Rather than announce its members at once for the 2023 campaign, the Saudi-backed league sent out a press release stating its players and squads will be trickled out just days before the 14-event season begins in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The team names and captains have been previously announced, and nearly all of the LIV’s marquee attractions from its inaugural season are expected to return.
Unlike last season, it is not expected that players and teams will change every event. There are at least two team name changes, with the Niblicks turning into Range Goats GC and the all-Australian Punch going to Ripper GC.
Torque, captained by Joaquin Niemann, was the first team announced on Wednesday, with Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz and David Puig rounding out the team. Golf Digest has previously reported that Pereira and Munoz were expected to join the league in Year 2, but their moves became official on Wednesday.
Smash GC, headlined by Brooks Koepka, added Matthew Wolff to the roster, after Wolff played last year with Phil Mickelson’s team. Brooks’ brother Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak are also on the team.
The Majesticks, led by Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter, are bringing back the same team as last year with Lee Westwood and Sam Horsfield. The 4 Aces return with Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez, with Peter Uihlein taking the place of Talor Gooch.
In total four new players from the PGA Tour signed with LIV Golf ahead of its second season, as New Zealand’s Danny Lee and Brendan Stelle joined Munoz and Pereira in defecting.
Former Ryder Cup star Thomas Pieters, who earlier in the week complained about not getting invited to the Genesis Invitational, has also jumped to LIV. Pieters, No.34 in the world, played mostly on the DP World Tour.
Below are the team names, team captains, rosters and schedule for the 2023 season. The names and rosters will be updated as they are announced. Both individual and team competitions similar to the inaugural season will return to LIV Golf in 2023.
Last month the league announced a multiyear media deal with the CW, giving LIV Golf its first traditional television broadcast partner in the United States. Details on LIV Golf’s event broadcasts in regions outside the US will be unveiled soon.
This story will be updated.
LIV Golf Teams and Rosters
Torque GC: Captain Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz, David Puig
Majesticks GC: Captains Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield
Smash GC: Captain Brooks Koepka, Chase Koepka, Matt Wolff, Jason Kokrak
4 Aces GC: Captain Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Peter Uihlein
Fire Balls GC: Captain Sergio Garcia, Abe Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra
HY Flyers GC: Captain Phil Mickelson, James Piot, Brendan Steele, Cam Tringale
Iron Heads GC: Captain Kevin Na, Scott Vincent, Danny Lee, Sihwan Kim
RangeGoats GC: Captain Bubba Watson, Talor Gooch, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III
Ripper GC: Captain Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Jed Morgan
Cleeks GC: Captain Martin Kaymer, Bernd Wiesberger, Richard Bland, Graeme McDowell
Crushers GC: Captain Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III
Stinger GC: Captain Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Dean Burmester, Charl Schwartzel
Schedule
February 24-26: El Camaleón Golf Club, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
March 17-19: The Gallery Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
March 31-April 2: Orange County National, Orlando, Florida
April 21-23: The Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, Australia
April 28-30: Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
May 12-14: Cedar Ridge Country Club, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
May 26-28: Trump National Golf Club, Washington, DC
June 30-July 2: Real Club Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain
July 7-9: Centurion Club, London, England
August 4-6: The Old White Course, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
August 11-13: Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, New Jersey
September 22-24: Rich Harvest Farms, Sugar Grove, Illinois.
October 20-22: Trump National Doral, Miami
November 3-5: Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
source: australiangolfdigest
