2023 LIV Golf League
Golf tour season
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The 2023 LIV Golf League was the second season of LIV Golf following the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series. The season consisted of thirteen 54-hole tournaments, featuring 48 players and no cut, with a team championship event at the season end.
Talor Gooch (3) Talor Gooch| Duration | 24 February 2023 – 22 October 2023 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 14 |
| Most wins | Talor Gooch (3) |
| Individual points list | Talor Gooch |
| Team champions | Crushers GC |
| Money list | Talor Gooch |
← 2022 2024 → | |
Talor Gooch won three tournaments during the season to claim the individual title by 22 points from Cameron Smith, with Brooks Koepka in third place.[1] The team championship was won by Crushers GC, captained by Bryson DeChambeau, by two strokes from Range Goats GC; 4 Aces GC had topped the regular season points standings but finished in fourth place in the final.[2] Smith, Koepka and DeChambeau all won twice during the season; the other winners were Charles Howell III, Danny Lee, Dustin Johnson and Harold Varner III.
Broadcasting
In the United States, The CW broadcast and streamed the tournaments under a multi-year deal with the organization signed in January 2023.[3] This deal was criticized by the National Press Club as an attempt by Saudi Arabia's monarchy (which finances LIV through a sovereign wealth fund) to sportwash its unflattering reputation after their alleged involvement in the October 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.[4] As CW stations are only contractually obligated to air the network's prime time schedule, 14 affiliates (eight owned by CBS, five owned by Tegna, and Weigel-owned WCIU) declined to air the LIV telecasts; CW majority owner Nexstar leased airtime on other stations in those markets.[5]
PGA Tour agreement
In June 2023, it was announced that the Public Investment Fund, the PGA Tour and the European Tour would create a new entity to serve the best interests of each entity.[6]
OWGR points rejection
In October 2023, it was announced by the Official World Golf Ranking that LIV Golf's application to receive OWGR points was rejected.[7][8]
Teams
The 2023 LIV Golf League consisted of twelve teams. Unlike the structure of the 2022 Invitational Series; where some players regularly changed teams from week-to-week, the 2023 season was planned to have players signed to individual teams and will have remained with that team throughout the entire season. LIV Golf began announcing team rosters on 15 February 2023.[9]
Starting roster
| Team | Members[a] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain(s) | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Substitute players | |
| 4Aces GC | Dustin Johnson | Patrick Reed | Peter Uihlein | Pat Perez | |
| Cleeks GC |  Martin Kaymer |  Bernd Wiesberger |  Graeme McDowell |  Richard Bland | Laurie Canter[b] |
| Crushers GC | Bryson DeChambeau | Paul Casey | Charles Howell III |  Anirban Lahiri | Andy Ogletree[c] |
| Fireballs GC |  Sergio García |  Abraham Ancer | Carlos Ortiz | Eugenio Chacarra | |
| HyFlyers GC | Phil Mickelson | Cameron Tringale | James Piot | Brendan Steele | |
| Iron Heads GC | Kevin Na |  Scott Vincent | Sihwan Kim |  Danny Lee | |
| Majesticks GC[d] |  Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood | Sam Horsfield | Laurie Canter[e] Andy Ogletree[f] | ||
| RangeGoats GC | Bubba Watson | Talor Gooch | Harold Varner III |  Thomas Pieters |  Wade Ormsby[g] |
| Ripper GC | Cameron Smith | Marc Leishman | Matt Jones | Jediah Morgan | |
| Smash GC | Brooks Koepka | Matthew Wolff | Jason Kokrak | Chase Koepka | Kieran Vincent[h] |
| Stinger GC |  Louis Oosthuizen | Charl Schwartzel | Branden Grace | Dean Burmester | |
| Torque GC |  Joaquín Niemann |  Sebastián Muñoz | Mito Pereira | David Puig | |
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2023 season.[20][21][22]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (US$) | Individual winner[i] | Winning team | Other tours[j] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Team | |||||||
