GOLF
LIV Golf vs PGA Tour at the 2023 US Open: how the leaderboard is shaping up
As we reached the halfway point at the Los Angeles Country Club, which set of players are looking good for a major title triumph?
The US Open is one of the real reasons to get into professional golf. Seriously, forget all the millions that may be gushing in from Saudi Arabia and instead focus on the achievements at the elite level. When the top stars finally get their tee off time in the heavenly course above -- there are also alternatives below -- their gravestone is unlikely to read ‘died a crazily rich man thanks to sportswashing’. More likely it’ll be something along the lines of ‘Conquered golf’s majors’.
PGA leading LIV at US Open halfway
With that in mind, and the not too shabby $20 million still on the line for the 2023 winner at the Los Angeles Country Club, we thought we’d take a look at how things are shaping up at the top of the leaderboard as we enter the weekend’s action, and, more specifically, how the LIV Tour players were faring against those that have steered clear of the new regime.
There were 15 LIV golfers in the opening field: Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Mito Pereira, Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Reed, Sebastián Muñoz, Sergio Garcia, Thomas Pieters, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, David Puig and Martin Kaymer, and none of them appear in the top five.
After two rounds it’s Ricky Fowler leading the way at -10, with Wyndham Clark, Xander Shauffele, and Rory McIlroy -- who has always been a vocal advocate for the PGA traditions -- a shot or two behind. None of them, you’ll notice are in the pockets of the Saudi PIF.
The first LIV player comes in the shape of Johnson, sitting tied sixth at -6, certainly still in the mix for a push at the title over the next two rounds.
As always, there are a large number of players who did not make the cut, finishing outside of the top 50 and heading home. This includes one of the early LIV jumpers, Phil Mickelson, who also suffering the indignity of being heckled by an unruly fan.
Who made the cut at the 2023 US Open after Round 2?
(LIV golfers in bold)
1: Rickie Fowler, -10
2: Wyndham Clark, -9
T-3: Rory McIlroy, -8
T-3: Xander Schauffele, -8
5: Harris English, -7
T-6: Dustin Johnson, -6
T-6: Min Woo Lee, -6
T-8: Sam Bennett, -5
T-8: Scottie Scheffler, -5
10: Cameron Smith, -4
11: Tony Finau, -3
T-12: Charley Hoffman, -2
T-12: Brian Harman, -2
T-12: Justin Suh, -2
T-12: Ryutaro Nagano, -2
T-12: Dylan Wu, -2
T-12: Gary Woodland, -2
T-12: Denny McCarthy, -2
T-19. Nick Hardy, -1
T-19: Romain Langasque, -1
T-19: Eric Cole, -1
T-19: Andrew Putnam, -1
T-19: Austin Eckroat, -1
T-19: Sam Burns, -1
T-19: Keith Mitchell, -1
T-19: Ryan Gerard, -1
T-19: Bryson DeChambeau, -1
T-19: Si Woo Kim, -1
T-19: Viktor Hovland, -1
T-30: Joaquin Niemann, E
T-30: Sahith Theegala, E
T-30: Billy Horschel, E
T-30: Brooks Koepka, E
T-30: Mackenzie Hughes, E
T-30: Yuto Katsuragawa, E
T-30: Patrick Rodgers, E
T-30: Gordon Sargent (amateur), E
T-30: Collin Morikawa, E
T-39: Tom Kim, +1
T-39: Matt Fitzpatrick, +1
T-39: Hideki Matsuyama, +1
T-39: Jacob Solomon, +1
T-39: Jordan Smith, +1
T-39: Adam Svensson, +1
T-39: Kevin Streelman, +1
T-39: Tyrrell Hatton, +1
T-39: Sergio Garcia, +1
T-39: Patrick Reed, +1
T-49: Sam Stevens, +2
T-49: Maxwell Moldovan (amateur), +2
T-49: Aldrich Potgieter (amateur), +2
T-49: Abraham Ancer, +2
T-49: Padraig Harrington, +2
T-49: Cameron Young, +2
T-49: Russell Henley, +2
T-49: Patrick Cantlay, +2
T-49: Ben Carr (amateur), +2
T-49: Sebastian Munoz, +2
T-49: David Puig, +2
T-49: Ryo Ishikawa, +2
T-49: Shane Lowry, +2
T-49: Tommy Fleetwood, +2
T-49: Jon Rahm, +2
T-49: Adam Hadwin, +2
T-49: Ryan Fox, +2