LIV Golf will be closing its inaugural season at Trump National Doral next week, but the controversial tour is only just beginning.
LIV’s last event will take place Oct. 28-30. It will be a three-day celebration on the Blue Monster. This will determine the series’ long-running team champion. The prize money will include a $50,000,000 purse and double the prizes for the previous seven events. Each team receives $16 million, and the winning team splits it.
On Oct. 27, former President Donald Trump will participate in the Pro-Am, which is closed to the public.
LIV, which is financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has been rebranded as LIV Golf League. It will include 14 events. The 54-hole format of the league will be maintained.
Brooks Koepka won the most recent Jeddah event, Saudi Arabia. He was named the individual season-long champion.
Dustin Johnson won the $18 million bonus for claiming the individual title. Branden Grace ($8million bonus) followed by Peter Uihlein (4% million bonus). They all reside in Jupiter.
Uihlein (33 years old) has earned more than $11.3million in prizes and bonuses. Since joining the PGA Tour in 2011, he has made less than $4 million.
Uihlein stated that he was “just a lot happier here than I have been in the past five years playing on Tour,” after the Saudi Arabia final round. He lost to Koepka in the playoff.
“I like the team aspect of it. I wasn’t a fan the lone-wolf approach that was required. It was a lot like college, being part of the team and practicing. It is something that resonates with me. It is a great product.
Each event in LIV featured 12 four-man teams. These teams will be seeded to Doral based upon their performance at the seven first events.
Dustin Johnson’s approach shot to the 17th hole during round one of the LIV Golf tournament at Rich Harvest Farms. (Photo: Jamie Sabau/USA TODAY Sports)
Dustin Johnson’s team leads the LIV standings heading into final
With 152 points, 4 Aces is led by Johnson, which includes Patrick Reed, TalorGooch, and Pat Perez. Johnson’s team won four of seven events.
Bryson de Chambeau, Crushers captain, leads a team which includes Anirban lahiri of Palm Beach Gardens and Charles Howell III. They are second with 96 point and have three runners-up finishes as well as a third in seven events.
Fireballs is third, with 93 points. It includes captain Sergio Garcia as well as Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer.
Fourth is the all-South African Stinger Team, led by Louis Oosthuizen, and featuring Jupiter’s BrandenGrace, Charl Schwartzzel from Palm Beach Gardens, and Hennie du Plessis.
After winning the Jeddah team competition, Smash is ranked fifth with 62 points. Uihlein, Chase Koepka from West Palm Beach, and Jason Kokrak are part of Koepka’s team.
Brooks Koepka, who placed eighth in the individual standings for the entire season, stated that “we’re excited to see Miami.” “I believe everyone is playing really well, and that’s all we need.”
Top four seeds get first-day bye
The top four seed receive a bye at Doral, while the fifth through 12th seed will compete in head to head match-play competitions Friday, October 28. Three matches will be played for each match between head-to-head teams: two singles matches, and one alternate-shot foursomes.
The top four seeds will be joined by the four winners on Friday for Saturday’s same format. Four teams with two points will be able to advance to Sunday’s team champion.
Sunday will see 16 players compete in twosomes, with captains playing together. All four scores are added to the team score. The LIV Golf Invitational Series team champion is the team with the lowest score.
There is no single component in the Doral event. The only players who will be on the course each day are those from the teams that have been scheduled to compete.
The $16 million prize for first place will be split into $10 million, $8 million to third and $4 million to fourth. Each of the next four teams split $2 million, while each of the last four split $1 million.
LIV will award $225 million in prize money and $30 million in bonuses to the winner team when the season ends.
This does not include the $1 billion in signing bonuses that CEO Greg Norman paid out in yearly installments.
The Doral event starts Friday, October 28th and ends Sunday, Oct. 30, with the shotgun starting at 12:15 a.m. Gates open at 9 a.m. every day, beginning Friday.
