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 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]
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]
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.
Notes
↑ Players presented in order of the LIV Golf final 2023 team rosters announcement.[10]
↑ Substituted for Kaymer in Mayakoba,[11] Tucson[12] and Orlando.[13]
↑ Substituted for Lahiri in Orlando,[13] and Casey in Washington, D.C.[14]
↑ Stenson, Poulter, and Westwood are co-captains of Majesticks GC.[15]
↑ Substituted for Horsfield after he withdrew before the third round in Adelaide;[16] and continued to substitute for him in Singapore, Tulsa, Washington, D.C., Andalucía, London, Greenbrier and Bedminster.
↑ Substituted for Westwood in Tulsa, after he withdrew before the third round.[17]
↑ Substituted for Pieters after he withdrew before the third round in Washington, D.C.[18]
↑ Substituted for Kokrak in Washington, D.C., after he withdrew before the second round.[19]
↑ 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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Talor Gooch (3)
