The Masters at Augusta National is always packed with storylines, including plenty of intense battles down the stretch throughout the years. Ever since the breakaway LIV Golf Series started in June 2022, their rivalry (and then surprise merger) with the PGA Tour has dominated headlines.
With very few occasions on the calendar for all of these top professionals to get together on one course again, it's only natural that Major Championships provide the perfect platform for a bit of one-upmanship.
In 2023, The PGA Tour won the battle of the Majors by three victories to one, with Brooks Koepka banking the first for LIV in momentous fashion at the PGA Championship.
This year could be different, however, and I find myself wondering whether the tables could be turned with an early season victory for one of the 13 LIV Golfers in the field at The Masters.
Are LIV Golf Actually Favorites To Win The Masters 2024?
When you look at the betting odds, the top of the board heavily favours the PGA Tour in comparison to their LIV counterparts (7 vs 3).
Interestingly, however, the best betting picks for The Masters appear suggest it may not be so one-sided. Perhaps this is due to the short price being offered on Scottie Scheffler, with punters looking for a little more value in their selections.
While Scheffler is still the most popular bet at Augusta National this week, there is palpable excitement in the market for other players, like Joaquin Niemann and Major-man Brooks Koepka.
The LIV Golf roster actually boasts seven former Masters Champions, including reigning Green Jacket holder Jon Rahm – although he did win the event as a PGA Tour player in 2023 before moving to the Saudi-backed circuit.
With course form being so important at Augusta National, that gives LIV Golf a real opportunity to flex their muscles and apply some pressure to the PGA Tour.
Clearly, course form doesn't only correlate to previous winners of the event, with the likes of Cameron Smith and the aforementioned Koepka both holding runner-up finishes.
When you look at the statistics in the three months leading up to The Masters, it's very difficult to split the two tours. The top-4 players for SG: Total are made up of two PGA Tour and two LIV golfers, albeit with Scheffler and Schauffele occupying the first and second positions.
Rahm and Niemann clearly represent the best chance of success for LIV Golf based on the data, but it rarely plays out exactly as you see it on paper.
At the time of the tournament in 2023, the top-6 in the final leaderboard were split evenly with three from each side, but after the defection of Jon Rahm that now paints a LIV-heavy picture that I wouldn't be surprised to see again in the 2024 edition.
With just 13 LIV golfers in the field for The Masters this season, there is a clear advantage in terms of participation numbers for the PGA Tour. But, when you consider that those 13 include 22 major championship victories between them, including 10 Masters wins, you can see how their experience and pedigree swings the needle further towards a potential LIV Golf Green Jacket winner.
