Many Liv golfers have left the PGA including Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and there are many more names.
The players that went to the Saudi Public Invested Fund tournament LIV golf, have all been suspended by PGA.
The reason they are suspended is that PGA players are not allowed to participate in tournaments that are unofficial. The players that are joining the tournament which is not recognized by the tour, should pre-inform and get a conflicting event release.
There are quite a few reasons why golf players are leaving the PGA, The first thing is that LIV Golf provides huge financial support to the players no matter how they perform. They have fixed money that they will receive.
But in the PGA tour, they are only provided with money if they manage to secure high ranking finish or only after they win.
Also, the LIV Golf is much shorter than the PGA tour, as they are for over 3 days, unlike the PGA tour which is normally played for 4 days. So, the LIV golfers will have a lot more free time than the PGA.
These are some of the few things that appeal to golf players from leaving the PGA for tours like LIV. As of now, there are no players from LIV Golfers in the PGA.
Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson is one of the current LIV golfers in the Masters who has won more than 40 events on the PGA tour including the likes of Masters titles, PGA championships, and Open Championship.
At the age of 50, he won the 2021 PGA championship and made the record of being the oldest major championship winner. In 2012, he was introduced into the Hall of Fame of World Golf.
He has won the PGA tour 45 times, the European tour 11 times, the Asian Tour, the Sunshine Tour, the PGA tour of Australasia, Challenge Tour once. He has also won PGA tour champions and other tours 4 times.
Phil Mickelson's best result in major championships is the Masters tournament which he won three times in 2004, 2006, and 2010. PGA Championship twice in 2005 and 2021, and the Open Championship once in 2013.
He has also won the Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award 3 times each in 1990, 1991, and 1992.
Cameron Smith
The Australian professional golf player Cameron Smith plays in the LIV Golf League. He recently won the 2022 Open Championship and 5 more tournaments on the PGA tour.
The 30-year-old golf player Cameron Smith went on to become a pro player in 2013 and played on the PGA tour of Australasia. He came 2nd at the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship in 2015 and the Emirate Australian Open in 2016.
He won Asian Tour Rookie of the Year in 2014 and in 2022 he won PGA Player of the Year. He completed his first-ever LIV start in Boston as he came in 4th position. Dustin Johnson won the 3 man playoff.
In his second start, his scoring rounds read 66, 68, and 69 to end on 13-under par to clinch a victory by 3 shots leading the previous winners including Dustin Johnson and Peter Uihlenin.
One of the LIV Tour Golfers, Cameron Smith won more than 5 million dollars from the initial four starts.
Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka is also one of many players who came to LIV Golf from the PGA tour. In 2018, he was ranked 1st in the official world golf ranking and stayed for almost a year.
He was ranked number one after being victorious in the 2018 CJ Cup. In 2017 and 2018, he won the US Open, and in 2018 and 2019, he won the PGA championship.
With these back-to-back wins in two different major tournaments, he recorded his name and became the first ever golf player in golf history to hold this record.
Recently, he won the PGA Championship as many as three times and managed to bag 5 major titles in 6 years.
In 2022, he joined LIV Golf and became one of several players suspended by the PGA tour for playing in the LIV Golf. He has 3 wins in LIV Golf so far.
Dustin Johnson
The two major championship winners of the US Open and Masters tournaments, Dustin Johnson is a former PGA tour player who is now among various LIV Golfers in 2023.
He has a collection of many awards like the PGA Tour Money List Winner in 2015/16, PGA Tour Player of the Year twice in 2015/16, 2019/20, PGA Player of the Year in 2016, Byron Nelson Award in 2015/16 and 2017–18.
Likewise, he has also won the Vardon Trophy twice in 2016 and 2018, and PGA Tour FedEx Cup winner in 2020, LIV Golf Invitational Series
individual points list the winner in 2022 and the LIV Golf Invitational Series money list the winner in 2022.
He has 24 wins in the PGA Tour, 9 wins in the European Tour, 2 wins in the LIV Golf, and 2 wins in Other tours. Dustin Johnson was part of the LIV Golf Tour opening season as he competed for 4 Aces G.C.
Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson De Chambeau is another pro golf player who joined the LIV Gold Invitational series in 2022. After he joined the new league for the most renowned PGA, the controversy surrounded the sporting world.
The lucrative offer from the LIV golf tour must have attracted Bryson De Chambeau to join the league.
He has already achieved success in the LIV golf tour, in a very short period of time. He was named the captain of the Crushers G.C. and led them to a winner in the very first LIV Golf Invitational series that happened in June 2022.
