LIV Golf expected to start off the 2025 major championship season with a bang.
Bryson DeChambeau entered The Masters as the reigning U.S. Open champion, Jon Rahm was playing pristine golf to start the year, and Joaquín Niemann was getting shilled as the best golfer in the world not named Scottie Scheffler after having already won winning twice in five starts on the Saudi-backed series this season.
In the end, though, only DeChambeau had a chance to swipe the green jacket from Rory McIlroy's trembling hands.
McIlroy tried countless times to gift DeChambeau the Masters title, but Bryson refused to take it, as the 31-year-old shot a 3-over 75 with only three birdies on Sunday to fall back to a tie for fifth place. He wasn't even in contention for the final few holes.
If McIlroy had blown up like DeChambeau did in the final round, he'd still be getting crucified by fans and media pundits.
Bryson undoubtedly deserves more criticism for choking away the Green Jacket. He was tied for the lead after two holes on Sunday and proceeded to shoot 4-over in the next 16 holes to let McIlroy off the hook.
LIV Golf disappoints at The Masters again
DeChambeau didn't play well enough to win on Sunday, but at least he gave himself a chance heading into the final round.
Rahm and Niemann have played the best golf on the LIV circuit all season, and they barely squeaked through the cut at +2. Strong weekends helped Rahm and Niemann finish T14 and T29, respectively, but their performances were well below expectations.
Speaking of which, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, and Phil Mickelson all missed the cut at The Masters. All five players entered the week with the Green Jacket on their minds, but none of them were even able to beat 67-year-old Bernhard Langer in two rounds.
Tyrrell Hatton was in contention until a third-round 75 knocked him out of the mix, which has become a theme for the fiery Englishman in major championships. Two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson fired a 68 in the final round to backdoor a T14, but he was never in the mix to win.
Patrick Reed saved LIV Golf from an embarrassing finish
The best finish for LIV Golf at The Masters came from 2018 champ Patrick Reed, who hooped his approach shot for eagle on the 71st hole of the tournament and nearly caught McIlroy in the end.
If it wasn't for an uncharacteristic three-putt from four feet on the 15th hole, Reed would've been in the playoff alongside McIlroy and Justin Rose. Instead, he finished up in solo third place at 9-under, his best finish at Augusta since his triumph seven years ago.
What a week for @preedgolf 👏
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 14, 2025
His 3rd place finish marks his fifth top-10 in the last eight Masters tournaments 💪#TheMasters pic.twitter.com/pOxpCFSFi0
Reed and DeChambeau were the only factors in the final round, marking the second straight Masters in which LIV fell short of expectations. In 2024, the PGA Tour made up the top five names on the final leaderboard. This year, it had 11 of the top 13.
Since LIV Golf's inception in 2022, players coming from the rival tour have won just two of the 11 major championships in that span.
Since DeChambeau is the only LIV golfer who consistently plays well in major championships these days, it makes you wonder if the lighter schedule and more casual atmosphere are adequately preparing these top-tier players to compete in majors.