Tag: Doral

Brooks Koepka vs. Phil Mickelson highlights 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship quarterfinal matches at Trump Doral

Eight teams will be in action on Friday, with four teams on a bye until Saturday’s semifinals.

DORAL, Fla. — After 13 events spread from Mexico to Saudi Arabia, the final event of the 2023 LIV Golf League season is here.

What sets the LIV Golf Team Championship, held once again at Trump National Doral, apart from the other big-money, no-cut events on the upstart circuit’s schedule is its unique format. Throughout the year, teams earn points for their finishes at each regular-season event. At the $50 million finale, teams are seeded based on their points earned over the season and then compete in both stroke and match play over three days. The top four teams have a bye for the first round, which is the quarterfinals.

The captains play the captains in a singles match, leaving three players to be split between another singles match and a foursomes (alternate shot) match. No ties. The first team to two points wins and advances to Saturday. Simple enough? (You can read more about the format here).

An interesting wrinkle is that the higher-seeded teams get to pick their opponents in the quarters and semis, which sets the table for a little trash talk as seen during Tuesday’s press conference which featured the captains of teams Nos. 5-12.

Up first was Louis Oosthuizen, captain of Stinger GC, who selected Kevin Na’s Iron Heads, the team that’s been comfortably in dead last all season long. Su-Ann Heng, a member of the LIV broadcast team and moderator of the captain selections, tried to get Oosthuizen to bring the heat with his reason for picking the Iron Heads, saying, “You don’t have to be kind. You can have a little fun.”

The soft-spoken South African said he “didn’t really want to play any of the other teams” before apologizing to Na, who claimed his team had “the better southern African” in Scott Vincent. Zing! Next up, Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia, who picked the three-way captained Majesticks (Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood).

“I guess they just want to have a Saturday off,” quipped Stenson.

Cam Smith and Ripper GC selecting Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC was a rather dull exchange, leaving Brooks Koepka and Smash GC to square off against Phil Mickelson and his HyFlyers GC.

“I didn’t really get much option in this,” said Koepka to a room full of laughter. “Yeah, so we’re playing, or I’m stuck with Phil, and the rest of the guys are playing with the other guys. It will be a good matchup.”

Mickelson was complimentary of Koepka’s year as the PGA champion and a two-time winner with LIV before adding, “There’s a lot of other guys I would rather be playing against. So I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

Here are the first-round matches for Friday’s quarterfinal round.

Fireballs GC vs. Majesticks GC

  • Singles: Sergio Garcia vs. Henrik Stenson
  • Singles: Eugenio Chacarra vs. Sam Horsfield
  • Foursomes: Abraham Ancer/Carlos Ortiz vs. Ian Poulter/Lee Westwood

Smash GC vs. HyFlyers GC

  • Singles: Brooks Koepka vs. Phil Mickelson
  • Singles: Jason Kokrak vs. Cameron Tringale
  • Foursomes: Chase Koepka/Matthew Wolff vs. James Piot/Brendan Steele

Stinger GC vs. Iron Heads GC

  • Singles: Louis Oosthuizen vs. Kevin Na
  • Singles: Branden Grace vs. Scott Vincent
  • Foursomes: Dean Burmester/Charl Schwartzel vs. Sihwan Kim/Danny Lee

Ripper GC vs. Cleeks GC

  • Singles: Cam Smith vs. Martin Kaymer
  • Singles: Marc Leishman vs. Richard Bland
  • Foursomes: Matt Jones/Jediah Morgan vs. Graeme McDowell/Bernd Wiesberger

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LIV Golf makes interesting tweak to Team Championship format for finale at Trump Doral

The three days of play will feature a little stroke play, a little match play and a whole lot of money.

The format for the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral, Oct. 20-22, will look similar to last year’s event near Miami: 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 this week, teams will be seeded based on their position in the final standings for the Team Championship.

The three-day shotgun start event in Miami 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.

Last year, only the four teams that advanced from the semifinals competed on Sunday. This season, all 12 teams and 48 players will play, including those eliminated in Friday’s quarterfinal rounds. The decision will guarantee all players will compete twice and aims to enhance the fan experience for the final round. That said, it may be rather confusing for fans to follow.