| 26 Feb | LIV Golf Mayakoba | Mexico | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Charles Howell III (1) | Crushers GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 19 Mar | LIV Golf Tucson | United States | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Danny Lee (1) | Fireballs GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 2 Apr | LIV Golf Orlando | United States | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Brooks Koepka (2) | Torque GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 23 Apr | LIV Golf Adelaide | Australia | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Talor Gooch (1) | 4Aces GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 30 Apr | LIV Golf Singapore | Singapore | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Talor Gooch (2) | RangeGoats GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 14 May | LIV Golf Tulsa | United States | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Dustin Johnson (2) | Stinger GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 28 May | LIV Golf Washington, D.C. | United States | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Harold Varner III (1) | Torque GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 2 Jul | LIV Golf Andalucía | Spain | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Talor Gooch (3) | Torque GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 9 Jul | LIV Golf London | England | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Cameron Smith (2) | 4Aces GC | MENA | |
| 6 Aug | LIV Golf Greenbrier | United States | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Bryson DeChambeau (1) | Torque GC | MENA | New tournament |
| 13 Aug | LIV Golf Bedminster | United States | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Cameron Smith (3) | Ripper GC | MENA | |
| 24 Sep | LIV Golf Chicago | United States | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Bryson DeChambeau (2) | Crushers GC | MENA | |
| 15 Oct | LIV Golf Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | 20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | Brooks Koepka (3) | Fireballs GC | MENA | |
| 22 Oct | LIV Golf Miami | United States | n/a | 50,000,000 | n/a | Crushers GC | Team Championship | |
Points list
Individual points list
The individual points list was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[24][25]
| Position | Player | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talor Gooch | RangeGoats GC | 192 |
| 2 | Cameron Smith | Ripper GC | 170 |
| 3 | Brooks Koepka | Smash GC | 152 |
| 4 | Bryson DeChambeau | Crushers GC | 149 |
| 5 | Dustin Johnson | 4Aces GC | 125 |
Team points list
The team points list was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[24][26]
| Position | Team | Points | TC finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4Aces GC | 192 | 4th |
| 2 | Crushers GC | 186 | 1st |
| 3 | Torque GC | 183 | 3rd |
| 4 | RangeGoats GC | 179 | 2nd |
| 5 | Stinger GC | 157 | 5th |
Money list
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[27]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Bonus | Total | ||
| 1 | Talor Gooch |
17,320,012 | 18,000,000 | 35,320,012 |
| 2 | Cameron Smith |
11,955,417 | 10,000,000 | 21,955,417 |
| 3 | Brooks Koepka |
13,495,833 | 4,000,000 | 17,495,833 |
| 4 | Bryson DeChambeau |
13,335,000 | 13,335,000 | |
| 5 | Harold Varner III |
9,125,833 | 9,125,833 | |
Relegations
Non-exempt players who finished 45th or lower in the individual points list were relegated from the league. Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer finished 45th and 49th, respectively; however, both were exempt from relegation as they were team captains. Jediah Morgan (46th), James Piot (47th), Chase Koepka (48th), and Sihwan Kim (50th) were relegated from the league.[24][28]
Promotions event
The LIV Golf Promotions Event is due to be held 8–10 December 2023 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates.[29]
Format
The event will take place over three days, with 72 holes being played in total.[30] The first round will be open players finishing 6–32 in the 2023 International Series Order of Merit, winners of leading amateur tournaments, players ranked inside the top-200 of the Official World Golf Ranking and players ranked inside the top-20 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The top-20 and ties from the first round advance to the second round, where scores are reset. Also entering at this stage will be players relegated from the 2023 LIV Golf League, tournament winners during the 2022–23 PGA Tour and 2023 European Tour seasons, major champions since 2018, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players, and players finishing 2–5 on the 2023 International Series Order of Merit. The top-16 from the second round will advance to the final two rounds, with the scores being reset once again. The top three finishers over the final two rounds will earn status to play in the 2024 LIV Golf League.[citation needed]
Notes
- The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of LIV Golf League events they had won up to and including that tournament.