While Rory McIlroy and the PGA Tour are at TPC San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open the week before heading to Augusta National, LIV Golf League members are at Trump National Doral in Miami for its pre-Masters tune-up.

The presence of LIV's first 2024 event in the United States days before the tours re-converge for the sport's biggest event has, naturally, shined a spotlight on the splintered state of professional golf. On Wednesday, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau echoed Rory McIlroy's hope for eventual unification.

“The fans are what drive this sport,” DeChambeau said. “If we don't have fans, we don't have golf. We are not up here entertaining. That's the most important thing as of right now. The low-hanging fruit. There's got to be a way to come together. And it needs to happen fast. … Too many people are losing interest.”

Unfortunately, negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV's backer, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), are oozing along. (Tiger Woods hosted a meeting of the minds in the Bahamas last Monday.) For the foreseeable future, the majors — beginning with the Masters — will be the only way to watch all of the game's best players compete — rendering qualification into their field more important than ever.

“There are quite a few major champions in LIV, and there are a few that are major champion quality golfers, just pure numbers, if you go with math, wouldn't be the highest, but I'm confident that one of us can get it done this year,” said Rahm.

There are 13 LIV players of the 87 players in the 2024 Masters field, including some of the biggest names in golf. Here's who's in the field ,and why.

LIV Golf players in 2024 Masters field

  • Brooks Koepka (+1900 odds to win, per FanDuel): Koepka, like McIlroy, would join rarefied air by winning his sixth major. He was runner-up in 2023.
  • Adrian Meronk (+21000): Meronk finished 2023 ranked No. 48 in the world. He jumped to LIV for 2024.
  • Phil Mickelson (+17000): Mickelson, 53, has won the Masters three times (2004, 2006, 2010). He's toiled at the bottom of LIV leaderboards since helping the league get off the ground, though his shocking runner-up finish at Augusta in 2023 can't be overlooked.
  • Bubba Watson (+28000): Along with Mickelson, Watson — a two-time green-jacket winner (2012, 2014) — is the prime example of a golfer being rewarded with creative aggression at Augusta. (His champions dinner menu was as uninspiring as his golf game is adventurous.)
  • Dustin Johnson (+3800): DJ's score of 268 (-20) on his way to the win in the 2022 fall Covid-Masters remains the record for a single tournament. DJ has put in a strong season at LIV, sitting third in the standings.
  • Charl Schwartzel (+24000): Schwartzel, 39, earned lifetime eligibility into the Masters with his triumph in 2011, one of his two wins on the PGA Tour. He's tied for 13th in the LIV sta
  • Cameron Smith (+3200): The Aussie won the 150th Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews, securing a spot in the Masters until 2027.
  • Patrick Reed (+8500): Reed's one major victory came at the 2018 Masters. He's always a factor at Augusta, due to his hands around the greens.
  • Bryson DeChambeau (+3300): DeChambeau won the 2020 at Winged Foot, granting him automatic Masters eligibility through 2025.
  • Sergio Garcia (+19000): Garcia's one major victory came at the 2017 Masters.
  • Tyrrell Hatton (+9500): Hatton finished 12th in the OWGR to end 2023. being inside the top 50 of the world rankings.
  • Joaquin Niemann (+2700): Niemann, 25, has won two of the four LIV Golf events yet earned a special invite to Augusta for his work in non-LIV events. He has a case for the second-best player in the world.
  • Jon Rahm (+1400): Won the 2021 U.S. Open adn the 2023 Masters. He earns the prize for the greatest champions dinner menu.

Round 1 of the 2024 Masters begins on Thursday, April 11 at the Augusta National Golf Club.