LIV Golf Team Season Preview
Golf, but louder! 2024 marks the third season for LIV Golf. Founded in 2022, LIV now features 13 teams, 52 full-time players, two wild card spots, and 14 events across eight countries. 13 teams is an increase from 12 in 2023 playing in the 54-hole, no-cut golf league. Along with a new team, eight players will be making their LIV debut. Each event has a prize purse of $20 million along with a $5 million bonus for the winning team. The season kicks off with a shotgun start in Mayakoba, Mexico at El Camaleon Golf Course on February 2nd.
Here is a preview of the 2024 season with stats on finishes, play, and career history for the newest additions.
4 Aces: Dustin Johnson (Captain), Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, and Harold Varner III
Johnson, Reed, and Varner III go into 2024 as LIV’s most successful team trio, finishing 5th, 6th, and 7th respectively. Harold Varner III is the newest addition coming from the RangeGoats for Peter Uihlein. Perez was outside the top 24 but put together a solid season finishing 28th with three top 10s. Reed is looking for his first LIV Golf victory in 2024 but recorded five top-fives and two podiums. One of LIV’s best putters, Reed ended 2023 with an average of 1.56 on 1,095 greens in regulation. 2022’s champ Johnson collected one win in Tulsa while Varner III won in D.C. Johnson led LIV with 195 birdies and Varner III had the most eagles with 14. The Aces won two tournaments as a team in Adelaide and London. Five podium finishes made them the regular season leaders. The 4 Aces finished 4th at the team championship in Miami after winning the 2022 team championship.
Crushers: Bryson DeChambeau (Captain), Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III, and Paul Casey
2023 couldn’t have gone any better for the Crushers, winning the team championship along with exceptional individual play. Bryson finished 4th on the season with two victories, including a historic final round 58 at the Greenbrier. DeChambeau finished third on LIV in both birdies (185) and driving distance (316.8 yards). Howell III finished 10th overall with a victory at the opening event in Mayakoba and five top tens. This made Howell III the oldest player in the top 24. Lahiri was 13th with two runner-ups and a third-place finish in Chicago. Paul Casey finished 35th on the season with his best of 4th in Mayakoba. Casey was second on greens in regulation at 73.17%. The Crushers in Mayakoba won their first of two team titles. The second came in Chicago that also individually came down to the wire between Lahiri and Dechambeau, with the latter victorious.
Torque: Joaquin Niemann (Captain), Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira, and Carlos Ortiz
Finishing third in the regular season and team championship, Torque presents one of the youngest and most talented teams in LIV. All four finished in the top 24 this season with Ortiz playing for the Fireballs, the only Lock-Zone member to not re-sign with their team. Mito was the highest ranked member finishing 8th with six top 10s, including two podiums. The Chilean led LIV in greens in regulation at 73.79%. Munoz was 11th with five top 10s and a runner-up in Orlando. Ortiz finished 15th on the season with four top 10s and a runner-up in Tucson. Joaco was 21st with four top 10s. No individual wins but consistent play helped them win as a team four times. Niemann comes into 2024 with a win at the Aussie Open in December though. Torque was the top driving team, averaging 311.3 yards.
RangeGoats: Bubba Watson (Captain), Matthew Wolff, Peter Uihlein, and Thomas Pieters
Last year’s runners-up in Miami made big changes for 2024. Individual champ Talor Gooch was traded to Smash GC for Wolff while Varner III was swapped with Uihlein. This makes Uihlein the highest in the 2023 standings and the only one from the top 24. Uihlein started 2023 with a second-place finish in Mayakoba, adding one other top-five and three more top-10 finishes. Uihlein was the best driver in LIV with an average of 322.5. Wolff finished 27th on the season with two top-fives. Pieters finished 33rd and had five top 20s with the best result being 10th in London. Watson finished 36th on the season with a best of 10th in Tulsa.
Stinger: Louis Oosthuizen (Captain), Charl Schwartzel, Dean Burmester, and Branden Grace
Oosthuizen and Burmester lit up the DP World Tour this offseason with Oosthuizen winning twice and Burmester adding another two wins. With LIV, both Oosthuizen and Burmester finished in the top 24. Burmester recorded five top 10s while Oosthuizen added three. Burmester was second in eagles (10) and driving distance (318.2). Grace had a strong 2023, with three podiums, going to a playoff in Tulsa, and 9th place overall. Schwartzel, LIV’s first-ever tournament winner, finished 38th on the year with one top 10. Stinger won a team title in Tulsa.
Fireballs: Sergio Garcia (Captain), Eugenio Chacarra, David Puig, and Abraham Ancer
Sergio playing 2023 at age 43 was the second oldest player in the top 24, finishing 17th with three top 10s and runner-up in Singapore. Chacarra and Puig are among LIV’s few players born in the 21st century. Puig is the newest addition, playing last season with Torque. Puig just turned 22, finished 31st on the season with two top tens, and was fifth with a driving average of 314.7. The 23-year-old Chacarra sports a win from 2022 and finished 32nd last season. Chacarra finished in the top five at Tulsa and ended the season with two more top-20 finishes. Ancer was 26th with a podium finish in Bedminster, 8th in Chicago, and hit the fairway 72.56% of the time, good for second in LIV. This offseason, Ancer won gold at the Pan American Games.
