The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are working toward a partnership that could result in one global tour—or at least more cohesion between the two circuits.
Until that moment comes, if indeed it does, golf’s two biggest tours will continue to be compared.
We like to start with the majors. LIV players performed well in them last year, earning one victory (Brooks Koepka), getting into the mix at the Masters (Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed) and registering a top-five finish in the U.S. Open (Cameron Smith). If you add in LIV newcomer Jon Rahmn, the reigning Masters champion, it’s clear the league is still a key piece in the major conversation.
It’s also an interesting exercise to measure Strokes Gained among all players. Of the top 25 golfers in the Data Golf Rankings, only one (Rahm) is from LIV. Unlike with the Official World Golf Ranking, this data takes all tournaments into account. There is no doubt the game’s best play on the PGA Tour, even if a lot of the game’s biggest names have left.
But here is one more comparison we’re curious about: Does either tour have the edge in driving distance?
After all, LIV has acquired some big hitters. Rahm, Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Bubba Watson have been among the leaders for driving distance on the PGA Tour in previous years.
Is that group longer than their PGA Tour counterparts? It doesn’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things, but we appreciate a fun 19th-hole discussion.
Breaking down the stats
There are a few key points to this driving distance comparison.
One is that the PGA Tour has a lot more players. There were 193 PGA Tour players who qualified for the driving distance stat last season. LIV only has 48.
LIV’s average age is older. Last year, 37 of those 48 players were at least 30. Six of the four-man teams had an average age beyond 36. The PGA Tour’s best players are considerably younger than that.
There could also be some noise in the numbers LIV publishes. For instance, 44-year-old Graeme McDowell’s average drive is listed at 291 yards for last year, up eight yards from where he was in his last PGA Tour season. Cameron Smith is listed at an average of 305 yards but he never reached an average of 300 yards across eight PGA Tour seasons.
Some of the players we looked at were in this same camp. Their driving distances were several yards ahead of well-established career averages—that can happen in golf, but it is something to note.
PGA Tour average driving distance is almost exactly 300 yards. LIV lists 58 percent of their players above that mark.
Is it the way LIV calculates distance? The PGA Tour uses ShotLink data and LIV does not so that could be a factor. Is it a difference in agronomy? Maybe LIV courses are slightly firmer. Or perhaps the average LIV golfer is actually longer despite an older average age.
Regardless of the reason, LIV’s longest players are slightly behind the PGA Tour driving distance leaders. Here are the stats from last season on each circuit.
PGA Tour
- Rory McIIroy (326.3)
- Peter Kuest (321.7)
- Brandon Matthews (321.3)
- Cameron Champ (317.9)
- Nicolai Hojgaard (317.7)
LIV
- Peter Uihlein (322.6)
- Dean Burmester (318.2)
- Bryson DeChambeau (316.8)
- Dustin Johnson (316.4)
- David Puig (314.7)
The top driver of the ball on both tours is 34 years old. Rory McIlroy set the all-time PGA Tour driving distance record with 326.3 yards last season. Journeyman Peter Uihlein was about four yards behind that, nearly 20 yards farther than his career-best effort on the PGA Tour.
Of the top seven longest drivers between either tour, five of them reside on the PGA Tour. Surprisingly, Bryson DeChambeau—who led the PGA Tour in driving distance for the 2020-2021 season (323.7 yards)—has apparently lost about seven yards since then.
He is using a 6-degree Krank Fire LD driver. DeChambeau has referenced better accuracy off the tee with the Krank driver, although it may have lost some distance in the process. He put the new driver in play last August in time for the final five LIV events—DeChambeau ranked 37th out of 48 players for driving accuracy last season.
Interestingly, there is another major pro golf tour that beats both the PGA Tour and LIV. The DP World Tour driving distance leader for last season was Wilco Nienaber, who posted a ridiculous 332.1 yards per drive.
Nienaber did not qualify for the PGA Tour driving distance stat last season (a player needs a certain number of drives to qualify) but the average of his recorded drives was 330 yards. The 332-yard average in Europe is very real—there are videos of Nienaber exceeding 200 mph in ball speed.
You could certainly make the argument that Nienaber is the longest player in big-time professional golf.
The DP World Tour has three more players listed above 320 yards. You could also make the argument that tour is longer than both the PGA Tour and LIV.
What does this mean?
It’s hard to make any outlandish statements when it comes to the PGA Tour and LIV’s driving distance.
There is a likelihood that PGA Tour players are slightly longer on average. Also, the longest players on the PGA Tour are probably longer than LIV’s top guys.
The depth of driving distance talent on the PGA Tour is clearly superior. The next wave of players coming up can really crush it. Look no further than Chris Gotterup, the current driving distance leader (320.9 yards) for the young 2024 season.
But is there a huge difference between the two? Not really. They are similar.
It does bring up a more serious point about LIV’s average age. More than a quarter of the league’s players are beyond 40 years old. If the league does survive beyond this potential partnership with the PGA Tour, there will undoubtedly be younger talent brought on board.
Are there any other comparisons you would like to see between the two leagues? Let us know below in the comments.
