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HOYLAKE, ENGLAND – On Sunday afternoon, LIV’s last big hope flew on the second green at The Open Championship.
Rain was looming, but it was calm for the time being. Except, of course, the guy who saddled a large portion of the opposing league’s hopes for this major championship. He was walking slowly around the green, his GC CLICKSThe trademark bag clattered near the back as a group of fans watched his movements. Finally, a spectator summoned the courage to speak.
“from He is Which- which?” he asked.
His friend paused for a moment, then said slowly:
“I think this is… Richard Bland.”
Bland was, charitably, anyone’s first choice to lead Team LIV into the Open Championship. Most of the critics leaned towards the likes of Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, or perhaps Patrick Reid. Bland, 50, had found his way into major golf for a short time in 2021, when his victory at the Betfred British Masters sparked a race that included a 36-hole lead into the US Open. At the time, he was an internet sensation, because it looked like he’d be more comfortable tending the bar in his British hometown of Burton upon Trent than inside the ropes alongside Tiger Woods. Blandy rode that stretch of inspiring play all the way into the world top 50 for awhile in 2022, but when he left for a bundle of LIV cash, some of his relevance seemed too.
For a moment on Sunday, Blandy was a LIV man. After nine front 34, he moved two divisions under The Championship, passing the rest of LIV Source on the Open Championship leaderboard. It looked like Bland might stay in the job until Lever pulled off another surprise of late: Henrik Stenson. With three birdies in the rain in his last 10 holes, the 47-year-old Stenson rallied to three-under and a tie for 13th to become the best open-place player of the opposing league.
Stenson was under No. 3 under 281 for the week still 10th to winner Brian Harman, the Swede was the only A LIV contender would finish within twelve strokes of the new golfer of the year champion.
In short, it wasn’t a very good week for LIV in the major finale in its first full year – and a departure from the success the league has had in its first three majors.
Let’s sum up. At the Masters, of course, Phil Mickelson, Koepka and Reid were high-flying starters, all of whom were in the top six at Augusta. Then, in the PGA, it was Koepka again, who sealed LIV’s first major championship win (albeit without the full 18-hole league ceremony the league once promised). At the US Open, Cam Smith finished in No. 4 after strong early-week performances from both Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
But at the Royal Liverpool FC, Liverpool players seemed to be struggling to break out of neutrality. Neither Koepka, nor Smith, nor Dechambeau, nor Reid scored below par this weekend; Mickelson, Johnson and Taylor Gotch didn’t make it to the weekend at all. And that’s to say nothing of the group including Sergio Garcia, who failed to even qualify for the event.
After much ink was (justifiably) spilled on LIV’s smash hit status earlier this year, Open is a notable exception. And while there are many reasons why this might happen – from convenience and tee times to the playing schedule – there is no arguing with this fact.
The major struggles come at a particularly notable time for LIV, whose future remains uncertain in the wake of the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Under the agreement, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will be tasked with making the final decision on the LIV’s future, and given his longstanding criticisms of both the league and its format, that task could include closing the league all together. Those vying for LIV have been told the league is safe until at least the end of the 2024 season, but the future after that remains unclear.
It seems the best way to prove the league’s strength in the long run is to produce a series of strong finishes in golf’s most important events. On Sunday at the World Open, the league struggled at its last chance to do so before the deal could be finalized or dropped.
The LIV train departs from here. Its next event is coming in three weeks in Bedminster, NJ — a break for startups after a busy summer schedule.
It won’t be an Open Championship, and after this week, that could be a welcome sight.