This week, 19 LIV Golf members will be among the 156 players competing in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
The 7,381-yard, par-71 course will be a true links test for players this week. The difficulty of Royal Portrush will be largely dependent on the wind and weather conditions.
The 19 players representing LIV Golf will look to bring the League its first major championship of 2025.
Here are the power rankings going into the week:
1. Jon Rahm
Best Open Championship Finish: 2nd (2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool)
Recent Form: 2nd (LIV Golf Andalucía), T11 (LIV Golf Dallas), T7 (U.S. Open)
Legion XIII’s Jon Rahm is my pick to win the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush, so of course, he tops the power rankings.
Rahm has been spectacular throughout his career in Ireland. He’s won the Irish Open twice (2017 and 2019) at Portstewart and Lahinch, respectively. Rahm’s game has translated beautifully to links golf, and he also has experience at Royal Portrush, where he finished T11 at the 2019 Open Championship.
At LIV Golf Andalucía, Rahm spoke about playing golf in Ireland. “Every week I’ve had in Ireland has been such a wonderful experience. Whether it’s the golf course, the tournament, the people, I don’t know. I really couldn’t tell you exactly what it is. But every time I’ve gone it’s been overwhelmingly positive, so I think that’s led to me playing good.”
Last week, Rahm charged up the leaderboard on Sunday at Valderrama, coming up just short of Talor Gooch and finishing in second place. After the round, Rahm expressed extreme confidence in his current form.
“Honestly, I probably hit it better than I have in the last year and a half. Started seeing some shots that reminded me of some other good weeks, and once I got it going today and I felt comfortable on the greens.”
Rahm’s major performances have been strong so far in 2025. He finished T14 at the Masters, T8 at the PGA Championship and T7 at the U.S. Open. I will be extremely surprised if the Spaniard isn’t in contention come Sunday.
2. Tyrrell Hatton
Best Open Championship Finish: 5th (2016 U.S. Open at Royal Liverpool)
Recent Form: T23 (LIV Golf Andalucía), T5 (LIV Golf Dallas), T4 (U.S. Open)
Tyrrell Hatton is arguably one of the best links players in the world. The Legion XIII standout has amassed eight victories on the DP World Tour, including three wins at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
Hatton enters the week in good form. He’s also coming off the best major championship finish in his career at the U.S. Open (T4). Although his last hole at Oakmont didn’t go according to plan, the fact that he was able to contend and make meaningful shots at the final round of a major will provide invaluable experience.
In what should be a windy and difficult week, Hatton is the type of player who can grind out a solid score in tough conditions.
3. Patrick Reed
Best Open Championship Finish: 10th (2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush)
Recent Form: T10 (LIV Golf Andalucía), MC (BMW International Open), 1st (LIV Golf Dallas)
Historically, Patrick Reed hasn’t been an outstanding Open Championship player; however, his best career finish in an Open came at Royal Portrush. The 4Aces GC standout enters the week in good form with a win just a couple of starts ago in Dallas, and extremely confident. Reed knows what a win would mean for his Ryder Cup chances and spoke about the subject prior to last week’s start at LIV Golf Andalucía.
“I think it all comes down to next week at The Open. Obviously play well here, but go ahead and win the Open Championship, and I believe I’d be inside the top 6 on points, so I think that would lock it in and allow me to be on the team.”