GOLF
2024 Masters comparison: LIV golfers vs PGA players on Sunday | Which Tour won the battle at Augusta?
Scottie Scheffler, as the PGA Tour’s number one player, defended his league by winning at Augusta and receiving the green coat from LIV’s Jon Rahm.
In a thrilling Augusta Masters championship, Scottie Scheffler came out once again (two times in the last three years) as the winner, receiving the coveted green jacket from last year’s champion, LIV Golf’s latest acquisition, the Spaniard Jon Rahm. This marks Scheffler’s second major victory and second win at Augusta National. The 27-year-old Texan couldn’t be happier about his victory, and in his first words as champion, he expressed his love for the course, stating that “just entering Magnolia Lane makes you melt.”
Rahm handed the jacket to Scheffler in person, making the moment even more special for the winner and the hard-core PGA Tour followers. The green jacket, a symbol of one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world, has become an iconic prize that every golfer dreams of winning, and reason more for the old school golfers to give biased comments on the newly formed runaway tour, and take the opportunity to rub it in their face.
With this year’s Augusta Masters edition finished, it is an excellent moment to recapitulate the standings and positions that the LIV golfers took this year—especially knowing how good of a start they had, with Bryson DeChambeau leading in the first instances of the tournament.
Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau shot a one-over 73 and finished the day tied for the lead with Max Homa and Scottie Scheffler, putting him in a good position to win his second major. He was initially leading the average distance, but after the third round, Rory McIlroy overtook him and became the new leader with an average distance of 318.1 yards. Ultimately, Brice had to settle for T6 and a score of -2, which was a good performance but not enough to win.
Cameron Smith
Australian golfer Cameron Smith is concerned that he might be running out of time to win the Masters despite finishing in the top 10 for the fifth time. Smith suffered an untimely bout of food poisoning before the tournament but refused to blame it for his inability to catch up with the leaders on the final day.
On Sunday, Smith looked poised to make a final-round charge after making a spectacular eagle on the par-5 second hole. However, his short game let him down for the second day in a row. He was unable to register a single birdie in the final round. After recording his only bogey on the fifth hole, Smith strung together 13 pars in a row, with multiple birdie putts going begging. He finished with a score of 71 on Sunday and tied for sixth overall with a score of two-under, just like his LIV golf compatriot DeChambeau. This marks yet another top-10 finish for the Australian, who was the runner-up in 2020.
Patrick Reed
Reed, who won the 2018 Masters championship, has participated in every major tournament since he debuted at Augusta National Golf Club in 2014. He has made 40 consecutive appearances so far. Despite bogeying the home hole and finishing with a third-round one-over 73, the member of the LIV Golf League still needed a strong finish. However, he could only manage a T12 spot with a score of 1 under. This result has jeopardized his chances of playing in next month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Currently, he is ranked 112th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Tyrrell Hatton
The English golfer finished ninth in the 2024 Augusta with an even score. However, since he joined LIV Golf for the 2024 season, his access to official world golf ranking points has been limited. Unlike his fellow top LIV professionals, he has not won a major championship title and thus has no long-term exemptions for future majors. Currently ranked No. 19 in the world, his ranking is likely to continue to decline due to his performance at Augusta.
The rest of the bunch
Of the 13 LIV golfers participating in the 2024 Masters tournament at the prestigious club nestled among the Georgia pines, only five failed to make the cut. They missed out on advancing to the weekend.