After the first LIV Golf event was held in London three weeks ago the golfing world became a rumour mill of different PGA and European Tour players who could possibly join the new competition that is backed by two-time US Open winner Greg Norman and funded by Saudi Public Investment Fun..
Names such as Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood have been mentioned in recent weeks with little substance or proof to back the claims, as well as the threats of being banned from being able to participate in PGA tour events, so the rumours went away..
The common joke that was made about the lead-up to the first event in England is that if you wanted to pick a LIV Golf player as your choice to win the event you had a choice between a couple of golfers well past their prime and in the twilight of their careers, a few golfers who have played on the tour that you may recognise if you are a die-hard fan and then a number of younger golfers looking to make it on the big stage..
Brooks Koepka is a golfer who is able to deal with incredible amounts of pressure to seal the win on the biggest stage. Of his eight tour wins four of them are actually majors, and better yet both of them were wins in back-to-back years with the U.S. Open in 2017 and 2018, and again at the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019.
While Koepka may have been having a bit of an up and down year due to a couple of niggling injuries he has still been able to create some brilliant performances in the past couple of months that have indicated that an amazing golfer is still there and due for a good string of form.
Having a golfer who has four major wins under their belt, while also still being ranked as one of the top 20 golfers in the world, is a brilliant addition for us but may not be for the other golfers looking to bag the top spot at this weekend event.
Bryson DeChambeau deciding to take his ball and play in the LIV Golf tour definitely turned some heads and added even further depth to a field of golfers all fighting for a very lucrative prize.
Much like Koepka, Dechambue joins the new competition with a history of performing at some of the biggest stages in golf, being only the third man in history to win an NCAA Division 1 title, a US Amateur Championship and the US Open after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. And with his incredible power and control of the golf ball, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to think of a three-way tug of war at every event between DeChambeau, Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
While he may have been dealing with a few injuries at the end of 2021 and at the start of 2022, at only 28 years old DeChambeau is still in his physical prime and now that he is back to 100% he will easily be able to remind people of just how great he is with the incredible power that he is able to generate when hitting a golf ball.
For many of the golfers who were looking to work their way up higher onto the leader board at this weekend's LIV Golf event in Portland, it may have just become a lot harder to do so thanks to the inclusion of two of the best golfers in the world right now.
