2024 LIV Golf Houston Primer: TV, Format, Field, Teams, Odds

After a lengthy layoff, the LIV Golf league returns to action with the inaugural LIV Golf Houston, the first of a two-stop set in the southern United States (Houston and Nashville) before heading overseas ahead of the British Open.

Headlining the LIV Golf Houston is newly-minted box office star Bryson Dechambeau, who came up one stroke short of Xander Schauffele‘s winning score at the PGA but walked away as the undisputed “people’s champion.”

Joining the 30-year-old major winner, and popular Youtube star, are fellow major champions such as Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith, and Houston native Patrick Reed, among others.

Below are some details to get you primed for an exciting week of golf at the acclaimed Golf Club of Houston.

2024 LIV Golf Houston

Pro Golf Weekly previews LIV Golf’s stop in Houston for this week’s 2024 LIV Golf Houston Primer.

The Skinny

Tournament: LIV Golf Houston
Dates: June 7-9, 2024
Where: Houston, Texas
Course: Golf Club of Houston
Schedule Week: 8 of 14
Distance: Par 72 / 7,425
Format: 54-holes: 13 Teams, 54 Players
Purse: $25,000,000
Winning Share: $4,000,000
Winning Team Share: $3,000,000
TV Broadcast: The CW Network
Time Zone: CDT
Time Difference: 1 Hour behind EST (USA)

How to Follow: LIV Golf Houston

The CW Network airs the LIV Golf League in one-hundred-percent of the U.S. markets. (Houston is 1 hour ahead of ET USA.)

TELEVISION: Fri-Sat: 9:15 p.m. ET- The CW Network, Youtube TV

STREAMING: Thu: 9:15 p.m. ET – The CW App, LIVGolfPlus.com, Caffeine TV, Youtube; Fri: 9:15 p.m. ET – The CW App, LIVGolfPlus.com, Youtube; Sat: 9:15 p.m. ET – The CW App, LIVGolfPlus.com, Youtube

LINKS: Web | X/Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube

The LIV Golf Format

The LIV Golf League 2024 features 13 teams comprised of four players, along with two wild card players. In total, 54 players will compete 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 start, 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 tournament winner. The event’s champion receives $4m in prize money along with 40 rankings points. At the conclusion of LIV Golf Chicago – the 2024 Individual Championship, the player with the most ranking points becomes the season’s Individual Champion.

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

LIV Golf Houston Storylines

• LIV Golf begins the second half of its 2024 league schedule by making its first-ever appearance in Texas.
• Texas becomes the 11th different state to host a LIV Golf tournament and will also host the season-ending Team Championship at LIV Golf Dallas on Sept. 20-22.
• 5-time major winner Brooks Koepka, captain of Smash GC, makes his first LIV Golf start since winning the previous event in Singapore, where he became the first player to win four LIV Golf individual titles.
• Bryson DeChambeau, whose Crushers GC leads the season-long team points race, makes his first start since finishing solo second at the PGA Championship.
• Koepka, Smith, DeChambeau and Rahm are among 10 LIV Golf players currently exempt into the upcoming U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
• Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland returns to action after winning the Senior PGA Championship in his senior major debut last Sunday.
• Houston-area resident Patrick Reed, who has three top-20 finishes this season, is seeking his first career LIV Golf victory.
• Legion XIII’s Kieran Vincent won for the second time in his career at last week’s Sunshine Tour event in South Africa.

LIV Golf Houston Field

(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. Hatton, Tyrrell
11. Herbert, Lucas
12. Horsfield, Sam
13. Howell III, Charles
14. Johnson, Dustin
15. Jones, Matt
16. Kaymer, Martin
17. Kim, Anthony
18. Koepka, Brooks
19. Kokrak, Jason
20. Kozuma, Jinichiro
21. Lahiri, Anirban
22. Lee, Danny
23. Leishman, Marc
24. Meronk, Adrian
25. McDowell, Graeme
26. Mickelson, Phil
27. Munoz, Sebastian
28. Na, Kevin
29. Niemann, Joaquin
30. Ogletree, Andy
31. Oosthuizen, Louis
32. Ortiz, Carlos
33. Pereira, Mito
34. Perez, Pat
35. Pieters, Thomas
36. Poulter, Ian
37. Puig, David
38. Rahm, Jon
39. Reed, Patrick
40. Samooja, Kalle
41. Schwartzel, Charl
42. Smith, Cameron
43. Steele, Brendan
44. Stenson, Henrik
45. Surratt, Caleb
46. Swafford, Hudson
47. Tringale, Cameron
48. Uihlein, Peter
49. Varner III, Harold
50. Vincent, Kieran
51. Vincent, Scott
52. Watson, Bubba
53. Westwood, Lee
54. Wolff, Matthew

Top-5 Betting Favorites

1. Bryson DeChambeau (8-1)
1. Jon Rahm (8-1)
3. Joaquin Niemann (10-1)
4. Cameron Smith (12-1)
4. Tyrrell Hatton (12-1)

LIV Golf Houston Teams

Below are the 13 teams (with captains italicized) who will compete in Singapore.

