71 Billion Won Money Festival LIV Golf Final... Unique Team Match Format

Teams Ranked 1st to 4th Advance to Semifinals by Bye
Top 4 Teams Can Directly Choose Opponents
Total Prize Money $50 Million... Twice the Previous Tournament

Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf (right), and Majed Al Sorour, Chairman of Saudi Golf.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] The LIV Golf Series Invitational, which has caused a seismic shift in the world of men's golf, will hold its season finale, the 8th event, on the 28th (local time) in Miami, USA.

Unlike the traditional PGA Tour, LIV Golf has attracted attention with its 54-hole, 3-round format, shotgun start, and team competition style up to the 7th event. The final event will also adopt a team championship format, drawing interest.

The season finale, held over three days starting on the 28th, will take place at Trump National Doral Golf Club (par 72) in Miami. This means the venue is a golf course owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump, a fervent supporter of LIV Golf.

A total of 48 players, divided into 12 teams of 4 players each, will participate in this team championship.

Interestingly, the top 4 teams in the points ranking from the 1st to 7th events will receive a bye advantage, allowing them to advance directly to the semifinals. The rankings awarded points ranging from 32 points (1st place) to 0 points (9th to 12th place) based on the results of this season's LIV Golf tournaments.

Accordingly, the four teams ▲4 Aces GC (captain Dustin Johnson), ▲Crusher GC (captain Bryson DeChambeau), ▲Fireball GC (captain Sergio Garcia), and ▲Stinger GC (captain Louis Oosthuizen) will skip the first day's matches and proceed directly to the semifinals on the 29th.

The matchups for the remaining 8 teams are also unique. Teams ranked 5th to 8th get to choose their opponents from teams ranked 9th to 12th. For example, while normally the 5th-ranked team would face the lowest-ranked 12th team, strategically they can select a higher-ranked team as their opponent.

The teams ranked 5th to 8th are ▲Smash GC (captain Brooks Koepka), ▲Majestic GC (captain Ian Poulter), ▲Talk GC (captain Joaquin Niemann), and ▲HY Flyer GC (Phil Mickelson). The bottom four teams are ▲Ironhead GC (captain Kevin Na), ▲Clique GC (captain Martin Kaymer), ▲Punch GC (captain Cameron Smith), and ▲Niblick GC (non-player captain Bubba Watson).

The first day's matches among the 8 teams will be decided through one-on-one match play. Match play is a format where the winner of each hole is determined rather than total strokes. The matches consist of two singles matches and one foursomes match. There are no draws; each match winner earns 1 point, and the team that reaches 2 points wins.

In the semifinals on the 29th, the top 4 teams that advanced with byes will compete against the 4 teams that won the previous day. The format remains the same. Similarly, in the semifinals, the top 4 teams will choose their opponents.

The 4 teams that win in the semifinals will compete on the final day, the 30th, in a shotgun-style stroke play to determine the champion. Team scores will be calculated by the combined strokes of the 4 players. The team with the lowest total strokes after the round will be crowned the winner.

The total prize money for this series finale is $50 million (approximately 71 billion KRW), double the $25 million prize offered in events 1 through 7. This is the largest prize pool ever offered in a single golf tournament to date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.