Diane Knox Balas
Show Bio
The fiery, rebellious and controversial debut season of LIV Golf comes to a close this weekend with the Team Championship in Miami. We’re going to look back on 2022 as being a really disruptive year in golf, for better or for worse. I guess time will tell. But as Phil Mickelson claimed in his press conference earlier this week, the LIV Golf team sees their first 6 months as a roaring success.
When LIV first burst onto the scene with their inaugural London event back in June, the team element seemed like a bit of a gimmick. I wasn’t excited by it; I like the team events being special and few-and-far-between, like the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. The additional money for the winning team seemed excessive. However, I’ll be the first to admit I’m pretty excited for this weekend – and the players are, too.
The LIV golfers have waxed lyrical about the team dynamic. They get to play for more than just themselves – they’re putting points on the board for their whole team. When Brooks Koepka was coming down the stretch in Jeddah a few weeks ago, going head-to-head with teammate Peter Uihlein, he said he was most concerned about the team securing first place.
Cam Smith and Marc Leishman, who are good friends and past Presidents Cup teammates, have both talked about the excitement of the teams and how it’s really revitalized them.
Let’s not forget about Pat Perez, who completes the team of 4Aces alongside Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Talor Gooch. Perez has raked in over $4 million so far this season on LIV, despite finishing better than 31st only once in the six events he’s played. His team, however, has four victories under their belt and enters this weekend as the top seed.
The venue for the Team Championship is the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral, a familiar course on the PGA Tour circuit having hosted events for 55 years.
Team Standings and the Format
So, this weekend it’s the Team Championship, kicking off on Friday. Twelve teams are playing for an overall prize fund of $50 million, with the eventual winning team taking home $16 million – $4 million per team member.
The 12 teams have been ranked in relation to their season-long performance and how many points they’ve accumulated. The standings are as follows:
- 4Aces: Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch, Pat Perez
- Crushers: Bryson Dechambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri
- Fireballs: Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra
- Stinger: Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Hennie Du Plessis
- Smash: Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Peter Uihlein, Chase Koepka
- Majesticks: Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield
- Torque: Joaquin Niemann, Scott Vincent, Adrian Otaegui, Jediah Morgan
- Hy Flyers: Phil Mickelson, Matthew Wolff, Bernd Wiesberger, Cameron Tringale
- Iron Heads: Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Phachara Khongwatmai, Sihwan Kim
- Cleeks: Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Laurie Canter, Richard Bland
- Punch: Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Wade Ormsby
- Niblicks: Harold Varner III, Hudson Swafford, James Piot, Turk Pettit
The four leading teams have been given a bye into the second round. The teams seeded 5th – 8th then got to choose who they play from the teams who finished 9th – 12th.
Friday’s action will look like this:
No. 5 Smash vs. No. 12 Niblicks
Brooks Koepka vs Harold Varner III
Peter Uihlein vs James Piot
Jason Kokrak/Chase Koepka vs Turk Petit/Hudson Swafford
No. 6 Majesticks vs. No. 9 Iron Heads
Ian Poulter vs Kevin Na
Lee Westwood vs Sihwan Kim
Sam Horsfield/Henrik Stenson vs Phacara Khongwatmai/Sadom Kaewkanjana
No. 7 Torque vs. No. 10 Cleeks
Joaquin Niemann vs Martin Kaymer
Jediah Morgan vs Laurie Canter
Adrian Otaegui/Scott VIncent vs Graeme McDowell/Richard Bland
No. 8 Hy Flyers vs. No. 11 Punch
Phil Mickelson vs Cameron Smith
Matthew Wolff vs Marc Leishman
Bernd Wiesberger/Cameron Tringale vs Matt Jones/Wade Ormsby
The match play on Friday and Saturday consists of three matches per day, with three points up for grabs. Two of those matches are singles matches, and the other is alternate shot. No match will end in a tie, and whichever team wins two points will advance to the next day.
On Sunday, there will be four teams remaining and all 16 golfers will play in singles matches. The lowest team score will win, with all four player scores counting. The team that comes out on top receives a cool $16 million (split four ways), second place takes home $10 million, $8 million for third place and each member of the team that finishes fourth will get $1 million a piece.
Not bad, eh?!
LIV Golf Team Championship picks
4Aces +190
Available at Bet365 at time of publishing
It’s no surprise that the leading team through the season-long points list is the betting favorite to win the Team Championship. They’ve won four of the seven events in 2022, and have match play experts Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed on the team. In fact, DJ and Reed (along with Phil Mickelson) have won on this course in the past. However, with all four scores counting on Sunday, Perez and Gooch will have to step up and deliver. All eyes on PP!
Majesticks +1800
Available at Bet365 at time of publishing
Ranked 6th in the season-long standings, the Majesticks, captained by Ian Poulter, will have to get through Friday but they are oozing with match play experience. Poulter, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson are Ryder Cup stalwarts and should thrive in this format. The fourth member, Sam Horsefield, will have to feed off them, but I’m sure they’ve been filling his head with motivating team talks and strategy.
Torque +2000
Available at Bet365 at time of publishing
Joaquin Neimann’s team have a new addition this week – Adrian Otaegui. Otaegui makes his return after becoming the first LIV golfer to win on the DP World Tour, securing victory at the challenging Valderrama just a few short weeks ago. He’s in great form, after winning by six strokes against a tough field, and Neimann could really beat anyone in singles match play.
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