Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka eye Masters tune-up at LIV Golf Miami
With $25m in prize money up for grabs LIV Golf Miami offers plentiful rewards of its own but, for almost a quarter of the 54-man field, there is another less tangible incentive ahead of next week’s Masters.
For the 13 players in the LIV Golf League who are assured of a place at the major, this week’s tournament at Trump National Doral represents the last chance to get a win under their belt before they head north to Augusta.
Traditionally, it matters. Of the last 10 Masters champions, seven had already been in the winner’s circle earlier that year, while the last two – Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler – arrived at Magnolia Lane with multiple titles.
But of the 13 LIV Golf players bound for Augusta, only two have tasted victory in 2024. Joaquin Niemann, who sits top of the tour’s individual standings, has won twice, while 2020 Green Jacket winner Dustin Johnson has topped the podium once.
That leaves 11 others, including defending champion Rahm and fellow Masters winners Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel, seeking a last-minute lift in Miami.
Major winners Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith are also among those yet to dazzle this year, along with Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk, who are both heading for Augusta as LIV Golf members for the first time.
Rahm is making his debut at Doral and playing the week before the Masters for the first time in seven years. The Spaniard, who has finished in the top eight in all of his LIV starts, believes that, if nothing else, playing will help to keep his nerves at bay.
“I was glad to have a tournament this week because Augusta is the first major championship I’m defending on the [same] venue,” he said. “Being at home this week could have been a little more challenging trying to control those thoughts. Having competition is going to help.”
“I won a lot early on last year and then I went on a bit of a month or so where I didn’t play my best… which in a weird way helped going into that Masters. This year I feel like I have been playing really good golf but not over that hump of winning yet.”
Koepka was joint runner-up at Augusta for the second time last year but has had a modest start to this season, with only one top-10 finish. The five-time major winner believes this week’s test is ideal for tuning up for the Masters.
“It’s the first big boy golf course we’ve played this year,” said Koepka. “It’s a tough golf course, and you’ve got to be able to ball-strike it here and ball-strike it at Augusta, and I think that’s why it’s such good preparation.”
