LIV Golf Has A Masters Problem It Needs To Fix

It was a difficult day for LIV Golf's players on Thursday at Augusta National, with none of the ten in the Masters field finishing under-par and its two biggest names surprisingly well off the pace.

Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm were among the top-four tournament favorites this week and found themselves carding rounds of 76 (+4) and 78 (+6) to trail Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns' lead by nine and 11 strokes respectively.

What happened?

We're only a quarter of the way through this year's Masters so the LIV players have plenty of time to start climbing the leaderboard, and it's only Rahm and Carlos Ortiz (+8) who look to be in serious danger of missing the cut.

But 0/10 shooting under-par is not a great look for LIV Golf, and commentators mentioned it a couple of times on the Sky Sports feed.

Rahm, who has finished inside the top-10 in 29 of his 30 LIV Golf events, and DeChambeau, who has won twice in the LIV Golf League already this season, will almost certainly improve on Friday but they have a lot of ground to make up if they want to be wearing the Green Jacket on Sunday.

There are probably a couple of reasons for LIV's difficult day.

None of its roster - aside from the Promotions graduates who are not in The Masters - have played a single tournament in the USA this year, and you have to go back to August for their last appearance Stateside.

The 2026 LIV schedule has meant its players have had two full weeks off from competitive golf after the popular South Africa debut, which was a birdie-fest on a soft layout at Steyn City - the polar opposite to the firm and fast Augusta National.

It's a stark difference to last year when the tour played Trump National Doral in the week before The Masters.

Then there's who they're going up against.

The PGA Tour and DP World Tour players have been competing almost exclusively in the USA this season and have managed to get good reps and tournament experience at courses like Pebble Beach, Riviera and TPC Sawgrass.

The Players Championship has been won by The Masters champion in each of the last two years, and it is undoubtedly great prep for Augusta due to the demanding course, the huge galleries and both the pressure and prestige of the event.

While it can't claim to officially be the fifth Major, it is a great dress rehearsal for pros before the four biggest tournaments from April to July.

Would Rahm, DeChambeau and co. have benefitted from competing in The Players? Of course.

It could be said that LIV Golf's schedule has not prepared its best players for The Masters well enough this year. No tournaments in the US and a two-week break before Augusta are arguments you can easily make.

I think it also shows that LIV Golf desperately needs a Masters qualifying route.

There are only ten LIV players here this week, there should be 11 (13 if Koepka and Reed were still on the circuit) but Phil Mickelson is at home dealing with a family health matter, and the only new players in the field from the team tour versus last year are Tom McKibbin and Carlos Ortiz.

That's down from 18 three years ago, and without a direct route the number could well drop again next year.

McKibbin got in via his impressive Hong Kong Open victory and Carlos Ortiz qualified after finishing inside the top-four of the US Open.

LIV has direct routes into the US Open and The Open, albeit with only one spot, and the PGA Championship is significantly easier to qualify for now thanks to the tour securing world ranking points as the second Major of the year usually includes the entire world's top 100.

There is still nothing for The Masters, and it means that 12 of the top 14 in LIV Golf's standings, i.e. the tour's most in-form players, are not playing this week.

Five of the top-10 from last year's season-long standings are also not in the field.

An ideal solution for LIV would be to secure somewhere between 3-5 of the top finishers in the season standings, who aren't already qualified, a Masters spot.

I'm sure getting his most in-form players a tee time at Augusta is one of the many things Scott O'Neil has on his to-do list, while he may also want to look at getting some US golf in closer to the first week of April next year.

Do you think LIV Golf needs a direct Masters qualifying route? Let me know in the comments section.

LIV Golf leaderboard at The Masters: Day 1

• E Sergio Garcia
• +1 Dustin Johnson
• +2 Cameron Smith
• +2 Tyrrell Hatton
• +3 Tom McKibbin
• +3 Charl Schwartzel
• +4 Bubba Watson
• +4 Bryson DeChambeau
• +6 Jon Rahm
• +8 Carlos Ortiz