Last year, 18 LIV Golf stars were eligible for The Masters. Among them were Abraham Ancer, Kevin Na, Harold Varner III, Mito Pereira, Talor Gooch, Thomas Pieters, Jason Kokrak and Louis Oosthuizen.
However, none of those eight will be appearing in 2024, meaning that, despite the arrivals of Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk at LIV Golf, who are all qualified, the number is down to 13 this year – and that’s a trend that seems likely to continue without a change to the world ranking criteria.
LIV Golf players have generally suffered damaging drops in their world rankings because the League can’t offer the points.
That isn’t a concern to some, including former Masters champions Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson, who have lifetime exemptions thanks to their wins. Elsewhere, players including Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka are also safe for some time thanks to their recent victories at other Majors.
However, with players needing to be in the top 50 either the week before the end of this year or the week before next year's Augusta National Major to qualify via the world rankings route, that leaves three who are in this year’s field wondering how they will ensure a return in 2025. Here are the trio already looking over their shoulders…
Tyrrell Hatton
As one of the players who qualified for last season's Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, Hatton has been assured of his place at The Masters since August, but it might not be quite so straightforward in 2025.
Now that he has signed for LIV Golf, The Legion XIII player won't be able to take that route again this year as he's suspended from the PGA Tour. That also counts out his chance of qualifying by winning a PGA Tour event between now and next year's Major.
There are other ways he could secure a place, with winning The Masters being his best as it would qualify him for life.
A win at any of the other three Majors (various other criteria including a high enough world ranking mean Hatton could appear at all four this year) would also book his place for the next five years, while finishing in the top four of any of the other three Majors would also earn him a spot next year. Finishing in the top 12 of The Masters would earn him a one-year exemption, too.
If none of those happen, Hatton still has the luxury of a world ranking well within the top 50. After all, he was 16th when he signed for LIV Golf. The question is, can he maintain it?
There's a good chance he will, particularly if he performs well in the Majors, but he'll be hoping to get the job done another way before that comes into the equation.
Adrian Meronk
The Pole qualified thanks to finishing in the top 50 of the world rankings the week before the end of 2023, scraping over the line in 48th. By late January, his world ranking was even better thanks to runner-up at the Dubai Desert Classic, leaving him 39th.
With the added bonus of a PGA Tour card thanks to his form on the DP World Tour in 2023, the chances of Meronk climbing even higher up the world rankings seemed excellent.
That was before he signed for LIV Golf at the end of January, and his lack of world ranking appearances since mean he has already dropped back beneath the top 50.
That could leave Meronk needing to rely on either winning or finishing in the top 12 of The Masters to ensure a place next year.
Other than that, with other Major appearances by no means a guarantee, he'll have to commit to whatever world ranking events his schedule allows for to see if he can get back above the world's top 50 by either the end of this year or the week before the 2025 tournament.
Joaquin Niemann
Niemann had seemed destined to be on the list of LIV Golf players who appeared at the 2023 Masters but miss out in 2024. However, a special invite secured his place.
That was arguably well deserved because as well as victory at the opening LIV Golf event of the season, in Mexico, he also won the ISPS Handa Australian Open on the DP World Tour in December.
Niemann, who also won LIV Golf Jeddah shortly after receiving his invite, would surely have been a loss to this year's event considering his incredible form, but there's no guarantee he'll be there next year.
The Chilean's world ranking could be one issue, as he inevitably continues to slip further away from the top 50, but he at least has more options than Meronk.
Thanks to Neimann's win in Australia, he has a spot at The Open, and he has also received another invite, this time to the PGA Championship.
A finish in the top four of either of those Majors would guarantee him a place at next year's event, while a win would secure his place in the field for the next five.
Of course, before that, he could also finish in the top 12 of The Masters, which would secure his spot for next year. And what about winning at Augusta National to bag a lifetime exemption? Considering his form over recent months, it can't be ruled out.
