The 2024 LIV season comes to a close with the season-ending Team Championship in Dallas at Maridoe Golf Club. All 13 teams will compete this year, with the top three teams receiving a bye. Matchups will be determined later this week, and team captains can opt to participate in the singles or foursomes matchups during the first two days of match play.
1. Crushers GC
Crishers -- the defending team champions -- enters the Team Championship with the top seed after holding on to win by a stroke in Chicago. Bryson DeChambeau led the team by finishing eighth in the season-long individual standings. Anirban Lahiri finished T6 last week and his strong second half of the year secured his spot in the lock zone. The only cause for concern is that Charles Howell III hasn't shown much over two events since returning from injury.
2. Legion XIII
Joining the Crushers with a first-round bye is Legion XIII, which secured the No. 2 seed. After sitting second to last following the opening round last week, Jon Rahm's victory helped propel the team to a runner-up result. It was his second win over the last three tournaments and secured him as this year's season-long individual champion. Caleb Surratt finished dead last in Chicago, so they'll need a little more from him alongside Tyrrell Hatton and Kieran Vincent to take home the team title.
3. Ripper GC
Ripper is the remaining team that will receive a bye, and that's obviously a nice benefit in terms of extra rest compared to the teams seeded 4-13. Following back-to-back runner-up finishes, the group of Australians stumbled into the playoffs with a 12th-place finish in Chicago. It wasn't all bad in the Windy City, as Lucas Herbert finished in a share of sixth. Cameron Smith led the team this year with a seventh-place finish in the individual standings.
4. Fireballs GC
A strong summer continued for the Fireballs, as they finished third in Chicago for their fourth podium finish over their last seven events. Sergio Garcia finished three back of Rahm to take a share of second and move up to third in the season-long standings. Abraham Ancer and David Puig had a strong finish, as both finished top-20 in the final three events.
5. Smash GC
Smash has the fourth seed and will have the benefit of having the first pick of their match-play opponent. They followed their win at Greenbrier with a mediocre eighth-place finish, as Jason Kokrak held the team back by only besting three players. Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka finished in a share for sixth. The team will rely heavily on their sta,r as he led them by finishing fifth this year.
6. Torque GC
It was another solid, yet unspectacular showing from Torque GC in Chicago with a T5 result. The squad finished the year failing to record a podium finish across the closing four events. They'll have a chance to redeem themselves in Dallas and will be led by Joaquin Niemann, who finished second to Rahm not only in Chicago but in the season-long standings. Mito Pereira was able to stay out of the drop zone but was unable to finish in the top half of the standings in the final seven events.
7. RangeGoats GC
The RangeGoats have the nine seed for the Team Championship and showed some more signs of life to close the year with back-to-back T5 finishes. Matthew Wolff was the lone player on the squad to finish in the top 24, but he stumbled home the last two events. Fortunately, Peter Uihlein and Thomas Pieters righted the ship with top-20 finishes at Greenbrier and in Chicago. The direction of the team is unclear with captain Bubba Watson facing relegation.
8. 4Aces GC
It's interesting that the 4Aces had only one top-5 finish this year, as the addition of Harold Varner III (43rd) didn't work out as expected. Captain Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed were unable to carry the team, with only five top-10s between the two of them. Pat Perez was the last man to survive being in the drop zone but could still face a trade or release before the start of next season.
9. Cleeks GC
Richard Bland -- at 51 years old -- had an excellent year to keep Cleeks GC afloat, finishing with five consecutive top-15 results. Despite a lackluster finish, Adrian Meronk had a solid showing to finish two spots ahead of Bland in 17th in the individual standings. Kalle Samooja was one of five players in the drop zone, finishing only 1.56 points behind Perez.
10. Stinger GC
Stinger has the seven seed but limps into the Lone Star State after finishing dead last in Chicago. Nevertheless, if there's a team capable of quickly turning things around, it's the quartet from South Africa that has four podium finishes this year. Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester both finished in the top-10, and Legion XIII was the only other squad to have multiple players in the top 10.
11. Majesticks GC
Perhaps a fourth-place finish from the Majesticks in Chicago is the momentum they need heading into the Team Championship. Ian Poulter posted his best result of the season with a solo fifth, and we know this group that also includes Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood has plenty of team experience from the Ryder Cup. Sam Horsfield finished a modest T34 in his return from a foot injury.
12. IronHeads GC
One would think that Smash GC will choose to take on the IronHeads, as they are the bottom seed after failing to finish top-5 all season. Scott Vincent finished in the drop zone and Jinichiro Kozuma wasn't far behind, although he did improve his finish in each of the final four events. Kevin Na led the team, albeit only at 33rd place.
13. HyFlyers GC
Coming in last in the Power Rankings are the HyFlyers, who failed to beat the IronHeads in three of the last four tournaments. Brendan Steele led the way for the team this season but failed to finish in the top half in the final four tournaments. Captain Phil Mickelson had a disappointing year, posting just one top-20 result.