Ripper: Cameron Smith (Captain), Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, and Lucas Herbert
Cameron Smith still proves to be one of the world’s best as runner-up on the season with wins in London and Bedminster, the latter being a team victory. Smith was LIV’s best putter finishing with an average of 1.51 on 1,062 greens in regulation. Leishman finished 18th on the season with three top 10s in the last five events, including a runner-up in Chicago. Jones rejoined late this offseason and is back for a third season on LIV. Finishing 37th on the season, Jones had a best of 7th in Tucson. Lucas Herbert is the newest addition to Ripper from the PGA Tour. The 28-year-old fellow Aussie has one victory on the PGA Tour from 2021 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Another ‘Ripper’ of a season ahead!
Smash: Brooks Kopeka (Captain), Talor Gooch, Graeme McDowell and Jason Kokrak
Brooks Koepka had a stellar season: two wins on LIV, a victory at the PGA Championship, and a Ryder Cup spot. Smash then traded for Talor Gooch in December. One of LIV’s biggest successes, Gooch won three events in 2023 including back-to-back in Adelaide and Singapore. The last round in Jeddah came down to a playoff against Gooch and Koepka with Koepka coming out on top. This gave Gooch the individual crown and Koepka third place. McDowell is the other new addition to the team. The 2010 U.S. Open champ had three top 20s on the season. Kokrak was a quiet presence in 2023 but showed success finishing 23rd with two top 10s. Smash was unable to top the podium in 2023 but now with two of the LIV’s top players, victory is inevitable.
HyFlyers: Phil Mickelson (Captain), Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale, and Andy Ogletree
The HyFlyers, captained by Mickelson, return one of the game’s greats and two top 24 players. Phil finished 39th on the season with a best of 10th in Bedminster. Tringale and Steele had impressive seasons, finishing 16th and 19th respectively. Steele collected a podium finish in Tucson and Tringale saw the top 10 five times. Ogletree is new but this isn’t his first round with LIV. He played the first event in June 2022 and three events as an alternate in 2023. Ogletree finished a best of 6th in D.C. and won the Asian Tour International Series, earning himself a contract for 2024. The former US Amateur champ has three professional wins, all coming on the Asian Tour.
Cleeks: Martin Kaymer (Captain), Richard Bland, Kalle Samooja and Adrian Meronk
The Cleeks had a quiet season but got on the podium in Jeddah to end 2023. Richard Bland was the only Cleek in the top 24 finishing 20th. Bland finished third at the Greenbrier and saw five consecutive top-15s to end the season. Kaymer missed time due to injury to start the season and likely wasn’t at 100%. The former world number one Kaymer capped off the season finishing 28 in Jeddah. Kalle Samooja was the winner of the LIV Promotions Event and LIV’s first Finnish golfer. Samooja comes to LIV with one European Tour victory. Adrian Meronk is a huge addition to the Cleeks and LIV, fresh off winning European Tour Player of the Year. The 31-year-old from Poland had three wins on the DP World Tour last season but was snubbed from the Ryder Cup.
Majesticks: Ian Poulter (Captain), Henrik Stenson (Captain), Lee Westwood (Captain), and Sam Horsfield
Henrik Stenson, the winner at Bedminster in 2022, finished 25th with three top 10s and three more top 20 finishes. Stenson led LIV in fairways hit, with 75.14%. This helped the Majesticks be the most accurate team in LIV with 65.62%. Poulter finished 34th with three top 20 finishes and Westwood finished 45th with three top 20s as well. Because the trio are all captains, they’ll all be guaranteed to get another chance in 2024. Horsfield played in only five events due to hip surgery but recorded three top 20s with a 10th-place finish in Orlando.
Iron Heads: Kevin Na (Captain), Danny Lee, Scott Vincent, and Jinichiro Kozuma
Danny Lee won the second event of the year in Tucson with a team podium coming on the same day. Lee’s victory helped him finish the year 29th. Kevin Na, recorded six top 20s with two top 10s, finishing 30th. The breakout of the Iron Heads was Scott Vincent. Nothing guaranteed going into Jeddah but a 4th place finish locked up his spot for 2024. Finishing 22nd, Vincent was the Iron Heads’ highest-ranked golfer. Jinichiro Kozuma is the Iron Heads newest addition after earning a spot through the LIV Promotions Event. The 29-year-old from Japan has two victories on the Japan Golf Tour and a high world ranking of 94th. The 2023 Iron Heads were second in fairway hit percentage at 63.72%.
Legion XIII: Jon Rahm (Captain), Tyrrell Hatton, Kiernan Vincent, and Caleb Surratt
LIV’s newest team features the world’s number three ranked player and 2023 Masters Champ Jon Rahm. The Spaniard has been LIV’s biggest addition in a move that shocked the golf world. Rahm comes to LIV with 11 PGA Tour wins, a U.S. Open, and a Green Jacket. Joining Rahm is his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton. Hatton has one victory on the PGA Tour and six on the European. The 32-year-old Englishman is ranked number 16 in the world and has been ranked as high as five. Vincent is the last player to be added to LIV from the promotions and the brother of Iron Head’s Scott Vincent. The 26-year-old from Zimbabwe played his college golf at Liberty University and has one professional win coming on the Asian Tour. Surratt is not only an addition to LIV but also an addition to professional golf. One of the world’s top amateurs, Surratt was an All-American, SEC Freshman of the Year, and SEC individual champion in 2023 at Tennessee. Also a member of a Walker Cup team, this is an exciting addition for LIV as it has now attracted one of the world’s top amateurs.
