LIV vs PGA Tour: The Battle at Brookline

This may be the biggest week on the golfing calendar…the first showdown between the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf Tour.

They’ll also be deciding the national championship of the United States, an excellent sideshow.

But the battle the smart money will be watching will be the one waged between partisans of the LIV and PGA Tours. For the first time since LIV came into existence – OK, it was just last week – the opposing sides in the battle for supremacy of the golf world will meet on the same course at the same time.

May the better Tour win.

A total of 18 players either committed or rumored to soon be joining the LIV Tour will be at Brookline when the first ball is struck Thursday. They will be joined there by 83 PGA Tour regulars who thus far have been unwavering in their commitment to the PGA Tour.

Advocates for both Tours hope, pray, and fondly wish that one of the guys on their side comes away a winner while the guys representing the other side stumble all over themselves.

That portion of the LIV Tour delegation eligible to play at The Country Club in Brookline includes 15 participants in the LIV Golf inaugural event last week in London.

Those 15 are: Richard Bland, Sergio Garcia, Talor Gooch, Brendan Grace, Sam Horsfield, Dustin Johnson, Jinichiro Kozuma, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jediah Morgan, Kevin Na, Shaun Norris, Louis Oosthuizen,  James Piot, Ian Synman and Bernd Weisberger.

DeChambeau is another player reportedly leaving the PGA Tour for LIV

That count also includes Bryson DeChambeau, who reportedly committed to LIV last Monday.

Finally, it includes Patrick Reed and Jason Kokrak, two players who have been reported to be prepared to accept LIV Tour invitations but have not yet formally announced their intent to do so.

Interestingly, only four of the U.S. Open eligibles with a LIV Golf connection – Grace, Horsfield, Johnson, and Gooch – finished among the top 10 in the LIV inaugural event last week in London. Grace was third, Horsfield tied for fifth, Johnson was eighth, and Gooch ninth.

Neither the event champion, Charl Schwartzel, nor the runner-up, Hennie DuPlessis, qualified for the U.S. Open.

In this contest for bragging rights, they’ll be pitted against a small battalion of their former PGA Tour cohorts.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will be there, as will the other members of the top five: defending champion Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, and Justin Thomas

In total, 48 of the world’s 50 best players, as determined by the Official World Golf Ranking, will compete at Brookline.

Setting aside Reed and Kokrak, 41 of the remaining 46 – including all of the top 15 —  will play under the banner of the PGA Tour.

The only firm LIV commits at Brookline who rank among the world’s top 50 are Johnson (16), Oosthuizen (22), DeChambeau (29), Na (33), and Gooch (36).

The oddsmakers at this stage clearly look more kindly on the PGA Tour. WynnBet lists 13 players at +2500 or better to win the Open. Twelve of those 13, Johnson being the only exception, are PGA Tour regulars.

One thing is for sure: Whichever side’s player emerges with the trophy will pick up major bragging rights in the ongoing fight for golf supremacy.