LIV Golf UK 2024 Preview, Picks & Analysis

The DP World Tour may well be taking a break after The Open but for some LIV golfers the action continues for a third successive week as they head to JCB Golf & Country Club in Uttoxeter. And it will be fascinating to see how many British fans turn up to watch the action.

For some of the field this will represent a third successive week of tournament play after Valderrama and The Open. You will remember that many of those who defected cited the PGA Tour’s hectic schedule as one of their primary reasons for making the move.

Of course, LIV Golf continues to divide opinion but there is certain to be considerable interest in the form of the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Tyrrell Hatton, Jaoquin Niemann, Adrian Meronk, Abraham Ancer, Sam Horsfield, Louis Oosthuizen, Henrik Stenson and Cameron Smith, all of whom were in action at Troon, with mixed success.

There will also be plenty of interest in the performance of Phil Mickelson, who has become a pretty divisive character over the past couple of years. He still possesses a magical short game but has recently admitted that he might be reaching the end of the road.

A player who will feel that he has a point to prove this week is Sergio Garcia. The Spaniard was bitterly upset not to make it to Scotland. Unlike many of his LIV colleagues, he turned up for final qualifying at West Lancs but narrowly missed out, and ended up moaning about how poor the course stewards were. What he totally failed to take into account was that the large crowds who turned up were there because they wanted to see him play - and they were all rooting for him to get to Troon. Garcia is a hugely gifted golfer but he sometimes makes it hard to like him.

However, he can still play this game. And he got over his qualifying disappointment by hunting down India’s Anirban Lahiri to win LIV’s Valderrama tournament. And he would dearly love to do so again this week.

The quality of golf on the LIV Tour continues to divide opinion, and Rahm continued the debate on the eve of The Open.

He described LIV Golf as "world class" in comparison to the likes of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. It should surprise nobody that Rahm would make such a claim - he is being paid a king’s ransom to compete on the circuit and has failed to win since making the switch so obviously he is going to talk it up. The fact remains that their tournaments have limited fields, are played over just 54 holes and have no cut. It is also a fact that many of them are way past their prime. The likes of Richard Bland, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Mickelson and Paul Casey have all enjoyed fabulous careers but would readily admit that their glory days are way behind them.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Having enjoyed a stellar season on the PGA Tour in 2023 he was widely expected to sweep all before him when he made the move but he has yet to pick up an individual trophy. There are many who believe that the Spaniard is a man who needs the challenge of a 72-hole tournament to get his competitive juices flowing. He dismisses such notions. 

"It’s not easy to win golf tournaments," he said. "I’ve been close. I just haven’t gotten it done. There’s been weeks where I feel like I scored a lot better than I felt, and there’s been a couple weeks where it could have been better. Haven’t won yet so that would deduct quite a bit from it.

"I would say maybe 6 to a 7 out of 10 if I had to say. But the year is not over. Still a lot to play for. It would not be unheard of to see a player finish strong and change that to maybe a 9 out of 10. So far just because I haven’t won, I can’t give it more than a 7."

I watch a lot of golf and the thing I have noticed about Rahm this year is that the spring has gone out of his step. He has always been a fiery competitor but he now just seems angry most of the time.

For most of us who love this game, golf is all about history and tradition, plenty of which was in evidence at Troon. Rahm is playing on a circuit that is barely two years old, is financed by Saudi money and has ripped the professional game apart.

It will surprise nobody that that his claims created a huge response on social media with many people reminding Rahm of the fact that LIV has a long way to go before it can be described as "world class".

He could go a long way towards silencing his critics by winning this week.

Form Guide:

Wherever he plays these days, Bryson DeChambeau is the man to beat. The US Open champion could have won three majors in 2024 and possesses a sensational short game and an incredible will to win.

The Course:

JCB Golf & Country Club is a par 72 that measures 7,308 yards and was designed by Robert Hiseman. There are lots of trees, water and bunkers but the fairways are pretty generous so expect to see some low scoring.

To Win:

Bryson DeChambeau. Course is made for him

Each Way:

Jon Rahm. Chomping at the bit

Each Way:

Sergio Garcia. Has a point to prove

Five to Follow:

Bryson DeChambeau. Light the blue touch paper

Jon Rahm. Will surely turn it around

Sergio Garcia. In superb form

Jaoquin Niemann. Class act

Abraham Ancer. Accuracy personified