LIV GOLF

2023 LIV Golf Tucson Primer: TV, Format, Field, Teams, Odds

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March 14, 2023

Cameron Smith 2022 LIV Golf Chicago — Team Captain Cameron Smith of Punch GC reacts after his putt on the 17th hole during Day 1 of the LIV Golf Invitational – Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms on Sep 16, 2022 in Sugar Grove, Ill. (Photo by Quinn Harris via Getty Images)

The LIV Golf League moves from the coast of Mexico to the Arizona desert for its inaugural tournament in Tuscon.

The marquee names headlining the LIV Golf Tucson are Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson Dechambeau, Patrick Reed, Henrik Stenson and Cameron Smith, among others.

Below are some details to get you primed for an exciting week of golf in Arizona.

2023 LIV Golf Tucson

Pro Golf Weekly previews LIV Golf’s stop in Arizona in this week’s 2023 LIV Golf Tucson Primer.

The Skinny

Dustin Johnson 2022 LIV Golf Chicago — Team Captain Dustin Johnson of 4 Aces GC plays a shot from the 9th fairway during Day 1 of the LIV Golf Invitational – Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms on Sept 16, 2022 in Sugar Grove, Ill. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey for LIV Golf via Getty Images)

Tournament: LIV Golf Tucson
Dates: Mar. 17-19, 2023
Where: Marana, Arizona
Course: The Gallery GC
Distance: Par 71, 7017 yards
Architect: John Fought
Format: 54-holes: Team & Individual
Purse: $25,000,000
Winning Share: $4,000,000
Winning Team Share: $3,000,000
TV Broadcast: The CW Network

How to Follow: LIV Golf Tucson

The CW Network airs the LIV Golf League in one-hundred-percent of the U.S. markets.

TELEVISION: Sat-Sun: 1-6 p.m. (The CW), LIV Golf Plus

STREAMING: Fri-Sun: 1-6 p.m. (The CW App, LIVGolfPlus.com)

LINKS: Web | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube

The LIV Golf Format

The LIV Golf League 2023 features 12 teams comprised of four players competing over a 14-event schedule, with players and teams competing simultaneously for both points and prize money.

Tournaments consist of 54-hole stroke play, no cuts and shotgun starts, ensuring a faster and more exciting pace of play.

Captains: Each team has a captain while members of the four-player teams, including the captain, participate in the three-day tournament.

Individual Winner: The player with the lowest 54-hole stroke play total is the winner. At the season’s end, the player with the most ranking points will be named the season’s Individual Champion.

Team Competition: After each round, the best three scores count to produce a team score. The lowest overall team score after 54 holes is the team winner. The final event of the season is the team championship.

LIV Golf Tucson Field Highlights

Five of this year’s 48 regulars in the LIV Golf League played collegiately in the state of Arizona: Phil Mickelson, Pat Perez, Paul Casey, Matt Jones and David Puig each attended Arizona State in Tempe.
Two of Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka’s 16 professional wins have come in Scottsdale, Arizona, near Phoenix.
4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson hopes to rebound from his highest round as a LIV Golf member, having shot a 7-over 78 in the final round at Mayakoba to finish 37th individually.
Johnson’s team, meanwhile, hopes to continue its mastery in the United State after winning all five LIV Golf Invitational Series tournaments played in the U.S. last season. The 4Aces finished second in Mayakoba.
Cleeks GC Captain Martin Kaymer did not play in Mayakoba due to lingering wrist problems, and he is not expected back for Tucson. Replacement player Laurie Canter will once again fill his spot in the lineup. …
Carlos Ortiz (Fireballs GC) is in winning form, having lifted the trophy in a professional event in his native Mexico last week. That brings his career win total to six.
Torque GC, captained by Joaquin Niemann, was the only team in Mayakoba to have three players finishing under par.
24 players in Mayakoba contributed counting scores in all three rounds for their respective teams. Reminder that the three best scores on each team count each day toward the team competition leaderboard.

2022 LIV Golf-Boston Phil Mickelson — Phil Mickelson, captain of the HY Flyers GC, tosses his golf ball to the gallery on 18 during the final round on Day 3 of the LIV Golf Invitational – Boston on Sept 4, 2022, at The International in Bolton, Mass. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III for Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Field: The Players

(Alphabetic order by last name)
1. Ancer, Abraham
2. Bland, Richard
3. Burmester, Dean
4. Casey, Paul
5. Chacarra, Eugenio
6. DeChambeau, Bryson
7. Garcia, Sergio
8. Gooch, Talor
9. Grace, Branden
10. Horsfield, Sam
11. Howell III, Charles
12. Johnson, Dustin
13. Jones, Matt
14. Kaymer, Martin *
15. Kim, Sihwan
16. Koepka, Brooks
17. Koepka, Chase
18. Kokrak, Jason
19. Lahiri, Anirban
20. Lee, Danny
21. Leishman, Marc
22. McDowell, Graeme
23. Mickelson, Phil
24. Morgan, Jediah
25. Munoz, Sebastian
26. Na, Kevin
27. Niemann, Joaquin
28. Oosthuizen, Louis
29. Ortiz, Carlos
30. Pereira, Mito
31. Perez, Pat
32. Pieters, Thomas
33. Piot, James
34. Poulter, Ian
35. Puig, David
36. Reed, Patrick
37. Schwartzel, Charl
38. Smith, Cameron
39. Steele, Brendan
40. Stenson, Henrik
41. Tringale, Cameron
42. Uihlein, Peter
43. Varner III, Harold
44. Vincent, Scott
45. Watson, Bubba
46. Westwood, Lee
47. Wiesberger, Bernd
48. Wolff, Matthew

* Martin Kaymer, who is injured, will be replaced by Laurie Canter.

