The Masters will be returning to our screens this week as 95 players compete for the green jacket in Augusta – but some of LIV Golf’s biggest stars will be missing from the tournament
As the Masters gets underway, twelve of LIV Golf’s players are competing for the green jacket in Augusta this week, hoping to take home the win on Sunday evening. Most of the league’s stars will be fighting for victory, including Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Joaquin Niemann, who will be hoping for their maiden Masters crown.
Past champions will also be returning, including Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson. However, a number of key names are missing for the tournament, as the league struggles to extend its representation at this season’s four major championships.
LIV formed in June 2022 but has since been unable to offer Official World Golf Ranking points to the players – which means they have all fallen down the rankings and some have therefore lost out on major qualification.
In 2023, the OWGR chairman Peter Dawson said there was “no way to include LIV in the Ranking” in a way which would be “fair and equitable” to the 24 currently eligible tours and their “thousands of playing members”.
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Among those missing from the Masters is Talor Gooch. The American won three times individually in 2023 and secured the season-long individual title and an $18 million bonus. However, while he failed to replicate this success in 2024 and 2025, he still ranks top in the all-time LIV money list.
Also missing the major in Augusta this year is Ian Poulter , who is best known for his efforts at the Ryder Cup. Despite playing in the Masters 12 times previously, he has missed it for the past four years.
Lee Westwood , the former world number one who has come close to Masters victory before, will also be absent, but that hasn’t stopped him tipping a few of his LIV colleagues to spring a surprise at Augusta National this week.
“I don’t think you can discount Sergio [Garcia], the way he’s been playing at the moment,” Westwood told talkSPORT, “He’s in an incredible vein of form.
“And Charl Schwartzel finished second in the LIV event last week, he’s a former Masters champion. I think it’s very much horses for courses around Augusta and that’s why you get so many repeat winners.
“You’ve really got to know the golf course well, so any previous Masters champion that is playing well and carrying a bit of form, I think he’s got a chance.”
Adrian Meronk has played the last nine major championships at Augusta but his recent move to LIV has seen him lose his playing rights. Tom McKibbin has been denied the chance to play in his first Masters, and finally Louis Oosthuizen will also not be in attendance, despite previously having finished as runner-up at all four majors.
