Smylie Kaufman has commented on the chances of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm providing LIV Golf with a much-needed boost by contending at the PGA Championship this week.
Heading into The Masters last month, it seemed inevitable that both DeChambeau and Rahm would be high on the leaderboard on Sunday at Augusta National.
The pair had won the three LIV Golf events before the first major of the year between them. They had also contested a playoff in South Africa in their final start before they travelled to Georgia.
Ultimately, DeChambeau did not even make it to Sunday at The Masters. And Rahm was able to finish extremely early.
Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are backed for good showings at the PGA Championship
Rahm has since won in Mexico City. DeChambeau, meanwhile, has finished inside the top four in his last three PGA Championships. So some may be tempted to back the LIV pair to contend around Aronimink in the coming days.
One of those who does believe that they are set to be in the mix is Smylie Kaufman.
Speaking on The Smylie Show, Kaufman explained why he is particularly optimistic about both DeChambeau and Rahm this week.
“How does [Aronimink] compare to Valhalla and Quail? Well, those are big boy golf courses. I would say big, open areas. Well, Aronimink is that – big, open areas. I would say that the rough is probably going to be lighter here than it was at either of those two places, based on what we’ve heard. So right there, you’re thinking that checks the box for Bryson. If he’s finished second at those places, we’ve got two check marks there. Then we talk about the wedge play, and maybe some uneven lies. That concerns me a little bit,” he said.
“I really like him on the greens. I love him on the greens this week. I think there’s going to be a lot of calculation that benefits him with the speed of the greens, and especially where they put some hole locations. I like the scientist on the greens this week for this, so I like Bryson a lot this week. When you think about Winged Foot and how he attacked that golf course, playing it aggressively, getting it as far up as he could where other players laid back, especially when you look at Bryson’s season on LIV, he’s played well. Now has he been able to close it, that’s been something that has been talked about a little bit, his ability to close, that would be something I would be looking at, can he get it over the line?
“Jon Rahm, I know I’m jumping to the next guy, but another LIV player. He’s won a bunch on LIV this year that I think is going to help him close out a potential major championship. He’s kind of been trending in the right direction, like a slow climb. In these majors, he’s still not had a top five since going to LIV Golf, but I really like Rahm this week too. I think these two LIV players are going to have good weeks.
“My mind keeps going to one of those two LIV guys: Rahm and Bryson. I just have this weird feeling that one of these two guys is going to contend.”
Jon Rahm’s surprisingly poor record at the PGA Championship across his career
The PGA Championship is the fourth most prestigious major in the eyes of many. Valhalla was an underwhelming venue, while Quail Hollow hosts a PGA Tour event every year.
And yet, it is the major that Rahm has the worst record at.
The Spaniard has three top 10s at the PGA Championship, while he has never finished higher than fourth.
Admittedly, Rahm had a golden chance to win the event last year. He managed to catch up with Scottie Scheffler before falling away late on.
But 2025 saw his only top 10 at the PGA Championship in his last four starts. He is clearly going to need to be so much better if he is going to live up to Kaufman’s expectations this week.