Tag: Doral

Dean Burmester wins 2024 LIV Golf Miami in playoff; Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII claim team title

The win is Burmester’s first since joining the Saudi-backed league last season.

Sergio Garcia had his sights on a first LIV Golf win Sunday, but a late bogey opened the door for Dean Burmester to steal the honor.

The 34-year-old South African took down the 2017 Masters champion in a two-hole playoff at 2024 LIV Golf Miami at Trump National Doral to claim the $4 million prize and hand Garcia his third playoff loss since joining LIV.

Burmester shot consistent rounds of 68-69-68 to finish tied with Garcia at 11 under and then won LIV’s fifth event of the season with a par on the second playoff hole after each player made par the first time around. The victory is Burmester’s third in the last year after he won the Joburg Open and South African Open on the DP World Tour in consecutive weeks at the end of 2023.

“It’s special because coming over, obviously I was coming over to three friends and I was excited about that, but I also wanted to prove myself against a lot of the best players in the world, a lot of major champions,” said Burmester. “Now that I’ve done that a year and a half in, I’m super stoked and proud of myself and now we’re going to try to do it again.”

“I mean, it’s certainly probably the best golf of my career,” he said of his current form. “If I look at it that way, the amount of wins, the amount of top 10s, top 5s that I’m producing is some really special stuff.”

On the team side, Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII held off Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC by a single shot at 22 under for their second win of the season. Louis Oosthuizen and Burmester’s Stinger GC finished in a distant third at 15 under.

“Well, I guess that so far we’ve done well on challenging golf courses. I think more importantly this week, though, was to bounce back after how we finished last in Hong Kong,” said Tyrrell Hatton. “I think we were all pretty sad about that. To come back out next event and win as a team is great, and now we look forward to Adelaide.”

“The best part for us is that I don’t think either of us has played even what I would say is their best golf for a whole week,” said Rahm of his team. “I feel like all of us have had some rounds where we left quite a few shots out there. I know some rounds might not count, but I think, exactly, it’s a lot of good to look forward to when all of us show up to a tournament when we’re all playing our B+ or A game. Either one of us four is capable of winning individually at any given tournament, and I’m looking forward for that day to happen.”

Thirteen LIV players will take their talents down Magnolia Lane this week for the 2024 Masters while the rest of the 54-player field will take a break before traveling to Australia for 2024 LIV Golf Adelaide, April 26-28, at the Grange Golf Club.

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Where to play golf around South Florida: Golfweek’s Best 2023 public-access courses

Thanks to Golfweek’s Best rankings, we break out the top courses around South Florida.

Call it South Florida or be more specific and call it southeastern Florida, one thing is for certain: The area stretching south along the coast from Port St. Lucie to Miami is packed with golf courses.

But which are the best? If you’re willing to drive a bit, there are several courses in this region that appear on the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top public-access layouts in Florida. All the courses listed below are within reasonable driving distance of cities such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Jupiter.

But it’s not as easy as pulling up our state-by-state rankings, which list Florida courses that might be a full day’s drive away from South Florida (which is not to be confused with southwest Florida, such as Naples, which is considered by most Floridians to be a distinct region).

None of this is to say there aren’t plenty of other worthy public-access courses to play around South Florida. There are. These are only the layouts ranked among the very best in the whole state that happen to be in South Florida.

There is one course worth mentioning that isn’t on the best-in-state list yet, but surely will be in years to come. Architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner recently renovated the former West Palm Beach Golf Course into the Park, complete with 18 holes and a short, lit  par-3 course. The main 18 didn’t open in time to appear on various Golfweek’s Best lists in 2023.

Included with this list is a general map of where to find all these courses. Each one on the list below is represented with a number on the map – keep scrolling to see the numbers.

Included with each course is its position in Florida on the Golfweek’s Best public-access list. For any course that appears on our other popular rankings lists, those positions are included as well.

A little background: The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.

The courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required.

South Florida map golf
(Google Earth/Golfweek)

2023 LIV Golf Team Championship prize money payouts for each team in Miami

It pays to play well on the Saudi-backed circuit.

DORAL, Fla. — It pays to play well in the LIV Golf League, just ask Crushers GC.

Bryson DeChambeau’s team finished at 11 under to win the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship and claim the top prize of $14 million Sunday at Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster. Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC finished runner-up, with Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC in third and last year’s champions, 4Aces GC led by Dustin Johnson, in fourth.

All four scores counted in Sunday’s final round, which is different from LIV’s regular-season events where the lowest score is dropped each day. The semifinal winners competed for the top-four places (Tier 1), while teams to lose on Saturday competed for places 5-8 (Tier 2), with Friday’s losers going for places 9-12 (Tier 3).