Team Championship format

Friday, Oct. 20 – Quarterfinals

  • Teams seeded 1-4 receive a bye.
  • Teams seeded 5-12 will compete in head-to-head match-play, where the highest-ranked teams select their opponents.
  • All 32 players from those eight teams will compete simultaneously in a shotgun start, with three matches taking place: two singles matches and one foursomes (alternate-shot) match.
  • Matches will be played until a winner is determined with no ties. Each match win earns a point. The first team to win two points will advance to Saturday’s semifinal round.

Saturday, Oct. 21 – Semifinals

  • Teams seeded 1-4 will play the winning teams from Friday, where once again the highest-ranked teams will choose their opponents.
  • All 32 players from those eight teams will compete simultaneously in a shotgun start, with three matches taking place: two singles matches and one foursomes (alternate-shot) match.
  • Matches will be played until a winner is determined with no ties. Each match win earns a point. The four teams who win two points will qualify to finish in the top four after Sunday’s final round. The teams eliminated in the semifinals will finish in the Nos. 5-8 bracket after Sunday’s final round. Eliminated teams on Friday will finish in the Nos. 9-12 bracket after Sunday’s final round.

Sunday, Oct. 22 – Finals

  • All 48 players and 12 teams will compete in one round of stroke play. All four individual scores count towards the team score.
  • The four teams that won in the semifinals will compete for 1st-4th place. The four teams eliminated in the semifinals will compete for 5th-8th place. The four teams eliminated in the quarterfinals will compete for 9th-12th place.

For example, if Kevin Na’s Iron Heads lose on Friday, then get hot on Sunday and win the final day of stroke play, they’d finish in ninth place. If Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers win in the quarterfinals, lose in the semifinals and finish first on Sunday, they’ll finish in fifth place.

Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces, last year’s winner of the inaugural Team Championship, are currently in first with a 10-point lead over Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers. Torque, captained by Joaquin Niemann, leads the league with four team victories this season and are in third place.

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‘I’m paid. I don’t give a damn’: Pat Perez gets last laugh at LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami

Perez cleared $7,062,500 in team prize money to walk away with $8,023,500 total after his first year with LIV.

DORAL, Fla. – Many made jokes and quips (this writer included) throughout LIV Golf’s inaugural season, but it was Pat Perez who got the last laugh.

Often the odd-score-out for his loaded 4Aces team that features Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Talor Gooch, the 46-year-old veteran couldn’t be happier after a final-round 2-under 70 at Trump National Doral – which tied Johnson and Reed for their team’s low score of the day – at the LIV Golf Team Championship.

“All the push-back, all the negative comments, everything we’ve gotten, at this point I really don’t care. I mean, I don’t care. I’m paid. I don’t give a damn,” Perez said with a laugh in the media scrum after the 4Aces won the event to take home the top prize of $16 million. “My team played unbelievable this year. I feel like I’m really part of something that I’ve never been part of, other than me and my caddie, we’ve just been just us our whole life. To have these guys and their caddies and families and coaches and everybody, it’s just one big family now. I just couldn’t be any happier. It’s unbelievable.”

Johnson, the 4Aces captain, said Perez should have felt pressure on the final day, and he did. He always does.

“I don’t want to let the team down. I want to play well every day, and today I finally was able to show up,” said Perez. “I birdied two of my last three holes coming in and had a great up-and-down on the last hole to get up-and-down. You know, it was an unbelievable feeling to hole that last six-footer kind of down the hill and it go in.”

“I thought we had a one-shot lead there, and P-Reed birdied his last hole and then Cap came down and had to make that four-footer. It was a great atmosphere,” he continued. “You’ve got Cap and Cam going down the last hole, you can’t script it any better. Two best players, just unbelievable.”

In six starts on the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Perez struggled with finishes of T29-T31-T15-T31-40-46 in the 48-player, no cut events. Those results saw Perez individually earn $961,000, one of 21 players who teed it up for LIV to fail to break $1 million in individual earnings. Due to his 4Aces winning four regular-season events as well as the team title, Perez cleared $7,062,500 in team prize money to walk away with $8,023,500 total for the year.

The results weren’t there throughout the year, but Perez stepped up when every shot counted and his team needed him most. And that’s nothing to laugh at.

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LIV Golf Team Championship Miami prize money payouts for each squad at Trump National Doral

Check out how much money each player and team won at the season finale.

DORAL, Fla. — LIV Golf’s inaugural season has come to a close.

The upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund held its $50 million season finale team championship this week at Trump National Doral, where Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces won the top prize of $16 million that will see each player take home $4 million each.