The young golf player, who is just 30 years of age, won the 2020 US Open, which is the only major championship he has won so far. He has 8 PGA tour wins, 2 European Tour wins, 1 Korn Ferry Tour wins and 2 LIV Golf wins.
Sergio Garcia
The current Asian Tour and LIV Golf tour player Sergio Garcia is also a former PGA tour player. He is a Spanish player who has won more than 30 international tournaments.
He won the Players Championship in 2008 and the Masters Tournament in 2017. He has been on the top 10 list of professional golf players for 3150 days so far.
The Spanish golf star has 11 PGA tour wins, 16 European Tour wins, 1 Japan Golf Tour wins, 6 Asian Tour wins, 1 Sunshine Tour wins, 1
PGA Tour of Australasia and 5 other tour wins.
Talking about his achievements and awards, he won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 1999, the Byron Nelson Award in 2008, the Vardon Trophy in 2008, and the European Tour Golfer of the Year in 2017.
Sergio Garcia is also suspended from the PGA tour after joining the LIV golf tour.
Ian Poulter
A professional golf player from England, Ian Poulter was once ranked as high as fifth in the world ranking in golf.
In 1996, he went on to play gold professionally and flourished on the European Tour. It was in 2000 when he won the Italian Open Cup, which led him to win the reputable Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award in that very year.
In 2001, he won the Moroccan Open, Italian Open in 2002, Celtic Manor Resort Open and Nordic Open, both in 2003, the Volvo World Match Play title as well as JB Were Masters in 2011, and many other tours.
He has 3 wins in the PGA Tour, 12 wins in the European Tour, 1 win in the Japan Golf Tour, two wins in the Asian Tour, 1 win in the PGA Tour of Australasia, 1 win in the Challenge Tour and 1 victory in Other tours.
Poulter was also one of many golf players who participated in the LIV Golf Cup opening season in June 2022 but the European and PGA tours suspended him from future participation in the tours.
Lee Westwood
Lee Westwood is an Englishman who was the world's number one golf player in 2010, as he was at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking.
The 50-year-old golfer has been a leader of the European Ryder Cup team, as he has represented Europe several times. He has won tournaments almost everywhere he has gone as he has won on 5 different continents.
Westwood's wins by tour read two PGA Tours wins, twenty-five European Tours wins, four Japan Golf Tours, eight Asian Tours, three Sunshine Tour wins, one PGA Tour of Australasia wins and three Other tour wins.
He has won the European Tour Golfer of the Year four times in 1998, 2000, 2009, and 2020. He was the European Tour Order of Merit winner/Race to Dubai winner in 2000, 2009, and 2020.
He has been named the European Tour Players' Player of the Year in 2009, and 2020.
As an amateur, Lee Westwood won the Peter McEvoy Trophy in 1991, the Lagonda Trophy in 1992, the British Youths Open Amateur Championship, and the Leven Gold Medal in 1993.
Paul Casey
Once third-highest position in the Official World Golf Ranking, Paul Casey played in the PGA tour as well as the European tour. He now plays in the LIV tour and Asian tour.
As an amateur golfer, he won Pac 12 championship 3 times in a row in 1998, 1999, and 2000. He also won the English Amateur in the year 1999 and 2000.
In 1999, Casey was one of the members of Great Britain and Ireland's victorious Walker Cup team. He has 3 PGA Tour wins, fifteen European Tour wins, two Asian Tour wins, one PGA Tour of Australasia win and three Other Tour wins.
Talking about his achievements, he won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award in 2001, and European Tour Golfer of the Year in 2006.
Paul Casey joined the LIV golf tour in 2022 and was ranked 6th at Trump National Golf Club.
Henrik Stenson
A former PGA Tour player, who hails from Sweden, Henrik Stenson now plays in the LIV tour.
Stenson has won the player's championship, the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, the DP World Tour Championship, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and a few other tournaments.
He has been on the list of the world's top 10 best players for more than 2100 days.
He has also won the FedEx Cup of the US PGA tour and the European tour race to Dubai in 2013.
His number of wins by tour includes 6 PGA Tour wins, 11 European Tour wins, 1 Asian Tour win, 2 Sunshine Tour wins, 3 Challenge Tour wins, 1 LIV Golf win and 2 other tour wins.
In 2000, he won the Challenge Tour Rankings winner, he won Swedish Golfer of the Year five times in 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014, and 2016.
He was also a PGA Tour FedEx Cup winner in 2013, a European Tour Race to Dubai winner in 2013, and 2016, a European Tour Golfer of the Year twice in 2013, and 2016, as well as European Tour Players' Player of the Year two times in 2013, and 2016.