But remember, team prize money goes back to the team at LIV events. In the Team Championship, the teams keep 60 percent and each player takes home 10 percent. Not too shabby for three days (at most) of work.

Here’s how much money each team earned this week near Miami.

Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC win 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump Doral, claim $14 million top prize

Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC finished fourth in their title defense at Trump National Doral.

DORAL, Fla. — Four teams entered Sunday’s final round of the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship with a shot at the title, and come the back nine at Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster it was a two-horse race.

Down the stretch, Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC came out on top at 11 under to claim the title and the $14 million top prize, two shots ahead of runner-up RangeGoats GC. Torque GC finished third at 6 under, with last year’s defending champion 4Aces GC in fourth at even par.

The low man for the low team was Anirban Lahiri, who shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 in the final round. DeChambeau was two shots behind at 5-under 67, with Charles Howell III at even and Paul Casey at 1 over.

“We are watching the leaderboards, and I was thankful every time I looked up and saw Bryson and (Anirban) make another birdie,” said Howell III. “You know you’ve got these finishing holes ahead, right, and there’s water everywhere and trickiness and the greens were fast.”

“It was very nerving wracking. Finishing it off, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, I was super nervous not knowing what could happen,” said DeChambeau. “Everybody was in flux and I wasn’t driving it particularly my best. I did it very well on the front nine but the back nine didn’t do it as well, and it’s one of those things that I was just trying to hit the best shot I possibly could. I was super nervous. I couldn’t feel my arms over the ball on the last hole.”

“When I was 7-under playing 18, which was my 17th hole and we were only two or three shots ahead, and you know, normal circumstance, I’m going 15, 20 feet right of the flag. I went straight at it,” added Lahiri. “Didn’t hit a good shot. But you know, the mentality was different. It didn’t matter where I was or what I was shooting. What mattered was where the team was and what the team needed. I’m just glad I showed up for the team on a Sunday.”

The RangeGoats earned $8 million, with $6 million going to Torque and $4 million to the 4Aces. As of this year, team prize money goes back to the team at LIV events. In the Team Championship, the teams keep 60 percent and each player takes home 10 percent.

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Bryson DeChambeau drove a green (and hospitality stand?) and somehow made birdie at 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship

DeChambeau made one of the weirdest birdies you’ll see at Trump National Doral.

DORAL, Fla. — With the team title on the line, Bryson DeChambeau made a circus birdie down the stretch Sunday at the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship.

With the tee pushed up, DeChambeau went to drive the green on the short par-4 16th and somehow hit it over the “Birdie Shack” hospitality stand and across the No. 2 green, located behind the 16th green and grandstand. After his ball presumably hit the cart path, the 30-year-old was forced to wait for the group on No. 2 to clear the green before he could play his next shot.

His approach attempt had to carry the hospitality stand and took a little math (and a lot of guessing) to lock in a yardage. DeChambeau’s caddie said 109 yards was the number and from there he hit a miraculous second within 25 feet, completely blind, to keep his struggling team’s title hopes alive.

From there, of course DeChambeau made the putt, sending a much-needed jolt of electricity through the dormant crowd.

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Explaining the format: $50 million 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship moves to stroke play for final round

All 12 teams will be on the course on Sunday, but only four will be competing for the top prize.

DORAL, Fla. — After two days of match play, the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship is heading back to stroke play.

Twelve teams made their way to Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster course for the $50 million season finale, and just four remain for the final round. Sort of.

Each of the 12 teams will be in action on Sunday but only the four winners from Saturday’s semifinal round – 4Aces GC, Crushers GC, RangeGoats GC and Torque GC – will be competing for the $14 million top prize.

“Still got to play golf. Just like match play, I mean, obviously, if you hit a bad shot you can’t just pick it up,” said Johnson of the switch from match to stroke play. “You’ve got to play solid, all four guys got to play well if you want to win. It takes a whole team effort tomorrow. I like it. It’s four teams and we’re battling for the trophy.”

The teams that lost on Saturday – Cleeks GC,  – will be competing for places 5-8, while Friday’s quarterfinal losers – Iron Heads GC, Majesticks GC, Ripper GC and Smash GC – will play for places 9-12.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us,” said DeChambeau about his Crushers. “Last year we left pretty sour, and this year is a different story. We’ve got some guys that are playing some better golf and I’m playing a little bit better.”

“Hopefully I can do that tomorrow and give ourselves an opportunity to win. We’ve been prepping for this all year,” he added. “And look, it’s 18 holes of golf. Anything can happen really and we’ve got a good team, we’ve just got to show it tomorrow.”