Cameron Smith’s Punch GC finished second to earn $8 million, with Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC in third ($6 million) and Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC in fourth ($4 million).

Here’s how much money all 12 teams and 48 players earned at the LIV Golf Team Championship.

Team championship prize money payouts

Position Team Prize money Share per player
1 4Aces GC
(Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Talor Gooch)		 $16 million $4 million
2 Punch GC
(Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Wade Ormsby)		 $8 million $2 million
3 Smash GC
(Brooks Koepka, Peter Uihlein, Jason Kokrak, Chase Koepka)		 $6 million $1.5 million
4 Stinger GC
(Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Hennie du Plessis)		 $4 million $1 million
Eliminated after semifinals Cleeks GC
(Shergo Al Kurdi, Laurie Canter, Graeme McDowell, Richard Bland)		 $3 million $750,000
Crushers GC
(Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri)		 $3 million $750,000
Fireballs GC
(Sergio Garcia, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra, Abraham Ancer)		 $3 million $750,000
Majesticks GC
(Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield)		 $3 million $750,000
Eliminated after quarterfinals Niblicks GC
(Harold Varner III, Hudson Swafford, James Piot, Turk Pettit)		 $1 million $250,000
Iron Heads GC
(Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Phachara Khongwatmai, Sihwan Kim)		 $1 million $250,000
Hy Flyers GC
(Phil Mickelson, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Triangle)		 $1 million $250,000
Torque GC
(Joaquin Niemann, Scott Vincent, Adrian Otaegui, Jediah Morgan)		 $1 million $250,000

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‘My hands were not real steady’: Dustin Johnson makes final putt, leads 4Aces to win LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami and claim $16 million prize

The 4Aces will take home the $16 team prize, with $4 million going to each player.

DORAL, Fla. — Four teams were left standing for Sunday’s final round of the LIV Golf Team Championship and it was Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC who came out on top.

Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC were out of the picture for the majority of the day, leaving the battle for the top three to the 4Aces, Cameron Smith’s Punch GC and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC. The latter fell off later in the round, leaving a two-way race to the finish.

The 4Aces led by one stroke with one hole to play before Punch’s Marc Leishman tied the 4Aces at 6 under with a late birdie, just his second of the day. Patrick Reed then delivered a birdie on his final hole to reclaim the lead at 7 under and eventually earn the win after his teammate Johnson made par on the last.

“Hell yeah, I knew where I was,” Johnson said of the late-round situation. “I was watching (Reed) make his putt. I was like, ‘All right, I’ve just got to two-putt and we win,’ because I knew Cam — I played with Cam. He hit it to 10 feet for par. He made everything he looked at so I knew he was making it. I’m like, ‘I’ve got to two-putt.'”

“I do not like stress, so that was a little more stress than I was looking for,” he continued. “If that was an individual tournament, it would have been no problem, that putt. It’s straight in from three feet. But with it being the team aspect and I knew the whole team — like I had to make that for the team to win — I didn’t like it very much. My hands were not real steady.”

“I don’t know where I hit it on the putter face, but it went in the middle.”

The 4Aces were unbeaten on American soil this year and were the dominant team for most of the season after winning four consecutive events during the series’ U.S. swing. Johnson also claimed the season-long individual title a week before the regular-season finale in Saudi Arabia. The win earns the team the top prize of $16 million, with $4 million going to each player.

Smith shot the low round of the day, a 7-under 65, as his Punch finished one shot back in second at 6 under to take home $8 million.

“65, yeah. That was probably right up there for me,” said Smith. “I feel like I really didn’t miss a shot today. I felt like I holed everything.”

Smash finished in third, 11 shots behind the leaders at 4 over, to take home $6 million. Stinger closed out at 10 over to win $4 million.

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LIV Golf’s season finale transitions from match to stroke play for Sunday’s final round, where $16 million awaits the winning team

“I think everyone is out to beat the 4Aces tomorrow,” said Cameron Smith.

DORAL, Fla. — After two days of match play the LIV Golf Team Championship is transitioning 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 Sunday’s final round.

Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC, Cameron Smith’s Punch GC, Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC and Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC will square off for the final day’s top prize of $16 million, which will see $4 million split among the first-place team. Second place will split $8 million, with $6 million and $4 million going to the teams in third and fourth place, respectively. The four teams eliminated in Saturday’s semifinal round of matches split $3 million, with the four losers in the quarterfinals each splitting $1 million.