Abraham Ancer
Abraham Ancer is a Texas, USA-born golf player who represents Mexico as he has dual citizenship.
He won the Emirates Australian Open in 2018 as well as the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational in the year 2021.
As an Amateur, he won the Odessa College Invitational in 2009, Omega Chemical/Midland College, Texas Junior College Championship, and NJCAA District 2 Championship all in 2010.
He won Desert Shootout, as well as the NCAA East-VA Tech Regional in 2011.
Ancer's number of wins by tour includes one PGA Tour win, one European Tour win, one Asian Tour win, one PGA Tour of Australasia win, one Korn Ferry Tour win, and one Other tour win.
He fell only behind Rory McIlroy, as he finished 2nd at the Wells Fargo Championship in May 2021.
In 2022, Abraham Ancer joined the LIV golf tour and was later suspended from the PGA tour.
Charl Schwartzel
The Johannesburg, South Africa Professional Golf player Charl Schwartzel currently plays for 3 different tours the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour, and LIV Golf. He is among plenty of LIV golfers in the Masters.
He also used to play for PGA as well as European tour. Schwartzel won the Masters Cup in 2011, that is the only major title he has won so far. His highest world ranking is 6th which was in the year 2012.
At the very young age of 18, he turned professional. He quickly qualified for the European Tour and became the second youngest golf player from South Africa to qualify only behind Dale Hayes.
He won the Dunhill Championship in 2005, which is one of the top tournaments in South Africa.
Charl Schwartzel's number of wins by tour includes two PGA Tours wins, eleven European Tours wins, one Asian Tour win, nine Sunshine Tour wins, one LIV Golf win, and one Other tour win.
He has also won the Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year award in 2002/03, and Sunshine Tour Order of Merit Winner four times in 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, and 2010.
Kevin Na
Kevin Na is a pro golf player who was actually born in Korea. He along with his family moved to the US when he was just 8 years old and settled in southern California.
The 40-year-old Korean American played PGA Golf until 2022 and joined the LIV golf tour, so he is now one of the golfers in LIV.
He has won 5 tournaments on the PGA tour in the duration of 10 years between 2011 to 2021. His highest official world golf ranking is 19.
Kevin Na's number of wins by tour includes 5 PGA Tour wins, 1 Asian Tour win, 1 Korn Ferry Tour win, and 2 other tour wins.
Talking about his achievements and awards, he managed to win the Asian PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award in 2002. He has also won a Mark Christopher Charity Classic - Victory in 2006 and a hot set - the Asian American Excellence Award in 2019.
Matt Jones
Australian pro golf player Matthew Jones currently competes in LIV Golf Golfers. He had won twice on the PGA Tour, in the 2014 Shell Houston Open and the 2021 Honda Classic.
He also won the Emirates Australian Open two years in a row, in 2015 and 2019.
He was born in Sydney, Australia but relocated to the US to attend Arizona State University, where he earned first-team All-American honors. He began his professional career in 2001.
He won the Emirates Australian Open two times in 2015 and 2019. In 2014 April, he was ranked in 41st position in the official world ranking of golf. He was on the top 100 best list for more than 1750 days, which shows how good a player he is.
Patrick Reed
Patrick Reed made his professional debut in 2010 when he won the US Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links. He is one of the Masters LIV Golfers.
This win catapulted him onto the professional scene, where he soon established a reputation for his aggressive and fearless style of play. He won his first PGA Tour event in 2014, the Humana Challenge, establishing his place among the game's emerging talents.
He reached the zenith of his career in 2018 when he won the Masters Tournament, one of golf's most famous championships. He followed this up with another major championship win at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2021.
Talking about the number of wins by tour, he has 9 PGA Tours wins and 3 European Tours wins. The 9 PGA tour wins include:
- Humana Challenge in 2014
- WGC-Cadillac Championship in 2014
- Wyndham Championship in 2015
- Farmers Insurance Open in 2016
- Honda Classic in 2017
- Masters Tournament in 2018
- WGC-Mexico Championship in 2020
- Farmers Insurance Open in 2021
He has also won the World Golf Championships (WGC) two times in 2014 and 2020.
Reed has been an important member of the United States squad in both the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. His achievements go beyond his tournament victories.
He has also been regarded for his outstanding performance in major competitions, finishing in the top ten at the Masters Tournament in 2015, and 2018, The Open Championship in 2016, and The PGA Championship in 2018.
He was also named Honorary Life Member of the European Tour, demonstrating his global effect on the sport.