All 48 players will play 18 holes of shotgun start (1:05 p.m. ET) stroke play, with all four scores counting towards the final team score. You can watch from 1-6 p.m. ET on the CW or stream on the CW app or LIV Golf app.

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Top four seeds advance from 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship semifinals, will play for $14 million top prize

All 12 teams will be on the course on Sunday, but only four will be competing for the top prize.

DORAL, Fla. — If you were busy watching the loaded college football slate on Saturday, here’s what you missed from the semifinals of the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship.

Sebastian Munoz had the performance of the day and put the first point on the board with his 7-and-6 drubbing of Stinger GC’s Branden Grace. Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC went on to sweep Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger, 3-0, in the semifinals to lock up the first of four top spots in Sunday’s final round.

Crushers GC’s Paul Casey put up a similar effort against Richard Bland of Cleeks GC with a 6-and-5 shellacking that helped advance the Crushers, captained by Bryson DeChambeau, into the top four. The second clinching point came from DeChambeau in his captain’s match against Martin Kaymer, where the bulked-up bomber won, 4 and 3.

Cameron Tringale dog walked Patrick Reed around the Blue Monster course for most of the round before letting him off the leash after 15 holes, 4 and 3. That would be the lone win for HyFlyers GC as the 4Aces GC advanced to defend their 2022 title thanks Dustin Johnson’s 2-and-1 win over Phil Mickelson and Pat Perez/Peter Uihlein’s 4-and-3 victory over James Piot/Brendan Steele.

Sergio Garcia made quick work of Bubba Watson in the captain’s match between Fireballs GC and RangeGoats GC, 4 and 3. Harold Varner III/Thomas Pieters tied the match with their 2-and-1 foursomes win over Carlos Ortiz/Abraham Ancer. The season-long 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch – which earned the 30-year-old an $18 million bonus – put the deciding point on the board with his 2-up win over Eugenio Chacarra.

All 48 players will play 18 holes of shotgun start (1:05 p.m. ET) stroke play on Sunday in the final round, with all four scores counting towards the final team score. Only the four winners from Saturday’s semifinal round – 4Aces GC, Crushers GC, RangeGoats GC and Torque GC – will be competing for the $14 million top prize.

The teams that lost on Saturday – Cleeks GC, Fireballs GC, HyFlyers GC and Stinger GC – will be competing for places 5-8, while Friday’s quarterfinal losers – Iron Heads GC, Majesticks GC, Ripper GC and Smash GC – will play for places 9-12. You can watch from 1-6 p.m. ET on the CW or stream on the CW app or LIV Golf app.

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Dustin Johnson vs. Phil Mickelson highlights Saturday’s semifinal round at 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship

Here’s what you need to know about Friday’s quarterfinals and Saturday’s semifinal round.

DORAL, Fla. — Two matches went to extra holes in the quarterfinals of the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship, setting a high bar for Saturday’s semifinal round.

The four teams which had a bye – Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC, Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC and Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC – will all be in action for the first time this week come Saturday’s 1:15 p.m. ET shotgun start at Trump National Doral.

Those four captains were able to pick their opponents, which set up a couple solid matches for Saturday’s action. Johnson will take on Phil Mickelson as the 4Aces GC will play HyFlyers GC in the marquee match of the round. Watson vs. Sergio Garcia might draw some eyes as well as the RangeGoats GC battle Fireballs GC. DeChambeau’s Crushers will play Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC, leaving Niemann’s Torque GC to play Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC.

Here are the second-round matches for Saturday’s semifinal round.

4Aces GC vs. HyFlyers GC

  • Singles: Dustin Johnson vs. Phil Mickelson
  • Singles: Patrick Reed vs. Cameron Tringale
  • Foursomes: Pat Perez/Peter Uihlein vs. James Piot/Brendan Steele

RangeGoats GC vs. Fireballs GC

  • Singles: Bubba Watson vs. Sergio Garcia
  • Singles: Talor Gooch vs. Eugenio Chacarra
  • Foursomes: Harold Varner III/Thomas Pieters vs. Carlos Ortiz/Abraham Ancer

Crushers GC vs. Cleeks GC

  • Singles: Bryson DeChambeau vs. Martin Kaymer
  • Singles: Paul Casey vs. Richard Bland
  • Foursomes: Anirban Lahiri/Charles Howell III vs. Graeme McDowell/Bernd Wiesberger

Torque GC vs. Stinger GC

  • Singles: Joaquin Niemann vs. Louis Oosthuizen
  • Singles: Sebastian Munoz vs. Branden Grace
  • Foursomes: Mito Pereira/David Puig vs. Charl Schwartzel/Dean Burmester
2023 LIV Golf Team Championship Miami
Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship Miami at Trump National Doral. (Photo: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)

The best performances from Friday came from Smash GC’s Brooks Koepka, who beat Mickelson, 6 and 4, and Eugenio Chacarra of the Fireballs, who rolled Majesticks GC’s Sam Horsfield, 6 and 5. The only first-round sweep was Stinger GC’s 3-0 shellacking of Kevin Na’s Iron Heads GC, where none of the three matches reached 18 holes.