• ACES GC – Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Harold Varner III, Pat Perez
• CLEEKS GC – Martin Kaymer, Adrian Meronk, Richard Bland, Kalle Samooja
• CRUSHERS GC – Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri
• FIREBALLS GC – Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Eugenio Chacarra, David Puig
• HY FLYERS GC – Phil Mickelson, Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale, Andy Ogletree
• IRON HEADS GC – Kevin Na, Scott Vincent, Danny Lee, Jinichrio Kozuma
• LEGION XIII GC – Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt, Kieran Vincent
• MAJESTICKS GC – Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield
• RANGEGOATS GC – Bubba Watson, Matthew Wolff, Peter Uihlein, Thomas Pieters
• RIPPER GC – Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Lucas Herbert
• SMASH GC – Brooks Koepka, Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak, Graeme McDowell
• STINGER GC – Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Dean Burmester
• TORQUE GC – Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz, Carlos Ortiz
• WILD CARDS – Anthony Kim, Hudson Swafford

Teams: Top-5 Betting Favorites

1. Legion XIII (Rahm) 4-1
1. Crushers (DeChambeau) 4-1
3. Ripper (Cam Smith) 6-1
3. Torque (Niemann) 6-1
5. Smash (Koepka) 8-1
5. Fireballs (Sergio) 8-1

LIV Golf Houston Course

• Designed by famed architect Rees Jones and major champion David Toms, the Tournament Course at the Golf Club of Houston opened in 2005 and was created to host elite professional golf tournaments.
• The course becomes the first in Texas to host a LIV Golf tournament.
• Golf Digest ranks the course as one of the top 50 in Texas and one of the best public courses in the state.
• The Golf Club of Houston hosted the Houston Open until 2019, with LIV Golf players Paul Casey (Crushers GC), Anthony Kim (Wild Card), Phil Mickelson (HyFlyers GC), Matt Jones (Ripper GC) and Ian Poulter (Majesticks GC) winning titles.
• The course features multi-tiered greens, strategic bunkers and several water hazards.
• The 315-yard par-4 12th should be drivable each day.
• The 485-yard par-4 18th is guarded by a lake down the left side of the fairway and bordering the entire left side of the green.
• The course uses Mini Verde grass on the greens and Tif Sport in all other spots. Projected green speed is 12 on the stimpmeter.

Fast Facts

Par: 36-36-72
Yards: 7,425
Par 3s: 4 (7, 9, 14, 16)
Par 5s: 4 (4, 8, 13, 15)
Easiest Hole: 12th (Par 4, 335 yds)

LIV Golf Payouts: Points & Money

The winner of LIV Golf Houston 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.

Individual
Pos-(Points)-Money
1 (40) $4,000,000
2 (30) $2,225,000
3 (24) $1,500,000
4 (18) $1,000,000
5 (16) $800,000
6 (14) $700,000
7 (13) $600,000
8 (12) $525,000
9 (11) $442,500
10 (10) $405,000
11 (8) $380,000
12 (7) $360,000
13 (6) $340,000
14 (5) $320,000
15 (4) $300,000
16 (3) $285,000
17 (3) $270,000
18 (2) $260,000
19 (2) $250,000
20 (2) $240,000
21 (1) $230,000
22 (1) $220,000
23 (1) $210,000
24 (1) $200,000
25 (-) $195,000
26 (-) $190,000
27 (-) $185,000
28 (-) $180,000
29 (-) $175,000
30 (-) $170,000
31 (-) $165,000
32 (-) $160,000
33 (-) $155,000
34 (-) $150,000
35 (-) $148,000
36 (-) $145,000
37 (-) $143,000
38 (-) $140,000
39 (-) $138,000
40 (-) $135,000
41 (-) $133,000
42 (-) $130,000
43 (-) $128,000
44 (-) $128,000
45 (-) $125,000
46 (-) $125,000
47 (-) $123,000
48 (-) $120,000
49 (-) $60,000
50 (-) $60,000
51 (-) $60,000
52 (-) $50,000
53 (-) $50,000
54 (-) $50,000

Team
1 (32) $3,000,000
2 (24) $1,500,000
3 (16) $500,000
4 (12) $1,000,000
5 (8) $0
6 (4) $0
7 (2) $0
8 (1) $0
9 (0) $0
10 (0) $0
11 (0) $0
12 (0) $0
13 (0) $0

Next Stop: LIV Golf Nashville

Following the U.S. Open, the LIV Golf League will resume its schedule with the inaugural LIV Golf Nashville.

Contested at The Grove, a Greg Norman-designed track, it will mark LIV Golf’s maiden stop in the Volunteer State.

The McCrory Creek, which glides through the middle of The Grove, provides one of the most beguiling natural hazards you’ve ever seen in golf. And there are plenty of man-made ponds around the greens and fairways, creating further pitfalls for those who go too big on the tee.

Overall, though, this course should reward bold, adventurous golf.

Sources: LIV Golf Media, Getty Images