January 1, TOTAL COLLAPSE: Once-Great Golf Champion’s Career IMPLODES in Historic Meltdown

Wyatt’s Take

• Major champion hasn’t played a single weekend round at a major tournament this entire season — missing the cut at all three so far
• Golfer now openly talking about quitting professional golf to become a full-time YouTuber instead of competing at the highest level
• LIV Golf experiment crumbling as top players look completely lost and disinterested on the course

Two years ago this weekend, a top American golfer hoisted his second U.S. Open trophy. Today, that same player can’t even make it to the weekend rounds.

The fall from grace has been nothing short of spectacular. After missing the cut at this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills with a 5-over performance, the former champion has now failed to play weekend golf at all three major tournaments in 2026.

That’s right — zero weekend appearances at majors this year. Zero.

Each month brings a new low, and somehow he keeps finding ways to sink even further. At this point, there’s no sugar-coating it: this is a complete professional disaster.

The transformation has been jarring. Just two years ago, this golfer battled through a classic U.S. Open showdown and emerged victorious. Fans embraced him. The media praised him. Between 2024 and 2025, he finished in the top 10 at nearly every major championship.

Now? He looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.

The LIV Golf experiment — the Saudi-backed league that promised to revolutionize professional golf — is clearly failing its players. Only six of the 13 LIV golfers made the cut at Shinnecock this week. Major names across the board are missing cuts left and right.

But this particular collapse stands out because of what the player himself is saying publicly.

“I’d love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more,” he said while practicing for last month’s LIV tournament. “I would love to. I’d love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. And then I’d love to play tournaments that want me.”

Read that again. A two-time major champion is talking about dubbing YouTube videos in different languages while his actual golf career circles the drain.

He even told Pat McAfee last year that he believes the entertainment side of golf — meaning his YouTube channel — is already bigger than the professional game itself.

Does that sound like someone focused on winning championships? Does that sound like a competitor hungry to get back on top?

Of course not. It sounds like someone who’s checked out. Someone who’s already planning his exit strategy.

The final major of the year is coming up fast. At this rate, there’s every reason to believe we’ll see a fourth straight missed cut — a complete sweep of failure at golf’s biggest stages.

This isn’t just a rough patch. This is a once-elite athlete publicly admitting he’d rather make internet videos than compete at the highest level of his sport.

The massive payday from the Saudi league might have seemed attractive at the time, but the cost appears to be his competitive edge, his reputation, and possibly his entire career.

Wyatt Matters

This is what happens when you chase easy money over excellence. Real Americans who work hard every day understand that success comes from dedication and grit — not from taking shortcuts and cashing checks while phoning it in. When you stop caring about being the best at what you do, you stop being relevant. This golfer made his choice, and now he’s living with the consequences while the world watches his once-promising career fade into irrelevance.