MIAMI: Fans attending LIV Golf Miami will get a sneak peek of the year’s first major as defending Masters champion Jon Rahm and six other past winners take on the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral, April 5-7.
The event — LIV Golf’s fifth tournament of the 2024 schedule — will feature 13 LIV Golf players scheduled to compete at Augusta National the following week, including past champions Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006, 2010), Charl Schwartzel (2011), Bubba Watson (2012, 2014), Sergio Garcia (2017), Patrick Reed (2018) and Dustin Johnson (2020).
Additionally, red-hot Joaquin Niemann, who has already captured two LIV Golf individual titles this season, will compete that week alongside five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith, 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, English star Tyrrell Hatton and 2023 DP World Tour Player of the Year Adrian Meronk in their quest for a green jacket.
The field at Doral will not only feature the reigning Masters champion, but four of the top six finishers from 2023, including Koepka and Mickelson, who finished tied for second, and Reed, who tied for fourth. Rahm’s elite performance has continued in his debut season with LIV Golf, where he currently sits second in the individual standings behind Niemann, the Chilean star and Torque GC captain who is excited for the test ahead in Miami.
“It’s a great track,” said Niemann of the Blue Monster. “It’s one of the toughest courses we play around the world. It has everything – you’ve got to hit it long, you’ve got to hit it straight, you’ve got to hit greens and you’ve got to do everything right to have a great week. It pushes you a lot.”
Third in the individual points race is Johnson, who will look to replicate his title success in Las Vegas while being chased closely by a pack of global stars including Paul Casey, Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch, DeChambeau, Smith and Louis Oosthuizen.
“We’re playing Trump National Doral, which is a fantastic golf course,” Johnson said. “I feel like it will be good preparation going into Augusta — it’s tough, it’s long and you have to use all your clubs in your bag. Anytime you’re playing a challenging golf course going into a major, it’s going be good prep.”
In the team standings, Crushers GC — winners of the last two team events — sit in first place ahead of Torque GC, Smash GC, Legion XIII and Stinger GC as they get set to return to Doral, site of the Crushers’ 2023 Team Championship victory.
As fans gear up for the League’s star-studded event in Miami, LIV Golf is offering its LIV X members a direct say in who plays together. Fans can currently vote on which three of LIV Golf’s seven Masters champions they want to see grouped together for Round One of LIV Golf Miami. Fans may sign up for free to receive an email invitation to select their preferred player groupings, with the top three player selections to play together on April 5.
Reigning champion Jon Rahm to lead field of Masters winners at LIV Golf Miami
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Reigning champion Jon Rahm to lead field of Masters winners at LIV Golf Miami
- Seven Masters champions with a combined 10 green jackets to tee off April 5-7
- The field at Doral will not only feature the reigning Masters champion, but four of the top six finishers from 2023
Riyadh 2026: The gateway to LIV’s most global season yet
- We are the world’s golf league, says LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil
- Riyadh will host the LIV Golf League season opener for the second consecutive season
RIYADH: Under the lights of Riyadh Golf Club, LIV Golf begins its campaign from February 4 to 7 in the Kingdom’s capital, opening what is the most international season to date. With 14 events scheduled across 10 countries and five continents, LIV has doubled down on its ambition to position itself as golf’s leading global circuit outside the United States.
For LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, that identity is no longer about staging tournaments in different timezones, but also about aligning more closely with the sport’s tradition. One of the league’s headline shifts for 2026 has been the switch from 54-hole events to 72 holes.
“The move to 72 holes was much talked about,” O’Neil said at the pre-season press conference. “For us, that was relatively simple. We want to make sure that our players are best prepared for the majors, that it’s not as much of a sprint, that our teams have a chance to recover after a tough day one.”
He added that the decision was also driven by the league’s commercial and broadcast momentum across several markets.
“With the overwhelming support we have seen in several of our markets, quite frankly, more content is better. More fans come in, more broadcast content social hospitality checks check,” O’Neil said.
Launched in 2022 after a great deal of fanfare, LIV Golf had initially differentiated itself from other golf tours with a shorter, more entertainment-led event model. This includes team competition, alongside individual scoring, concert programming and fan-focused activations.
After four campaigns with 54-holes, the shift back to 72 signals an attempt to preserve the golf identity while answering longstanding questions about competitive comparability with golf’s established tours.
Riyadh will now host the LIV Golf League season opener for the second consecutive season, following its debut under the night lights in February 2025. As the individual fund rises from $20 million to $22 million, and the team purse increases from $5 million to $8 million, LIV Golf is not backing down on its bid to showcase confidence and continuity as it enters its fifth season.
For the Kingdom, the role goes beyond simply hosting the opening event. Positioned at the crossroads of continents, Riyadh has become LIV’s gateway city — the place where the league sets its tone before exporting it across various locations across the world.
“Players from 26 countries? Think about that being even possible 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago,” O’Neil said. “That there would be players from 26 countries good enough to play at an elite level globally, and there is no elite platform outside the U.S.”
The departure of Brooks Koepka from LIV and his return to the PGA Tour has inevitably raised questions around player movement and long-term sustainability. O’Neil, however, framed the decision as a matter of fit rather than fallout.
“If you are a global citizen and you believe in growing the game, that means getting on a plane and flying 20 hours,” he said. “That’s not for everybody. It isn’t.”
Despite the separation, O’Neil insisted there was no animosity.
“I love Brooks. I root for Brooks. I am hoping the best for him and his family,” he emphasised.
Attention now turns to the players who have reaffirmed their commitment to LIV Golf, including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith. Amid continued tensions with the DP World Tour and the sport’s traditional power centres, O’Neil insists the league’s focus remains inward.
“There is no holy war, at least from our side. We are about LIV Golf and growing the game globally,” he said.
From Riyadh to Adelaide, from Hong Kong to South Africa, LIV Golf’s 2026 calendar stretches further ever than before. As debate continues over the league’s place within the sport, LIV is preparing to show that its challenge to golf’s established order is not, as some doubters suggest, fading.
With the spotlight firmly on its fifth season, Riyadh will provide the first impression — the opening statement from which LIV Golf intends to show the world where it stands.
