Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith made the departure to LIV Golf when it first incepted in 2022, but some are questioning their success as they have missed some important cuts
Cam Smith and Brooks Koepka told their move to LIV tanked careers(Image: Getty Images)
Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith both joined LIV Golf in 2022, but some Tour professionals believe that move ruined their careers.
Koepka became the first LIV golfer to win a major at the PGA Championship in 2023 while Smith was crowned an Open champion just before moving to the Saudi-backed circuit. But their fortunes have dwindled somewhat since then.
More recently, Koepka has missed several cuts, including at three of the four majors in 2025, the Irish Open, and the BMW PGA Championship. Smith meanwhile, missed every single cut at the majors for the first time in his career.
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A fan asked Tour professional Mark Allen and former World No. 16 Nick O’Hern quite what the issue was with Koepka. They posed: “I’m curious what’s going on with the five-time major winner? It seems bizarre that in 2023, he won the PGA Championship and came T2 at The Masters, but two years later his game is unrecognizable?”
“From what I’ve known from the year, it hasn’t been great,” said O’Hern. “He’s an interesting cat, Brooks, because when he first went to LIV… You thought this suits him and his schedule because it’s limited golf for him.
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“I always feel like the guys that went to LIV… the majority of them… weren’t die hard professional golfers,” added Allen. “From the outside looking in, it just looks like LIV stuffed their game.”
O’Hern then went on to discuss Smith’s struggles, adding: “No one drove it worse than him at the majors last year… he missed every cut in the majors last year. I’m sure it’s annoying the hell out of him too.”
Allen added: “LIV… it’s just not for everybody as far as we watch. Maybe it’s just not for everybody as far as you play.
Despite the criticism, the pair added that they want to see Koepka and Smith return to their former glories on the major scene.
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“Brooks came on the scene, and he won his five majors over a three or four-year period,” he added.
“It was Rory McIlroy-like; it was Tiger Woods-like, and he was really part of the excitement of a new name coming through that did things his way. It was great to watch, and we desperately want him back contending at majors.”
Koepka boasts the most individual victories with LIV and has won four titles, while Smith has two to his name.