LIV Golf: Players, teams, format, and rules

LIV Golf is a professional men’s golf tour that launched in 2022 and features some of the world’s top players participating in team-based events.

Find out everything you need to know about LIV Golf below.

What is LIV Golf?

LIV Golf is a professional men's golf tour that was founded in 2021 and began play in 2022.

The tour is financially backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which has sparked controversy surrounding the tour, the players that have joined, and how it fits into the the professional golf landscape.

Several of the world’s top-ranked players joined LIV after being guaranteed massive sums of money, as well as a lighter, shorter season schedule than on competing tours.

Unlike traditional pro golf, LIV is team-based, and each event sees players participate in both a team and individual competition. Its slogan “golf but louder” indicates a more relaxed, fan-friendly environment that includes “shotgun starts” and music being played at the course.

LIV Golf players

There are a total of 54 players on the LIV tour - 13 teams comprised of four players each. On top of that, each week there are two Wild Card players that participate in the individual events for a chance to earn a team spot next season.

The biggest names committed to LIV Golf include Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Sergio Garcia, Joaquin Niemann, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and Bubba Watson.

Continue reading below for a full list of LIV players and their respective teams.

LIV Golf teams

LIV Golf is comprised of 13 teams, with four players on each team. Teams are comprised of one captain that is typically a high-profile player.

Here are the 13 teams in LIV Golf in 2024, as well as their captains and complete rosters.

Team	Captain	Players
4 Aces	Dustin Johnson	Pat Perez Patrick Reed Peter Uihlein
Cleeks	Martin Kaymer* Laurie Canter	Richard Bland Graeme McDowell Bernd Wiesberger
Crushers	Bryson DeChambeau	Paul Casey Charles Howell III Anirban Lahiri
Fireballs	Sergio Garcia	Abraham Ancer Eugenio Chacarra Carlos Ortiz
HyFlyers	Phil Mickelson	James Piot Brendan Steele Cameron Tringale
Iron Heads	Kevin Na	Sihwan Kim Danny Lee Scott Vincent
Majesticks	Ian Poulter	Sam Horsfield Henrik Stenson Lee Westwood
RangeGoats	Bubba Watson	Talor Gooch Thomas Pieters Harold Varner III
Ripper	Cameron Smith	Matt Jones Marc Leishman Jediah Morgan
Smash	Brooks Koepka	Chase Koepka Jason Kokrak Matthew Wolff
Stinger	Louis Oosthuizen	Dean Burmester Branden Grace Charl Schwartzel
Torque	Joaquin Niemann	Sebastian Munoz Mito Pereira David Puig

LIV Golf format

All LIV events are 54 holes played over three days, with no halfway cut. The league uses a 'shotgun start' rather than traditional tee times, meaning all 54 competitors start at the same time on different holes.

There is both an individual and team champion for every event, with the below stipulations.

Individual Competition

The Individual Competition is contested over the course of the LIV season, with points accumulated at each event contributing to an individual leaderboard.

At every tournament, the top 24 individual scores count for points on the leaderboard, with a champion crowned at the end of the season.

In 2023, Talor Gooch won the individual title. Players who finish in the top 24 in the individual standings earn an automatic invite to play in LIV the following year.

Team Competition

The Team Competition is different than anything we’ve ever seen in professional golf.

Throughout the season, which consists of 13 events, team scores contribute to an overall team leaderboard. The season-long leaderboard then determines team seeding in the Team Championship, the finale that determines the champion.

A team’s score is determined by the following: During the first two days of each event, only the top three players’ scores count towards a team’s score. On the third day, all four players’ scores count. Final team scores can range from over par tp a few dozen strokes under par.

In 2023, Crushers GC, a team consisting of Bryson DeChambeau, Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III and Paul Casey won the team title.

LIV rules

The birth of LIV Golf, and subsequently, the players it has attracted, has caused massive controversy in the golf world.

As a result, LIV's relationship with traditional golfing entities, such as the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, major championships and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) is complicated.

Let's take a look at what a player's participation in LIV means for their status in these organizations and events.

LIV Golf players and the OWGR

OWGR doesn't recognize LIV events, and their players have gradually slid down the world rankings since joining.

On March 5, 2024, LIV Golf withdrew its application for recognition from the OWGR, an ongoing process since July 2022. The OWGR previously denied LIV's application in October 2023.

World ranking points are used to determine exemptions, as well as invitations to the four majors.

LIV Golf players and the majors

LIV Golf players are permitted to play in major championships, should they receive an invite or qualify. The four majors operate independently from the PGA Tour.

Qualification for each major has different criteria. In most cases, players must be exempt as a past champion of that tournament, successfully qualify, or be ranked high enough to be invited.

But with LIV Golf events not eligible for world ranking points, it has become harder for their players to go to majors.

The Masters and PGA Championship grant past champions a lifetime exemption. This means LIV players like Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Brooks Koepka, who have won one or both of those majors, are automatically invited back.

U.S. Open champions are exempt for 10 years, while Open Championship winners are invited back until the age of 60.

LIV players who are not past major champions can qualify for majors via point accumulation on the DP World Tour or Asian Tour, something several players have done in recent months.

LIV Golf players and the Ryder Cup

LIV Golf players are not banned from the Ryder Cup, although the 2023 edition showed both the United States and Europe teams mostly strayed away from considering LIV players.

Brooks Koepka was the only LIV player to play in the 2023 Ryder Cup.

LIV Golf players and the PGA TOUR

The PGA TOUR has stated that should any of its players participate in an unauthorized tournament, such as LIV, that player is ineligible to compete in any PGA TOUR event for one year.

Players on the LIV tour are not able to play in PGA TOUR events either.

LIV Golf players and the DP World Tour

Like the PGA TOUR, the DP World Tour requires requests from golfers for them to be released to play other events.

When LIV hosted its first event in London, a number of players had release requests refused but played anyway, incurring sanctions.

Those sanctions were appealed, with a hearing ongoing to decide whether LIV players can still play on the DP World Tour.