Top-5 Betting Favorites

1. Cameron Smith +1000
2. Joaquin Niemann +1100
3. Dustin Johnson +1200
4. Abraham Ancer +1400
4. Paul Casey +1400

Full Field & Odds

LIV Golf Tucson Teams

Charles Howell III Wins LIV Golf Mayakoba 2023 — Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III, Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri, Bryson Dechambeau and their caddies of CRUSHERS GC after winning the team portion of the LIV Golf Invitational – Mayakoba at El Camaleon GC on Feb 25, 2023 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Juan Luis Diaz for Quality Sport Images via Getty Images)

Below are the 12 teams (with captains italicized) who will compete in Arizona.

4 ACES GC – Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Peter Uihlein, Pat Perez
RIPPER GC – Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Jediah Morgan
CLEEKS GC – Martin Kaymer*, Graeme McDowell, Bernd Wiesberger, Richard Bland
SMASH GC – Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Matthew Wolff, Chase Koepka
CRUSHERS GC – Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri
MAJESTICKS GC – Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield
STINGER GC – Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Dean Burmester
FIREBALLS GC – Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra
RANGEGOATS GC – Bubba Watson, Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, Thomas Pieters
TORQUE GC – Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz, David Puig
HY FLYERS GC – Phil Mickelson, James Piot, Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale
IRON HEADS GC – Kevin Na, Scott Vincent, Danny Lee, Sihwan Kim

* Martin Kaymer, who is injured, will be replaced by Laurie Canter.

Teams: Top-5 Betting Favorites

1. 4 Aces (DJ) +300
2. Crushers (DeChambeau) +400
3. Fireballs (Sergio) +600
3. Torque (Niemann) +600
5. RangeGoats (Bubba) +700
5. Ripper (Cam Smith) +700

LIV Golf Tucson Course

2007 WGC-Match Play Henrik Stenson — Henrik Stenson tees off during the final match of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at The Gallery at Dove Mountain in Tucson, AZ on Feb 25, 2007. (Photo by: Chris Condon for the PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

The South Course at The Gallery Golf Club is no stranger to hosting the globe’s best golfers. For two years, the desert layout on Dove Mountain was the venue for the Match Play Championship.

A solo design by John Fought – who also co-designed the North Course at The Gallery – the South Course was nominated as one of Golf Digest’s 100 Best, with a style in many ways reminiscent of Donald Ross’ Pinehurst No. 2 with mounded green complexes and expansive fairways. Like its older brother, the South makes excellent use of the natural terrain to give the course a comfortable fit with the surroundings.

Fast Facts

El Camaleon GC
Par: 36-35-71
Yards: 7469
Par 3s: 4 (3, 8, 14, 16)
Par 5s: 3 (1, 5, 17)

LIV Golf Payouts: Points & Money

The tournament winner will receive a $4,000,000 payday along with 40 first-place points.

Note: a one-hole playoff will be conducted if there is a tie for first place after 54 holes. Hole 18 will be repeated until a winner is determined.

Pos-(Points)-Money
1 (40) $4,000,000
2 (30) $2,125,000
3 (24) $1,500,000
4 (18) $1,050,000
5 (16) $975,000
6 (14) $800,000
7 (13) $675,000
8 (12) $625,000
9 (11) $580,000
10 (10) $560,000
11 (8) $540,000
12 (7) $450,000
13 (6) $360,000
14 (5) $270,000
15 (4) $250,000
16 (3) $240,000
17 (3) $232,000
18 (2) $226,000
19 (2) $220,000
20 (2) $200,000
21 (1) $180,000
22 (1) $172,000
23 (1) $170,000
24 (1) $168,000
25 (-) $166,000
26 (-) $164,000
27 (-) $162,000
28 (-) $160,000
29 (-) $158,000
30 (-) $156,000
31 (-) $154,000
32 (-) $152,000
33 (-) $150,000
34 (-) $148,000
35 (-) $146,000
36 (-) $144,000
37 (-) $142,000
38 (-) $140,000
39 (-) $138,000
40 (-) $136,000
41 (-) $134,000
42 (-) $132,000
43 (-) $130,000
44 (-) $128,000
45 (-) $126,000
46 (-) $124,000
47 (-) $122,000
48 (-) $120,000

Next Stop: LIV Golf Orlando

Pat Perez 2022 LIV Golf Invitational-Boston — Pat Perez of 4 Aces GC plays a shot from the third fairway during the final round of the LIV Golf Invitational-Boston at The Oaks course at The International on Sept 04, 2022 in Bolton, Mass. (Photo by Charles Laberge for LIV Golf via Getty Images)

LIV Golf Orlando (Mar. 31-Apr. 02) – Many of the world’s leading golfers will be seeking to tame the Crooked Cat as the LIV Golf League moves on to Orange County National in Florida.

The venue is around the corner from Walt Disney World, to the west of Orlando – but who can come up with a fairytale finish?

The Crooked Cat is one of Florida’s finest golf courses, a test of more than 7,200 yards that will test every aspect of the game of even the very best players.

Florida is home to many stars of the sport, and local-based players will be going all out to sparkle at this superlative venue.

Sources: LIV Golf Media, Getty Images