Following a nearly month-long break, the LIV Golf Tour heads back to Miami after closing the 2023 season there in October. 13 golfers will be looking to fine tune their games for The Masters next week at the difficult Trump Doral, a mammoth course that plays approximately 7,700 yards and is deemed as the Blue Monster with water lurking everywhere. Let's breakdown the teams ahead of the action.
1. Crushers GC
Sitting atop the power rankings for a second straight tournament we find Crushers GC following their two-shot victory in Hong Kong. The group has now won back-to-back tournaments and has finished no worse than fourth this year. It has been a balanced attack with Bryson DeChambeau, Charles Howell III and Paul Casey all amongst the top-10 in the individual standings. The Crushers also won the team championship in Miami to close out 2023.
Predicted Order of Finish: DeChambeau, Howell III, Anirban Lahiri, Casey
2. Torque GC
Torque GC has the hottest player on LIV in Joaquin Niemann, who leads the individual standings by nearly 40 points. Not to be overlooked is Carlos Ortiz, who posted back-to-back rounds of 64 at Doral last year to lead the stroke play portion of the event. Although they've yet to win, they've finished no worse than solo fifth through four events. The ceiling has yet to be reached but is attainable if Mito Pereira kicks it into gear.
Predicted Order of Finish: Ortiz, Niemann, Pereira, Sebastian Munoz
3. Ripper GC
Ripper GC showed their potential in Hong Kong, where they posted their best finish of the season with a solo third place result. Cameron Smith led the way, losing in a playoff, although the rest of the team is still looking for their first top-10 of the year. Perhaps that could change this week as Matt Jones posted rounds of 66 last year to finish tied for third. That's the boost this team needs to contend for a team win this week.
Predicted Order of Finish: Smith, Lucas Herbert, Jones, Marc Leishman
4. Smash GC
Coming off a disappointing showing last time out by finishing in a share of seventh place, Smash GC will look to rebound in Miami where Talor Gooch, Brooks Koepka and Jason Kokrak all finished T-12 or better in October. The lengthy course could be a challenge for Graeme McDowell, although he's regained his form this year with a pair of top-10s already.
Predicted Order of Finish: Gooch, Koepka, Kokrak, McDowell
5. Fireballs GC
The Fireballs led in Hong Kong through two rounds but were one of just two teams to shoot over par to close the tournament and fell all the way to sixth place. David Puig posted a runner-up finish on the Asian Tour in Macau a few weeks ago, although he's still looking for his first top-10 finish on LIV this year. Teammates Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer and Eugenio Chacarra failed to shoot even-par or better in either of their two rounds at Doral last October.
Predicted Order of Finish: Puig, Garcia, Ancer, Chacarra
6. Cleeks GC
Making the biggest jump in this week's power rankings are the Cleeks, who move up five spots following a fifth place showing in Hong Kong – their best of the season. Adrian Meronk has now posted three consecutive top-15 finishes (two top-10s), while Martin Kaymer will look to build off the momentum of his best finish of the year. There probably isn't enough firepower from this group to contend to win, but finishing in the top half once again is attainable.
Predicted Order of Finish: Meronk, Richard Bland, Kalle Samooja, Kaymer
7. 4Aces GC
The 4Aces have been all over the map this year with finishes of second, T-7, 10th and 12th, making it difficult to know what to expect on a weekly basis. Last year, the quartet struggled in Miami, as Harold Varner's even-par finish in a share for 22nd was the best of the group. The firepower is always there with Dustin Johnson, although Varner, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez all sit 36th or worse in the individual standings.
Predicted Order of Finish: Reed, Johnson, Varner III, Perez
8. Stinger GC
Speaking of inconsistent teams, Stinger GC also has a runner-up finish and a 12th place result on their resume to put them fifth in the season-long team standings. The team of South Africans had a pair of notable finishes here last year, with the long-hitting Dean Burmester and teammate Branden Grace both finishing tied for fifth. Charl Schwartzel does have a T-2 finish this year but has been a no-show the other three tournaments.
Predicted Order of Finish: Louis Oosthuizen, Burmester, Grace, Schwartzel
9. Majesticks GC
The Majesticks finished last at LIV Jeddah but bounced back with a fourth-place finish in Hong Kong, giving them something to build on heading into Miami. Expectations likely need to be tempered somewhat, however, as Lee Westwood and Sam Horsfield both struggled mightily at Doral last time around. Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter are both trying to show they aren't over the hill after top-10 results in Hong Kong.
Predicted Order of Finish: Stenson, Poulter, Westwood, Horsfield
10. Legion XIII
The biggest drop in this week's standings belongs to Legion XIII, who move down five spots from fifth to 10th following their dead last finish in Hong Kong. The issue over the last two tournaments has been the production from their bottom two players, as Caleb Surratt has finished T-48 and T-38, while Kieran Vincent finished last in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Jon Rahm has led the way with four consecutive top-10 finishes.
Predicted Order of Finish: Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Surratt, Vincent
11. RangeGoats GC
Following a third-place finish in Vegas, the RangeGoats have been unable to keep the momentum going, finishing 12th and 11th since. If there's a place that should suit them well, it's at Doral considering the course plays long and all four players have plenty of length off the tee. That helped Bubba Watson and Peter Uihlein to each post top-10s here last October.
Predicted Order of Finish: Watson, Uihlein, Matthew Wolff, Thomas Pieters
12. HyFlyers GC
The struggles for the HyFlyers continued in Hong Kong, as they only bested Legion XIII by one stroke to avoid finishing in the cellar. It should be noted that Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele and Phil Mickelson all shot even-par or better at Doral last year, which is no easy feat at the difficult Blue Monster. Andy Ogletree is the only one of the group that has played since the last LIV event, finishing T-21 in Macau.
Predicted Order of Finish: Tringale, Steele, Ogletree, Mickelson
13. Iron Heads GC
Closing out this week's power rankings are the Iron Heads, who regressed to a 10th place finish last time out and sit tied with the HyFlyers in last place in the overall team standings. There's a lot of pressure on captain Kevin Na to produce, as Scott Vincent, Jinichiro Kozuma and Danny Lee have yet to record a top-20 finish. On the plus side, Vincent finished T-12 here last year.
Predicted Order of Finish: Na, Vincent, Kozuma, Lee
