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Rahm led the 18 LIV Golf players who teed it up at The Open, but how did the rest stack up? Let’s look at how they all finished.
There were 18 LIV Golf players at the Open Championship, one of the largest groups of participants in the four majors this year.
They had over 10 percent of the field at Royal Troon this past weekend. The Saudi-backed league saw Bryson DeChambeau become its second major champion at the U.S. Open after Brooks Koepka was the first at the 2023 PGA Championship.
Eleven of the 18 made the cut and played all four days, including past major winners Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Koepka.
Let’s look at how each of the 18 players finished at the final major championship.
Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm finished the highest among the LIV Golf players, tying for seventh place. He made a surge up the leaderboard on Sunday as he carded a 3-under 68, but was not consistent enough to earn that third major title.
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He went 73-70-72-68 in the four rounds of play. It was his best finish in a major this season. The Spaniard withdrew from competition ahead of the U.S. Open because of a toe infection. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship and was T45 at Augusta National.
Rahm was the only LIV Golf player to finish under par for the week.
John Catlin
The second-highest finisher at Royal Troon was John Catlin, who recorded a T16. He shot an even-par 71 in the final round to finish at 2-over overall.
Through four rounds of play, Catlin went 76-70-69-71.
Dean Burmester
Next was Dean Burmester, the firey South African player who qualified for this year’s Open by winning the Joburg Open last November. After two rounds of play, he was in contention, but a disastrous Round 3 took him out of it— the 35-year-old rounded out the event with an even-par 71 on Sunday to finish T19.
Burmester went 71-69-76-71 through four rounds. He also played in the PGA Championship and U.S. Open earlier this year, as he was one of the few LIV golfers to participate in most of the majors. Burmester posted his best finish at Valhalla with a T12; at Pinehurst No. 2, he was solo 69th.
Laurie Canter
The fourth LIV Golf player to make the weekend was Laurie Canter. He finished at 5-over in the tournament as he went 71-74-70-74 throughout the four days of play.
Dustin Johnson
Dustin Johnson has not had the best major championship season in 2024. He played in all four majors but only made the cut twice. Johnson’s best finish came this week at Royal Troon after he shot a 4-over 75 on Sunday, to see him finish at 6-over overall and tied for 31st.
He missed the cut at Augusta National and the U.S. Open. The 2020 Masters champ was T43 at the PGA Championship.
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Brooks Koepka
The sixth LIV golfer to make the weekend was Brooks Koepka, who is usually at his strongest in major championships. However, it was a pretty lackluster year for the five-time major winner.
At Royal Troon, Koepka was T43 as he was 8 over in the tournament. Through four rounds of play, he went 70-73-78-71 as he carded an even par on Sunday to jump up 19 spots on the leaderboard.
Koepka also played and made the cut in all four majors. However, his best finishes came at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, where he was T26. At the Masters, Koepka was T45.
Adrian Meronk
Adrian Meronk is one of the newer LIV Golf players after he joined the Saudi-backed league last year when he got left off the Ryder Cup team.
At Royal Troon, he finished the tournament at 9-over, which put him at T50, which marked the only time he played the weekend in the four majors this year. He went 73-72-73-75 on the week.
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Joaquin Niemann
At the beginning of the year, Joaquin Niemann was one of the hottest golfers on the planet. However, he cooled off some since his historic sub-60 round. At The Open, the Chilean golfer finished at 10-over and T58. On Sunday, he fell 18 places down the leaderboard when he recorded a 5-over 76.
Nieman was even-par after two days of play and right in the hunt, but going 76-76 on the weekend took him right out of it. The only major he did not play in was the U.S. Open as he failed to qualify. Niemann’s best major finish came at Augusta National with a T29. At the PGA Championship, he was T39; this week, he was T58.
Abraham Ancer
Joining Niemann at T58 is Abraham Ancer. He went 73-75-70-76 on the week. This week marked the only major for the Mexican golfer this year.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson was another LIV Golf player who participated in all four majors this year. He finished at 11-over at Royal Troon, towards the bottom of the leaderboard. On Sunday, he posted a 5-over 76 as he played alongside fellow left-handed golfer Robert MacIntyre.
Throughout the week, Mickelson went 73-74-72-76. It was the second time he played the weekend at a major in 2024, missing the cut at Valhalla and Pinehurst. He finished T43 at The Masters and T60 this week at The Open.
Andy Ogletree
Andy Ogletree was the final LIV Golf player to make the weekend at The Open. He was one spot away from finishing dead last among the 80 players who made the cut. Ogletree was 19-over in the tournament after he went 75-72-79-77.
Here are the list of LIV Golf players who missed the cut at the Open:
— Henrik Stenson: 8-over
— Tyrrell Hatton: 8-over
— Louis Oosthuizen: 8-over
— Sam Horsfield: 8-over
— Bryson DeChambeau: 9-over
— Cameron Smith: 12-over
— David Puig: 13-over
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
