Phil Mickelson and LIV Golf as a Whole Had a Horrible Showing at the U.S. Open
Well, if you were hoping for some sort of showdown between the golfers of the PGA Tour and those of LIV Golf at the 2022 U.S. Open, you were obviously extremely disappointed.
While the PGA Tour has suspended those who’ve defected to LIV Golf, the USGA allowed those who’d already qualified for the U.S. Open to compete this past week at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
But of the 15 players who either played in the first LIV Golf event in London or have announced plans to play in the next one in suburban Portland, none were ever truly in contention. You know, because to be in contention, you first have to make the cut in real golf tournaments, and only four of the 15 did that at the U.S. Open.
As for the face of LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson, he didn’t even come close to making the weekend as his tournament was over after only a few holes.
LIV Golf had a horrible showing at the 2022 U.S. Open
Mickelson, a six-time runner-up at the U.S. Open, was one of 13 golfers at The Country Club who’d teed it up in London. Rounding out the LIV Golf group were two players who’ve already announced their intention to play in Portland, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed.
DeChambeau and Reed were two of the LIV Golf guys to make the cut in Brookline, the other two being Dustin Johnson and Richard Bland. While DJ was near the top of the leaderboard early with a first-round 68, the former No. 1 player in the world fell back and finished tied for 24th at 4-over, a full 10 shots back of winner Matt Fitzpatrick.
And that’s the best LIV Golf had to offer for the week. Bland tied for 43rd at 8-over. Reed tied for 49th at 10-over. And DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open champion, tied for 56th at 13-over.
As for the other 11, they simply couldn’t cut it at The Country Club and went home early. With rounds of 78 and 73, Mickelson was near the bottom of the pack at 11-over, finishing higher than only 16 of 156 players.
But that wasn’t even the worst score of the LIV Golf group. Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma shot 76-77 and Australia’s Jed Morgan shot 82-74 to finish at 16-over.
Here’s how all 15 LIV Golf players fared at the 2022 U.S. Open.
- Dustin Johnson: T24 (+4)
- Richard Bland: T43 (+8)
- Patrick Reed: T49 (+10)
- Bryson DeChambeau: T56 (+13)
- Sergio Garcia: MC (+4)
- James Piot: MC (+4)
- Talor Gooch: MC (+5)
- Kevin Na: MC (+5)
- Branden Grace: MC (+5)
- Sam Horsfield: MC (+6)
- Louis Oosthuizen: MC (+6)
- Shaun Norris: MC (+8)
- Phil Mickelson: MC (+11)
- Jinichiro Kozuma: MC (+13)
- Jed Morgan: MC (+16)
It should also be noted that some of the other big names linked to the Saudi-backed series, such as Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler, and Matthew Wolff, didn’t even qualify for the U.S. Open.
The next LIV Golf event begins Thursday, June 30, and takes place at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon.
Stats courtesy of USOpen.com
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