Ever since the game of golf was invented, it’s been an individual pursuit where players battle it out against each other one-on-one, but LIV Golf is changing all that.
One of the big innovations brought in by Greg Norman’s outfit is the team element, which sees every player in the field not only competing as an individual, but also as part of a team. The 48-runner fields are divided into 12 teams of four, each with their own name, branding and captain.
In the first event of the LIV Golf Series, in London, there was a draft, where players were picked by captains to join teams, although some line-ups were already seen. With more players signing with the breakaway series all the time, line-ups have chopped and changed, but in general, every team has a LIV-appointed captain who selects his squad. All four players take part in the three-day tournament, with the two best scores in the first two rounds counting towards the team score, and the best three in the third and final round.
VIDEO: WHAT IS LIV GOLF?
In the LIV Golf schedule in this inaugural year, there is $20 million on offer in the individual event, with a further $5 million to be split by the winning team. The season will finish in October at Trump National Doral in Miami with the Team World Championship, where total prize money will be doubled to $50 million.
There is hope that the team element of LIV Golf will prove an area of massive expansion, with predictions that it could become like Formula 1 motor racing, where teams attract massive sponsorship and investment from owners, and fans form affiliations with their favorite teams.
In the long term, it has been mooted that the path to self sustainability and even profitability may be through attracting investment in the teams, while there has also been talk that players may be given equity in the teams they play for.
LIFE GOLF TEAMS
4 ACES GC
- Dustin Johnson (captain)
- Patrick Reed
- Talor Gooch
- Pat Perez
CLEEKS GC
- Martin Kaymer (captain)
- Graeme McDowell
- Laurie Canter
- David Puig (AM)
CRUSHERS GC
- Bryson DeChambeau (captain)
- Paul Casey
- Charles Howell III
- Shaun Norris
FIREBALLS GC
- Sergio Garcia (captain)
- Abraham Ancer
- Carlos Ortiz
- Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra
HY FLYERS GC
- Phil Mickelson (captain)
- Bernd Weisberger
- Matthew Wolff
- Justin Harding
IRON HEADS GC
- Kevin Na (captain)
- Sadom Kaewkanjana
- Phachara Khongwatmai
- Scott Vincent
MAJESTICK’S GC
- Lee Westwood (captain)
- Ian Poulter
- Henrik Stenson
- Sam Horsfield
NIBLICK’S GC
- Hudson Swafford (captain)
- Peter Uihlein
- James Piot
- Turk Pettit
PUNCH GC
- Wade Ormsby (captain)
- Matt Jones
- Travis Smith
- Jediah Morgan
SMASH GC
- Brooks Koepka (captain)
- Jason Kokrak
- Richard Bland
- Chase Koepka
STINGER GC
- Louis Oosthuizen (captain)
- Charles Schwartzel
- Brand Grace
- Hennie du Plessis
TORQUE GC
- Hideto Tanihara (captain)
- Ryosuke Kinoshita
- Yuki Inamori
- Jinichiro Kozuma