Sign up for our daily newsletter

Latest news, reviews, analysis and opinion, plus unmissable deals for bunkered subscriptions, events, and our commercial partners.

LIV Golf’s Marc Leishman has hit back at Brandel Chamblee’s claims that playing on the Saudi-backed breakaway league is bad preparation for majors.

Leishman has not played in a major since 2022 but will return for the 125th US Open at Oakmont next week after surviving the gruelling 36-hole qualifying final stage.

Before that, the six-time PGA Tour winner is teeing it up at this week’s LIV event at the Robert Trent Jones Club in Virginia, the course which staged last year’s Solheim Cup.

And speaking ahead of the eighth LIV event, the Australian strongly disputed Chamblee’s suggestion that LIV players are not set up to succeed in the majors.

• Tour pro “lucky to be alive” qualifies for US Open

• Phil Mickelson drops hint on major farewell

“I’m happy with the way the schedule is and the way you can lead into majors,” he said. “I’d probably disagree with Brandel Chamblee a lot.

“We’re playing against great fields every single week on tough golf courses. Yes, it’s 54 holes.

“But it puts a bit of pressure on that first round to get off to a good start because [LIV events] are a little bit more of a sprint.”

Chamblee had blamed Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau’s failure to catch Scottie Scheffler at last month’s PGA Championship on their lack of strong competition on the LIV league.

“It matters where you play to be sharp, to be at your best, to test yourself against the best, which they’re not playing against the best week in and week out,” he said on Golf Channel‘s ‘Live From’ show.

• Inside the ambitious plans for the next big tour in golf

• McEwan: Rory McIlroy and the unknowable ‘next’

Leishman, however, is adamant a less demanding schedule on LIV actually ensures a clearer mind for other tournaments.

“We’re still playing a lot of golf away from tournaments, enjoying golf more and I think when you are enjoying your golf and it’s not so much of a grind, that lends itself to better play,” he said

“I’ve got a tournament this week. It’s not a US Open course, but the greens are going to be extremely quick, hilly. I think it’s going to be really good preparation for next week at Oakmont.

“The way our schedule is set up actually lends itself to being able to prepared very well for the majors. I prepared for the US Open qualifier which I normally wouldn’t have been able to do, I’d be preparing for other tournaments.

“I want to test myself against the best players and we do that in the LIV events. Yes, there are no cuts, but once you get to the end of the tournament and it’s I win or you win.

“You want to get yourself into that pressure cooker and test yourself under the most immense pressure and see if you can handle it. That’s why I do it.

“Whether I’m playing the Victorian PGA or LIV Miami, I want to try to win.”