depth of competition found on the PGA Tour, appears to be taking a toll on its players’ sharpness when they return to traditional 72-hole, cut-based events. The majors have become the only battleground where LIV can directly compare itself to the PGA Tour, and in 2025, that comparison has been brutally one-sided. Even once major winners, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, are on the list of LIV’s disappointments.

Other prominent names join DeChambeau

Dustin Johnson, who somehow found his form at the Open this week and is currently tied 22nd, has also missed three cuts this year. He was defiant about his performances in majors this year and expressed that the reason for his slump was simply the luck factor. Johnson, who claimed the 2016 U.S. Open and the 2020 Masters, looks even further adrift, with just two major cuts made in the past eight appearances since the 2023 Open. Since his move to LIV in 2022, he’s had only two top ten finishes, and has consistently finished outside the top 25 in the rest.

Joining him is Koepka, who has recently been appearing lost with his LIV contract expiring soon, and is struggling even on LIV. Once a dominant force in majors with five titles to his name, Koepka has failed to contend in any of the four this year. While he did come extremely close at Oakmont and finished tied 12th, that was the only respite for him, as he missed the cut at Dunluce after firing 7-over on two days. Since his win at the 2023 PGA Championship, Koepka hasn’t had a top ten finish in any of the majors. These two are LIV Golf’s most high-profile and decorated signings, but have seen their competitive edge dull considerably since making the jump. The aura that once made Koepka and Johnson dominant forces in the sport has been replaced with inconsistency and irrelevance on the biggest stages. If LIV Golf hoped to showcase its elite talent through its success, the continued slump of these former major champions only weakens that narrative. LIV Golf may offer financial rewards and flash, but when it comes to competitive legitimacy, the PGA Tour still owns the scoreboard.