More: LIV Golf COO addresses lack of OWGR points, TV deal

“I think everyone is out to beat the 4Aces tomorrow,” said Smith in Saturday’s post-round news conference. “They have been the one on top all year, so it will be nice to maybe get out there and show them someone else can win, personally.”

“Bring it,” replied Johnson.

All 16 players from the final four teams will play 18 holes of shotgun start stroke play, with all four scores counting towards the final team score. Captains will be paired together as eight groups of two will take to the course starting at 12:15 p.m. ET, with a live stream on YouTube.

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Transfer window, franchises and more money: LIV Golf shares (some) plans for 2023 and beyond as it prepares to transition to 14-event league

“We’ve got to get on TV, we’ve got to have corporate partners.”

DORAL, Fla. — LIV Golf is going all in on its team format.

Ahead of Saturday’s semifinal matches at its $50 million team championship, LIV Golf officials met with select members of the media to lay out its plans for the future. The main talking points focused around the 12 teams.

LIV says it’s aiming for a business model would eventually be similar to that of the other major team sports in the United States, such as the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, and officials hope that franchising its teams will create a revenue stream that the upstart circuit solely funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund currently doesn’t possess.

“Our belief is that, it might not be from the get go, but people understand team sports. They play team sports,” said LIV Golf chief operating officer Atul Khosla. “Yes, they have a favorite player as well, it is no different from anywhere else, but they do relate to being associated with a team. We feel like that trend can continue in golf, as well.

“The concept I understand is new in golf, but the inherent human nature of our aspect of wanting to associate with the team, that is not.”

That said, if you can’t get behind the likes of Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC or Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC, LIV feels its individual elements of golfers playing their own ball, counting their own score and winning individual prize money is enough.

Whether you believe it or not, LIV wants to be additive to the professional golf scene and provide fans a different form of entertainment. They certainly do the latter with no cut, shotgun start events that offer music playing throughout the round and countless activities in its fan village in addition to the on-course product.

Khosla said a successful 2023 – when the circuit transitions to the 14-event LIV Golf League – will see 12 established teams and brands, as well as a commercialized product.

“We’ve got to get on TV, we’ve got to have corporate partners,” he explained. “Those are successful things that we need, those are sort of milestones that we need to hit go into next year.”

Here are some more highlights from the presentation:

Schedule for 2023

LIV confirmed at its event earlier this summer at Trump National Bedminster that it will transition to the LIV Golf League in 2023 with 48 players on 12 team franchises playing a 14-event schedule with the goal of expanding golf’s footprint “across North and Latin Americas, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.”

Of the eight events this season, five were held in the United States, with one each in England, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Expect LIV to go to golf-starved markets once again in 2023, similar to its 2022 schedule which featured stops near Portland, Boston and Chicago, as well as the home countries of some of its players, which would point to potential stops in Australia, South Africa and England. With it’s Saudi backing, expect another stop in the Kingdom, too.

When these events will be played is also to be determined. LIV wants nothing to do with competing against the NFL, which points to a late February start and September finish. The league will also avoid going head-to-head with majors and doesn’t plan to hold events the week prior, either. LIV also wants to steer clear of so-called “heritage events”, such as the Genesis Invitational and Arnold Palmer Invitational, which makes for a tight schedule, especially with international travel. The series has done well to produce a slow drip of news between events, which points to a schedule release sometime in November.

New players … and a transfer window?

Khosla didn’t provide details on how many new players may join the league, instead opting to “let the player negotiations play themselves out.” The goal is for teams to be locked by the end of this year. Each team will also have a designated substitute in 2023, but only for injuries.

The most unique change when the league format takes shape will be a quasi-transfer market where players can move between teams in a period of time after the team championship and before the start of the following season. With a four-month long break between one season’s finale and the upcoming season’s opener, a handful of trades and free agent moves could make for an interesting offseason.

Money

Players will compete for $405 million in total prize purses in 2023 and will have further opportunities to make money and compete in the Asian Tour’s International Series, where LIV expects players to compete in “numerous” events. After all, LIV and the PIF have committed $300 million to the Asian Tour.

The 12 franchise teams will be 75 percent owned by LIV, with the other 25 percent owned by principal players, which would include captains such as Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, etc. Those franchises will also incur new costs in 2023 to come from their team budgets, such as a player’s annual payment, incentives and overhead costs including travel and the hiring of team staff.

All in all, some big changes are in store for 2023 that could alter the future of the league.

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