Robert TheodorsonIn what many speculate may be the very last LIV Golf tournament as we know it, LIV returns to Bedminster for a third and likely final time after hosting the tournament in 2023 and the inaugural 2022 season.
The New Jersey-located course is a familiar site to fans and followers of the early days of LIV Golf. One of the eight original LIV venues during the 2022 season, Trump National Golf Club Bedminster hosted the tournament again in the 2023 season when the league was just starting to lay down roots and establish a more permanent format with policies to follow.
While the course was removed from the 2024/2025 schedule, it was never really replaced with a New York-New Jersey-centric venue. In 2026, which appears to be the league’s last year in operation, Bedminster will play host one last time, with the eventual winner perhaps being the last LIV Golf champion as we know it.
Bedminster served as the third-ever LIV Golf tournament, originally being held July 29 – 31, 2022 with former Open champion Henrik Stenson winning the tournament with a score of 11-under par, two better than Dustin Johnson and Matthew Wolff.
While DJ and Wolff still tour on LIV for the time being, you’ll recall that Stenson was unceremoniously relegated out of the LIV Golf league, having his co-captaincy from The Majesticks stripped in the process.
Part of what made LIV so historic and provocative was the payout that Stenson received for winning what was otherwise an exhibition golf tournament. The $25,000,000 purse, which is only matched now by The Players Championship (after years of discussing payout reformation after the creation of LIV) is one of the main reasons the league was able to attract so many big names like Stenson.
In 2023, now-resurgent and relevant, Cam Smith took home his second LIV Golf win at Bedminster, easily claiming the feat with a cumulative score of 12-under par, defeating Anirban Lahiri by seven shots.
Top 5 Projected Performers
(1) Bryson DeChambeau
LIV UK Finish: 3rd; 21-under par
If this is indeed LIV’s last run, wouldn’t it be spectacular if the finale was won by the man who is synonymous with the brand itself?
To be frank, DeChambeau has more options presented to himself this offseason than any other man on LIV. A free agent at the end of the 2026 season, DeChambeau is owed no additional money (like Jon Rahm or Dustin Johnson) and the PGA Tour has already made it clear that they want him back.
DeChambeau showed great resolve at The Open and LIV UK after a couple of lackluster months despite his two-win 2026 season. Perhaps in the second-best form he’s shown all year, DeChambeau is a true contender and champion who will likely do everything in his power to not only win his third tournament of the year, but forever be known as LIV’s last champion.
(2) Lucas Herbert
LIV UK Finish: 1st; 30-under par* (* = LIV Golf individual record)
Lucas Herbert, the Man on Fire, is quickly making his case of being one of the most in-form golfers in the world.
Herbert’s great showing at The Open paired with his win at LIV UK rocketed him to 46th in the OWGR last week, his best placement in the standings in quite some time.
Setting the LIV Golf individual tournament scoring record with an amazing 30-under par was one of the coolest feats we’ve seen since the league changed to the normal 72-hole format.
While there are a few others in the field who have bigger names, bigger contracts, and more career accolades, it just feels like Herby is on too good of a roll to be stopped.
(3) Jon Rahm
LIV UK Finish: T23; 4-under par
Rahm suffered his second non-Top 10 finish of the season a couple of weeks ago at LIV UK.
It was an odd showing from Rahm considering that he had won the tournament in 2024 and finished runner-up the next year.
Despite the pedestrian performance, Rahm was good enough to help push his Legion XIII team into second place, keeping them within striking distance of claiming the top team spot by season’s end.
Rahm is without a doubt one of the most curious cases we’ve ever seen should the league fold after Bedminster (or weeks later). He is owed an incredible amount of money which is currently being discussed as being turned into equity for himself, meaning that Rahm would own some portion of the league. Whether he wants to take out a mortgage on house that is about to fall over is a discussion for next month.
(4) Tyrrell Hatton
LIV UK Finish: 2nd; 24-under par
Having come in second and first in his last two LIV Golf events, Tyrrell Hatton’s run of excellent league tournaments is unlikely to come to an abrupt end.
One of the premier golfers in the world, and currently sitting quite high in the OWGR, Hatton likely figures to be a dominant presence on The DP World Tour next season, as former colleague Patrick Reed was and is this season.
Two wins total during his tenure with LIV doesn’t seem like much, but Hatton always kept the numbers respectable, and was one of the few players that really bought into the team concept of LIV Golf and has the accolades (and money) to show for it.
(5) Cam Smtih
LIV UK Finish: 4th; 17-under par
The 2023 LIV Bedminster champion has a great chance to go out on top, and perhaps more importantly, on his terms.
Earlier this season after the defection of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour, Smith was identified as one of three LIV Golfers (the others being Rahm and DeChambeau) who could be welcomed back to the PGAT immediately should they make certain concessions. While Smith isn’t the tour de force, he may have been back in 2022, he remains a very sought-after commodity for any league trying to attain his services.
Top Projected Team
Ripper
The last team to win LIV Bedminster will also be the next, and last.
For the Australian super-team, Ripper has a chance to not only become repeat champions at Bedminster, but can also go out on top with their fourth team win of the season – the others being Riyadh, Adelaide, and UK.
With two supercharged stars in Lucas Herbert and Cam Smith, the onus will be on former tournament winners Marc Leishman and Elvis Smylie to be just good enough.
Around the League: What You Need to Know Before LIV Bedminster
- This is the tournament to watch if you are, or ever have been, a fan of LIV Golf. Tight-lipped to the very end it seems, we are predicting that Bedminster will indeed be the league’s last tournament of the season as there have already been plenty of rumblings about the immediate future of the league. The last regular-season tournament is tentatively scheduled for August 20 – 23 in Indianapolis.
- Multiple outlets have reported that the LIV Golf Team Championship in Michigan is as good as dead. The viewership from past seasons was low and the payouts were too high. In reality, the team championship probably was the league’s biggest waste of money year in and year out.
- There’s plenty on the line for both those at the top of the food chain, and those at the bottom. For those like DeChambeau, Rahm, and Smith, all-important OWGR points are still up for grabs and keeping pace with the best on the PGA may not seem important now, but will pay extreme dividends within the next 12-24 months. For those at the tail end of their career, or headed to The DP World Tour or Asian Tour, it’s one last chance for a huge payday. Members of the field who finish in the Top 10 at LIV Bedminster can make more money in a week than they could in an entire season on other tours. I would absolutely expect this tournament to be a dogfight and see some unlikely names shoot up the leaderboard in order to capture that one last big payday. Important reminder that winning teams distribute a sizeable chunk of change to all four participating teammates.
Will LIV Bedminster serve as the league’s swan song, and if so, how did we do predicting the Top 5 golfers going into what could be the last tournament?
LIV Bedminster kicks off this Thursday, August 6th and will conclude on Sunday afternoon, August 9th.
