This article is part of our DFS Golf series.
LIV MAYAKOBA
Purse: $20M individual, $5 million team
Winner's share: $4M individual, $3M team
Location: Mayakoba, Mexico
Course: El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course
Yardage: 7,116
Par: 71
For more information, check out RotoWire's LIV Golf Optimizer.
Tournament Preview
The 2024 LIV Golf season gets underway in Mayakoba, Mexico this week. This is the second time that LIV Golf will take place at Mayakoba, with Charles Howell III capturing the inaugural event and elevating Crushers GC to the top team spot of the tournament.
Howell and the rest of his Crushers GC teammates – captain Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey and Anirban Lahiri – return to Mayakoba not only as reigning champions of the tournament, but also as the 2023 LIV Golf Team Champions.
While LIV Golf welcomes back old faces like DeChambeau, 2023 Individual Champion Talor Gooch and his Smash GC team captain Brooks Koepka, there will be plenty of players making their first LIV appearance at Mayakoba. Jon Rahm, the reigning Masters Champion, will make his debut in Mexico. He will captain a new team, Legion XIII, made up of others also playing their first LIV Golf event; Tyrrell Hatton, Kieran Vincent and Caleb Surratt. Adrian Meronk, who was ranked No. 39 in the OWGR following his second-place finish at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, will also make his LIV Golf debut as a member of Cleeks GC, captained by Martin Kaymer.
There have been a fair number of moves over the offseason as well. Gooch – who was part of the RangeGoats captained by Bubba Watson – was traded to Smash GC (captained by Koepka), in exchange for Matthew Wolff. Watson also traded Harold Varner III to Dustin Johnson's 4 Aces in exchange for Peter Uihlein.
The El Camaleón course – designed by LIV Golf Commissioner and CEO Greg Norman – has plenty of variety. Hole No. 3 is the shortest par-4 hole at 389 yards, while the 16th is 515 yards in length. The same variance can be said with the par-3 holes, with hole four's length at 116 yards while the 10th hole is 210 yards long. In the 2023 event, the par-4 12th was the hardest hole with a stroke average of 4.42, while the par-5 5th was the easiest with a 4.53 stroke average.
DraftKings Value Picks
Based on a Standard $50K Salary Cap
Tier 1 Values
Jon Rahm - $11,900 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +550)
The largest offseason signing for LIV Golf enters the inaugural tournament as the betting favorite, highlighted by his DFS salary which is the highest among the field. He last played in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November and finished 17-under-par, good enough for a tie for fifth place. As captain of the newly formed Legion XIII, Rahm will look to make a statement in his LIV Golf debut.
Dustin Johnson - $10,100 (+1800)
Johnson won the Tulsa event in May of 2023 and finished top-10 in seven events last season. He didn't finish the season well, however, as he shot a three-over 75 at the Invitational Miami Event and failed to make it past the first day. Outside of LIV, Johnson finished 10th in the U.S. Open with a final score of 3-under-par.
Bryson DeChambeau - $10,000 (+1400)
DeChambeau enters the tournament tied with the third-highest betting odds with Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann, though DeChambeau is the only one of the trio with a $10k-plus DFS for Mayakoba. His high salary is warranted, however, given that he won two events last season, finished second in Andalucia, and concluded the year tied for fifth at the Miami Invitational.
Tier 2 Values
Joaquin Niemann - $9,500 (+1400)
The Chilean golfer enters Mayakoba tied with Smith in betting odds. Niemann had a strong showing at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, finishing the event at 10-under-par and tied for fourth place. In the prior outing, Niemann won the ISPS Handa Australian Open at 14-under.
Tyrrell Hatton - $9,400 (+1200)
Despite holding the sixth-highest DFS salary for Mayakoba, Hatton enters the tournament second behind Rahm as the DraftKings Sportsbook betting favorite. Hatton started the new year strong with top-15 finishes at The Sentry (22-under for 14th place) and the Sony Open in Hawaii (12-under for 13th place) before finishing two-under for 31st place at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on Jan. 18.
Talor Gooch - $9,300 (+1800)
It would be difficult to omit the reigning Individual Champion from this list. Gooch was the only golfer in the field last season that won three events, including back-to-back victories in Adelaide and Singapore. He finished outside of the top-20 only twice last year and was one of the more consistent performers on the circuit.
Charles Howell III - $8,200 (+2500)
Howell had a strong start to the 2023 LIV Golf Season, winning the Mayakoba event before finishing fifth in Tuscan three weeks later. He tapered off following his early success and finished in ninth place-or-better in just three of the following 12 tournaments. Still, Howell could provide some solid value at the tier 2 level as he looks to defend his crown in Mexico.
Tier 3 Values
Peter Uihlein - $7,900 (+5000)
Uihlein is one of six golfers in the field with the same betting odds to win the tournament. He had a strong start to 2023, finishing second at Mayakoba and 11th or better in the following four events. He ended the season with placements of fifth, 11th and ninth for the last three LIV tournaments of 2023.
Jason Kokrak - $7,400 (+5000)
Kokrak had a string of solid performances in the first half of the season. He went on a stretch of finishing 11th or better in five of six tournaments, with the other due to withdrawing from the DC event in May. Kokrak's best finish was at Andalucia when he finished four-under, tied for fifth place.
Richard Bland - $7,000 (+5000)
Bland wasn't particularly impressive for the first half of the 2023 LIV Golf Season. However, he had a strong summer and finished 11th or higher in five of the last six events of 2023. Brand's best performance occurred at the LIV Golf Invitational Greenbrier when he shot 16-under and finished tied for third place.
Tier 4 Values
Scott Vincent - $6,800 (+8000)
Vincent had his fair share of ups and downs during the 2023 season. He finished in third place at the Singapore event in late April while finishing tied for 40th in Adelaide the week prior. Vincent placed 14th or better in four of the last five events last season, which included a third-place finish at the Jeddah event.
Laurie Canter - $6,600 (+10000)
Canter is one of two "Wild Card" players for Mayakoba, with Hudson Swafford being the other. Canter came close to qualifying for the 2024 LIV Golf Season during the Promotions Event, but lost out on a three-for-two playoff to Jinichiro Kozuma and Kieran Vincent. Canter could have a chip on his shoulder for barely losing out on a permanent spot on the circuit for 2024.
Danny Lee - $6,200 (+25000)
Lee won the LIV Golf Invitational Tucson event in March, but that was about his only highlight of the 2023 season. Outside of Tucson and the final event of the season in Miami, Lee failed to finish better than 23rd in the field. Lee will look to prove he is worthy of a roster spot right out of the gate as he did last season.
Check out all the Sportsbook Promo Codes before wagering on LIV Golf Mayakoba.
