The Open Championship is just around the corner and 19 LIV Golfers are set to tee it up at Royal Portrush this week.
It is the second time in six years that the Northern Irish venue has played host to the game’s oldest major championship and it promises to be a cracker.
This year, 12 players from the Saudi-backed league played at the Masters, while 15 were in the field for the PGA Championship and 14 for the US Open last month.
Indeed, 19 players from LIV represents the highest number of participants in a single major since the start of 2023. Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Joaquin Niemann stand the best chance of perhaps claiming the Claret Jug.
None of that trio have ever won the Open in their careers, however. In fact, only four players who play in the LIV Golf League have.
We at Golf Today dive deeper into who are they are and how they won their Claret Jug.
Louis Oosthuizen – Won at St Andrews in 2010
The South African has had plenty of close calls at major championships over the years, notably at the Masters in 2012 and the Open in 2015.
His victory at St Andrews 15 years ago proved just how good Oosthuizen could be when on form. In the end, he claimed victory by seven shots after a strong back-nine during the final round.
He fell short in a three-man playoff five years later, while in 2021, the 42-year-old finished third at Royal St George’s.
Phil Mickelson – Won at Muirfield in 2013
For a long time, it looked as though the Open would always be the major that Mickelson might have the hardest chance of winning.
Indeed, over his first 19 tournaments, he finished in the top-five only twice (2004 and 2011).
Things changed in 2013. The week before the Open at Muirfield, the American won the Scottish Open, prevailing in a playoff at Castle Stuart.
Mickelson started the final round of the Open five shots back, but a back-nine charge saw him finish at three-under for the
competition, securing his maiden Open championship.
Unless something extraordinary happens this week at Portrush, Mickelson will remain with a single Open title.
Henrik Stenson – Won at Royal Troon in 2016
Henrik Stenson’s performance at Troon in 2016 will surely go down as one of the best in the championship’s recent history.
Both he and Mickelson were playing in a tournament on their own given their displays in Ayr. Ahead of the final round, the pair were 12-under and 11-under respectively.
Mickelson’s final total of 17-under par would have won all but three of the previous 15 Opens in the 21st Century. But Stenson pipped him with a Sunday 63 to seal his first major championship.
Cameron Smith – Won at St Andrews in 2022
Heading into the final round three years ago, many felt Cameron Smith had little to no chance of claiming the Claret Jug.
After all, he trailed leaders Victor Hovland and Rory McIlroy by four shots. In the end, he shot a stunning final round of 64 to snatch the title away from the two Europeans.
A few weeks later, he made the move to LIV Golf and hasn’t really came close to winning another major.