Big money awaits

A whopping $50 million is on the line this week, with $14 million going to the winning team. The format features a mix of both match and stroke play. Friday’s quarterfinal and Saturday’s semifinal matches include three matches in each round, two singles and a foursomes (alternate shot). No ties. The first team to two points wins and advances. (You can read more about the format here).

Come Sunday, all 12 teams will compete in stroke play, where all four scores will count (in regular season events, the worst score is dropped from the team total), but only the top four teams can win the top prize. The teams to lose on Saturday will compete for places 5-8, with Friday’s losers going for places 9-12.

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Greg Norman speaks publicly for first time since framework agreement on LIV Golf and his future

Norman emphatically has “zero” concerns about LIV Golf or his place in its future.

DORAL, Fla. — Greg Norman hasn’t spoken publicly since the shocking announcement of the framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund back in June.

It was fitting for the Great White Shark to resurface at this week’s LIV Golf Team Championship, held at Trump National Doral where Norman was a three-time winner in 1990, 1993 and 1996 (he lights up talking about his playoff win in 1990). In a small session with reporters, Norman talked about the future of LIV Golf and addressed the swirling rumors of his long-term position as CEO and commissioner of the upstart circuit.

“I knew it wasn’t true,” Norman said of claims he wouldn’t have a position in the wake of the congressional hearings regarding the framework agreement. “There’s so much white noise running around out there, I paid very, very, I actually paid zero attention to it. I know sitting in this seat today, I know every step I’ve made has been for the right reasons, right reasons for the game of golf … So I was never in any fear of anybody saying anything or any animus against me or anything like that. Because the business model works.”

Norman added that he has “zero” concerns about the future of LIV due to the investments that have already been made and his belief in the viability of the franchise model.

“All indications show you that the position of LIV has never been stronger and the position and success of our players and our brand has never been in a better place,” claimed Norman. “As we look forward into 2024, we’ve got a full schedule now, some places we’ve been to before, but we’ve got some new venues as well, reaching different new regions.”

The exact locations have yet to be confirmed but the plan is for six events to be hosted in the United States with eight held internationally. LIV will return to some venues, leave others in the past and plant new flags at other properties around the world. A schedule release is expected within the next few weeks.

The two-time major champion said he isn’t involved in discussions with the PIF or PGA Tour, but on multiple occasions praised the framework agreement, even saying he hopes it works for the Tour, as well.

“The framework agreement really is a bit of a catalyst because of the recognizing the commercialization of what we are doing here at LIV,” explained Norman. “Private equity has never been invested in the game. We’re an asset class now. And that asset class is in the teams. … So we’re in that position now where the true valuation of where we were in the beta season to the valuation of where we are today is real and going up and up and up.”

“I’m just proud that we were over to do that. And now over here at the framework of agreement, I hope it happens for the PGA Tour as well, too,” he continued. “I hope that works because that’s the best thing for golf, creating this value chain that’s been sitting idle for 53 years.”

The stalling discussions with regard to the framework agreement have led fans and the media to ponder if it will eventually be passed before the end of the year. Norman put to bed any speculation that LIV would be negatively impacted, regardless of the outcome.

“LIV is independent,” he said with confidence bordering on cockiness. “I don’t see LIV going anywhere but up.”

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Photos: 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship. 

It’s time for the LIV Golf season finale.

Event No. 14 is here for LIV in its second season, as the circuit moves to Trump National Doral in Miami for its team championship.

The format will look similar to last year’s event: a little bit of match play, a little bit of stroke play with a whole lot of money on the line.

Teams have been earning points all season based on their finishes: the winning team goes home with 32 points, while Nos. 9-12 in the weekly standings leave empty-handed. After LIV’s final regular-season event in Jeddah last week, teams were seeded based on their position in the final standings.

The three-day shotgun start event features a $50 million purse as well as a mix of singles and foursomes matches in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on Friday and Saturday, with stroke play for Sunday’s final round.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship.