As the 2025 LIV Golf League season draws nearer and nearer, the 13 teams are starting to complete their rosters for the year and, in terms of Stinger GC, they are welcoming back a familiar face.

Having been relegated at the end of the 2024 LIV Golf League, questions had arisen as to whether Branden Grace would be back on the South African side. Now, one month out from the season opener in Riyadh, the former LIV winner is back on the roster.

As imagined, the announcement caused reaction in the golf world, with many baffled as to why a relegated player was able to walk back into a LIV Golf side. However, according to the Stinger GC captain, Louis Oosthuizen, "we wanted no-one else on the team."

Speaking to Golf Monthly, the former Open champion explained that, despite the relegation, Grace was always going to feature for Stinger GC following two strong seasons that saw him finish second and ninth in the individual standings.

“We knew it for a while, but we had to keep it quiet. It didn’t really make sense to bring anyone else into the team. We wanted Branden back," stated Oosthuizen. "He had an unbelievable first two seasons and last year was fighting a few things, like injury and losing a bit of confidence, which can quickly happen to anyone. But we know the player he is and we wanted no-one else really on the team. We were fighting to get him back here."

Finishing 51st in the 2024 individual standings, Grace was well outside the top 48 and, subsequently, was relegated from the circuit. Despite this, the 36-year-old still showed glimpses of his form, firing a seven-under round at the Team Championship, as well as producing a runner-up finish at the LIV Golf Promotions event and a top 10 finish at the Saudi International.

However, with the depth of South African golf and the amount of eye-catching performances being put in over various Tours, it was then an uncertainty as to whether Grace would return. According to Oosthuizen, though, the 42-year-old never considered another South African player to join Stinger GC.

“No (we didn’t ask any other players to join), from the get-go we were working with LIV and saying we want him back. We were asking how can we get him back? What is the procedure and what do we need to do? We just had to wait and, obviously, he nearly got in via the Promotions Event, but we wanted him back. Not for one second did we think of anyone else."

One other talking point that has been mentioned is the possibility of LIV Golf making an appearance in South Africa in the future. According to reports, the contract length Grace has signed is for two years and, according to Oosthuizen, he is hoping to bring LIV Golf to South Africa "in 2026 or 2027."

“To get a potential sponsor in South Africa, and to get a tournament in South Africa, which we are still trying to do, they wanted the four of us," explained the Stinger GC captain, who finished sixth in the individual standings for 2024.

"It’s difficult going to them (sponsors) and saying ‘we might change the team and there might be someone new coming in,' then the sponsors are unsure and like ‘we don’t want the team to change right now.’ So there was a bunch of things."

So, what about the reaction of the signing of Grace? Well, with the season drawing nearer and nearer, Oosthuizen had a simple message to any negativity, stating: "At the end of the day, you want to put the strongest team together...

"He’s a very strong player and, I wouldn’t be surprised if, this year, he has a really good season just to show everyone why he should be here. I’m confident with our decision and I'm not going to listen to all the white noise.”

Louis Oosthuizen is one of the greatest players South Africa has ever produced, with countless high points in a career that has been as varied as it has been successful.

Here are 20 things you may not know about the LIV Golf player.

Louis Ousthuizen Facts

1. His full name is Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen and he was born on 19 October 1982 in Mossel Bay, South Africa and grew up on a farm - a passion he still has today.

2. At the start of his golf career he was a part of the Ernie Els Foundation, which gave him financial and educational assistance as well as playing opportunities.

3. That grounding was apparently a big help because as an amateur Oosthuizen won numerous titles including the 2000 World Junior Championship.

4. As a youngster, Oosthuizen was friends with Charl Schwartzel. Nowadays, they are on the same LIV Golf team - Stinger GC.

5. At the age of 19, Oosthuizen shot 57 at his local course, Mossel Bay Golf Club in South Africa.

6. Oosthuizen turned professional in 2002, initially joining the Sunshine Tour, with his first win coming at the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Arabella in 2004.

7. The same year, he joined the European Tour (now the DP World Tour), and won for the first time on it in the 2010 Open de Andalucia de Golf.

8. Oosthuizen claimed his one Major title to date at the 2010 Open at the Old Course, which he largely dominated to win by seven shots.

9. That made him only the fourth South African, after Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els, to claim the Claret Jug.

10. After the tournament, Louis explained a red dot marked on his glove helped him focus during his pre-shot routine.

11. After the win, the first thing he bought with the prize money was a tractor for his farm in South Africa.

12. He has since gone onto finish runner-up in all four Majors, but without winning another title.

13. In one of those near-misses, Oosthuizen became only the fourth player to shoot an albatross at a Major during the 2012 Masters at Augusta National. It was the first to be televised.

14. His highest world ranking is fourth, which he earned back in 2013 after victory at the Volvo Golf Champions.

15. In 2022, Oosthuizen became one of the initial intake of players to LIV Golf in time for its inaugural event at the Centurion Club.

16. Oosthuizen owns his own wine company.

17. In his free time he likes to hunt and watch the Cape Town-based Stormers rugby team and the Springboks.

18. His friends nicknamed him "Shrek" due to his trademark gap between his top front teeth and he once had a Shrek head cover - until his caddie threw it away as he thought it brought bad luck!

19. He is also a golf course designer and one of the ones he co-designed is Heritage La Reserve Golf Club, where the Mauritius Open in 2023 was held. Oosthuizen played in the tournament and claimed his 11th DP World Tour win there.

20. He knew his wife, Nel-Mare, as a youngster and they married in 2007.

Louis Oosthuizen Bio

Louis Oosthuizen Pro Wins

Louis Oosthuizen has been replaced by Wade Ormsby at LIV Golf Houston after withdrawing due to injury before the second round.

The Stinger GC captain carded a three-under in the first round to leave him for behind overnight leader Martin Kaymer. However, any hopes he had of continuing to push for a maiden LIV Golf title ended after he woke up on Saturday morning with the problem.

In a video posted on the official Stinger GC X account, Oosthuizen explains: “Unfortunately I had to withdraw today with lower back issues. Woke up not being great and tried everything and won’t be able to walk around and swing today, so one of those things, but I’ll see you guys in Nashville.” 

The withdrawal will be frustrating for Oosthuizen as he’s putting together an impressive season on the big-money circuit. The South African was runner-up twice among three top 10 finishes in the first seven events of the season, while he is currently seventh on the LIV Golf money list with earnings of over $5.6m so far.

As for his replacement, Ormsby played in all seven regular LIV Golf events in the inaugural 2022 season with a  best finish of 23rd in the opener at London’s Centurion Club. However, he was one of seven players dropped for the start of the second season, but was retained as a reserve.

The Australian has also spoken of a desire to return to full-time playing contract with LIV Golf. Before the 2023 Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour he said: “I’ve been lucky enough to play the first season on LIV, and the events are unbelievable. To be next to the best golfers in the world, week in week out is pretty special and something I wanna get back to." 

Ormsby will be hoping to put in an impressive display at the Golf Club of Houston as he attempts to help Stinger GC climb the leaderboard along with his temporary teammates Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel and Dean Burmester.

Stinger GC is currently fifth in the overall team standings for the season.

Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman clinched an extremely popular home victory for Ripper GC at LIV Golf Adelaide on Sunday in the 54-hole circuit's first-ever team playoff.

The Australian's success came at the expense of their South African counterparts from Stinger GC - Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester - writing another chapter into the history of this long-standing sporting rivalry between the two nations.

Both teams played sensational golf to reach a playoff, too, with Ripper carding a cumulative 20-under on Sunday while Stinger stood head and shoulders above everyone else via a collective 24-under.

The pair could not be split at the end on a grand total of 53-under for the week, a LIV team record, and so the unique playoff format made its bow for LIV. Both captains chose another of their teammates to play alongside them in a fourball sudden death format.

After Oosthuizen missed a tricky downhill putt at the first playoff hole to seal victory for Stinger, the Australian pair - backed by an extremely boisterous following - piled the pressure on at the second go down the par-4 18th and eventually closed out with a bogey via Smith.

Speaking immediately after the winning putt dropped, Smith was almost at a loss for words. He said: "This is unreal. It is a dream come true for us, I think. We've been talking about it all year. It's one that we wanted to win, obviously... I don't even know what to say - it's just so good."

Meanwhile, Smith's playoff partner Leishman admitted the Ripper GC squad knew the pressure was on them to deliver for their home fans this week.

He said: "It's unbelievable. We had a fair bit of pressure this week, and I think we really embraced it this year. It was tough playing in front of home fans, but we loved every second of it and this is the dream result."

Ripper's success was largely based on consistency from all members of the team, with Smith, Leishman, and Lucas Herbert - who was celebrating his first team victory - all ending the week T14 on 13-under in the individual standings.

Matt Jones, who labelled himself as "the old man" out of the quartet, finished just one stroke ahead in a tie for ninth. The 44-year-old said: "I'm the old man out here. To get to do it with these boys - we're all good friends. I've been out here for a few years now and this is my second team win with Cam and Leish, and to get Herby a first one here in Australia... I don't think you can beat this."

HYFLYERS' BRENDAN STEELE WINS LIV GOLF ADELAIDE INDIVIDUAL TITLE IN 2024

Away from the team format, there was further disappointment for Oosthuizen after Brendan Steele just about held on to claim the individual prize by one shot at The Grange. 

The American was the overnight leader from Danny Lee on -14 and ticked off the holes with a handful more birdies to finish on 18-under. Meanwhile, the South African pair of Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel began to really heat up - carding seven and eight-under, respectively.

Despite the low final round, which featured five birdies in his opening eight holes, Stinger GC's captain finished with a par at the last to claim solo second.

While Steele will undoubtedly be delighted with his victory, a slight shine will be taken off given his $4 million winner's check will shrink by around 50% due to Australian income tax laws.

LIV is back next weekend (May 3-5) at Sentosa Golf Club for LIV Golf Singapore.

As the world's best continue to tackle Augusta National and the first Major of 2024, a number of big names didn't make it into field, with one of those speaking about it on LIV Golf's podcast - Fairway to Heaven.

Louis Oosthuizen, who finished runner-up at the Masters in 2012 following an incredible albatross in the final round, spoke to Jerry Foltz and Su-Ann Heng on the podcast, as the South African claimed "it sucks" to not be taking part at Augusta National this week.

"It sucks, it's the nicest way to put it. I think 2009 was my first (Masters) event and I played for 15 years and Charl (Schwartzel) was texting me on Monday night and says 'I can't believe I'm going to have a practice round without you for the first time in 15 years'. I think we played every par 3 tournament together," stated Oosthuizen, who withdrew from his last Masters appearances in 2022 and 23.

"I mean, I knew the risks of joining LIV with regards to World Ranking points. I knew it was going to happen and the day was going to come. To be honest, the stage I am in my career with life and with family, and it's no disrespect to... I'm not really bothered about the US Open and PGA Championship.

"It's nothing against the tournaments, they're great tournaments and Majors, but I feel I've played loads of them and was very happy playing them, but The Open and the Masters to me were the two that stood out. I'm fortunate enough to play The Open until I'm 60 and that's a tournament I love, but not playing the Masters stings."

To qualify for The Masters, you must rank inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings, but there are a number of ways in which players can also earn a spot. For example, a victory at The Players Championship the month before will also secure a place at The Masters for the next three years, while any player who wins a PGA Tour event that awards a full point allocation to the season-ending Tour Championship between the previous Masters and the current one will also be added to the field.

However, the problem Oosthuizen has is that LIV players are currently banned from participating in PGA Tour tournaments, with the League also not currently earning OWGR points. One LIV Golf exception did come in the form of Joaquin Niemann, who was one of three players to earn a special invite from Augusta National.

"Your mind goes to how I can get there again, but I don't think there is a way to get there again," explained Oosthuizen, who sits in ninth spot in the LIV's individual standings after three top 10 finishes in 2024. "I won two events at the end of last year and I've played pretty decent this year. The only way is if they provide more invites. It's the only way that any of us on LIV are going to get in.

"It's mind-boggling to me that there's not more steps being done... Everyone talks about getting the best players together in Major events. Everyone that is playing decent at the time, all the top golfers should be playing in the Majors. I think most of us know the World Rankings isn't really the World Rankings, but it's got to come to a stage where Major championships should take control and give spots to each Tour."

Cameron Smith managed to hold off his Ripper GC teammate, Marc Leishman and 4 Aces', Patrick Reed, with Smith carding a final round 68 to claim a second LIV Golf title and first trophy since the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in November 2022.

The individual tournament had been exciting to watch, but it was also the team portion where attention was turned as 4 Aces GC, Ripper GC and Stinger GC battled it out. But, despite winning the individual portion, it was Smith who missed his final putt on the 18th, which meant his Rippers' side missed out to the 4 Aces by a single shot.

Beginning on Sunday, it was the Australian who held a three-shot lead over his fellow countryman Leishman. However, out the gate that advantage was reduced quickly, with players scoring well early on.

Smith, though, fired back and, going into the back nine, he had managed to recover his three shot lead from the start of the day. Soon though, Smith was joined by Reed who was making his typical Sunday charge, with the American carding six birdies in an eight hole run from the eighth to the 15th.

Reed was still a few shots back off Smith but, at the par 5 15th, the Australian opened the door slightly as he pulled his tee shot left into the trees. Luckily, his ball came to rest just to the right of them and, after parring both 15 and 16, he made a birdie at the par 3 17th to sit two shots clear with Reed playing the last.

If Reed had birdied the 18th then Smith may have been slightly more nervous but, after the American made par, it gave the Australian some breathing space, a good thing after he found the bunker with a wedge for his third shot. Although he splashed out to under six-feet, Smith couldn't convert, with his putt sliding just by on the right side.

Picking up the individual title, Smith's Ripper GC side, who he captains, missed out on a playoff with Dustin Johnson's 4 Aces. The American trio of Reed, Pat Perez and Johnson shot rounds of six, five and four-under to scoop yet another team title. 

In the Ripper GC camp, Leishman, Smith and Jed Morgan carded rounds of five, three and two-under, but their efforts weren't enough as they came up a shot shy. Along with the two teams, Stinger GC's Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester and Branden Grace fired a seven-under round for a 29-under team total to finish five shots back of the 4 Aces.

It's the final Major of the year and the most historic in golf as the 151st Open Championship takes place at Royal Liverpool on July 20-23.

And it's also a final chance to see all of the best players in the world battling against each other as players from the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf will all compete at Hoylake.

There's still no Official World Golf Ranking points available for the 54-hole, shotgun start tournaments in the LIV Golf League, but with Major champions among their ranks and a host of top performers before the split in golf there will still be a decent group from LIV.

And the band of LIV contenders will be led of course by defending champion Cameron Smith, who joined Greg Norman's new tour shortly after lifting the Claret Jug at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews last year.

Previous winners Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson and Louis Oosthuizen can play in the Open until they're 60, and they will be joined by fellow Major champions Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed.

Koepka has a fresh five-year exemption after winning this year's PGA Championship, while Johnson and DeChambeau are in the third year of their exemptions from winning the Masters and US Open respectively in 2020.

Reed is in the final year of his exemption from winning the 2018 Masters but could book a return next year with a top 10 finish at Hoylake.

Fellow LIV golfers Charl Schwartzel, Brandon Grace and Laurie Canter all secured their spot through Final Qualifying, taking the total number of LIV Golf players in the Open field to 16.

LIV Golfers who are in the Open Championship

• Abraham Ancer
• Brooks Koepka
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Cam Smith
• Dustin Johnson
• Henrik Stenson
• Joaquin Niemann
• Louis Oosthuzien
• Patrick Reed
• Phil Mickelson
• Richard Bland
• Talor Gooch
• Thomas Pieters
• Charl Schwartzel
• Brandon Grace
• Laurie Canter

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Branden Grace says that a stronger LIV Golf League now contains “14 Majors out here” that won’t see such dominant victories such as what their Stinger GC achieved at Centurion last year.

The South African plays on a team full of his compatriots alongside Major champions Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel and completed by Dean Burmester.

LIV Golf returns to Centurion a year after it all began, and despite doubts over the future of the new tour after the PGA Tour-PIF deal, the word from the players is that it’s business as usual.

Ian poulter says it’s full steam ahead while his Majesticks teammate Lee Westwood expects LIV to go from strength to strength after the deal.

And Grace agrees, saying that the field is now much stronger than the one from last year, when Schwartzel led a sweep of the podium places as Stingers won by 14 shots.

“Everything is just getting stronger and better,” said Grace. “The teams are stronger now. There's more guys, hopefully more guys coming to make it even stronger. To finish one-two-three I don't think is going to happen pretty soon if ever again.

“I think we as a team won by 16 shots last year. It's so strong now, I don't think anybody has won with more than let's say five shots ever since that. But it's nice to be here. 

"The fields are getting stronger. We just have to keep playing good golf. We've got 14 Majors out here now, so we have to play really well.

“I think last year Louis was very clever. He racked us up in a team before everything really even started. He had a plan behind his madness.”

A lot has happened in the 12 moths since LIV began at Centurion, but Grace believes the tour has continued to get better as time has gone on. 

“Obviously last year this time was a little nerve-racking,” Grace added. “We didn't know what was going on, what to expect, and look at where we are now. Everything has gotten bigger and better as the weeks progressed on. 

“Obviously the way we started last year was like a fairy-tale start, getting one-two-three on the podium and the team win, as well. 

"It's just amazing how things have progressed, how happy we are, how we're enjoying golf, how we're enjoying the environment, and it's great to be here.”

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For most club golfers with a mid range handicap, eagles are pretty rare beasts, but one amateur player can now boast having gone one shot better – twice – and in the space of 24 hours.

John Murphy, who plays off a handicap of 12.6, was on his annual trip to Marbella when he made his albatrosses, which are also known as double eagles.

“We’ve played golf in the Marbella area for last 30 years in groups varying from eight to 16 usually in March for the Doyler Trophy in memory of one of our departed colleagues, Frank Doyle,” said a jubilant Murphy.

“We played in San Roque on the first day with a larger society well known to many Irish golfers – The Hogan Hackers from the Hogan Stand pub in San Pedro.

“On day three we played Santana and I had the good fortune of an albatross on the 10th hole, which measures 425 metres and my card signed by Captain Jeff Brownlow.

“The following day we played El Paraiso and I had the same score to the astonishment of all at the 447-metre 15th with my card signed by Cathal Muckian, the former Irish soccer international.”

Murphy may want to retire his TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver and matching 3-hybrid after making his twos – or he might be hoping to make it hat-trick when his returns to Spain next year.

Depending on where you look, you might see the odds of making a score of three-under-par on a hole as 6,000,000 (six million) to one, although they do pop up on the professional circuits from time to time.

The Masters at Augusta National has witnessed four during its history, the most recent coming at the par-5 2nd in 2012, when Louis Oosthuizen holed a 4-iron with his second shot from 253 yards.

Earlier this year, Yuka Saso carded an albatross on the second hole during her second round at the Drive On Championship.

Saso holed out from 217 yards with her second shot, her hybrid effort landing on the green perfectly before rolling in for what’s generally regarded as ‘golf’s rarest of birds’.

The notoriously difficult US Open hasn't quite been that so far this week at Los Angeles with a number of records beaten or matched by the world's best players.

LACC is a demanding test of golf, but softer-than-usual conditions for the US Open along with benign conditions have meant that low scoring has been a storyline so far in what already is a record breaking championship.

Here we look at some of the US Open records to have been beaten or matched this week...

62

Rickie Fowler's 10 birdies and two bogeys on Thursday set the single round scoring record in a US Open, with the five-time PGA Tour winner becoming the first man in history to card a 62 in America's national open.

A mere 20 minutes later, Xander Schauffele had matched him - meaning that Fowler and Schauffele joined Branden Grace as the only golfers to shoot 62 in a men's Major championship.

130

A record matched this week was Martin Kaymer's 36-hole scoring record that he set in 2014 at Pinehurst. He posted back-to-back 65s for a 130 total after two days nine years ago, and that was matched by Rickie Fowler on Friday at Los Angeles Country Club.

Rickie's historic 62 was followed up with a 68 to post 10-under-par and the fabled 130 after two rounds.

71.38

The record breaking opening round at LA Country Club saw a 71.38 scoring average throughout the 156-man field, which comfortably broke the previous first round record of 72.29 set in 1993 at Baltusrol.

18/36 birdies

This one Rickie Fowler now has on his own. The American made an incredible 18 birdies (50% of his holes!) after two days to record the most ever birdies through two rounds in a US Open.

29

Tom Kim matched the championship's lowest ever nine hole score on his first nine in the third round at LACC.

The two-time PGA Tour winner made six birdies and three pars to go out in six-under and 29. It's the fifth 29 in over nine holes in a US Open and the first since Louis Oosthuizen in 2015 at Chambers Bay.

No 80s

The first day's play at Los Angeles Country Club saw 156 players take on the North Course and not a single one register a score in the 80s. That's the first time that has ever happened.

65

Thursday's opening day saw the most ever rounds of 65 or better in a US Open. There were six in total, beating the previous record of four from the second round of the 2009 US Open at Bethpage Black.

Another 65-related statistic revolves around Dustin Johnson, whose 65 on Thursday was the tenth of his career in Majors to tie Tiger Woods.

Hole-in-one by the defending champion

Matt Fitzpatrick made the third hole-in-one of the 2023 US Open on day two, with all three of them coming at the short 15th.

It was the Englishman's first ever ace on the PGA Tour and the first time a defending champion has ever made a hole-in-one during their title defence.

Back-to-back rounds in the 60s

Rory McIlroy's second round 67, to go along with his opening 65, meant that he had recorded back-to-back rounds in the 60s to start a US Open for the fourth time - having also done it in 2011, 2019 and 2022.

Nobody in history has done that four times. Until now.

Fastest to -10

Rickie Fowler reached 10-under-par in a US Open quicker than anyone in history.

He started round two birdie-birdie to get to -10, which was six holes faster than Rory McIlroy did in 2011.

Rickie reached 11-under on the very next hole to take that record away from McIlroy, too.

Shortest ever hole

Not scoring related but a record nonetheless. In Saturday's third round, the superb par 3 15th was playing at just 81 yards - making it the shortest hole in US Open history.

The previous record was 92 yards on the 7th at Pebble Beach in the final round of the 2010 US Open.

The second men's Major of the year is upon us and we know the full field for the PGA Championship, which is theoretically the strongest field in the game with almost all of the world's top 100 players set to tee it up.

As well as the PGA Tour's best, there are 18 LIV players in the field as the likes of Masters runners-up, and double PGA Champions, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson return to Major golf as well as plenty more of the Saudi-backed league's stars like Cam Smith, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.

The field for Oak Hill is stacked, but as always with Majors, there are some big names missing out. Below we take a look at some of the most well known and highest ranked players who will be watching on from the sidelines...

Tiger Woods

The biggest name in the sport isn't listed in the field after undergoing a subtalar fusion surgery in his ankle following last month's Masters. Woods withdrew prior to the final day's play after reaggravating his plantar fasciitis and he's opted to go for a fusion surgery - which should remove all pain but slightly hinder the movement of his foot.

Woods has won the PGA Championship four times - in 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007. It remains to be seen when he'll tee it up next.

Will Zalatoris

The American, runner-up to Justin Thomas last year at Southern Hills where he lost in a playoff, is out injured for the entire season. Zalatoris said he will be back in the fall after undergoing a back surgery last month while ranked 8th in the world at the time.

It means he'll miss all three of the remaining Majors as well as the chance to make his Ryder Cup debut in Rome later in the year.

Sergio Garcia

For the first time since the 1999 US Open, Sergio Garcia has failed to qualify for a Major. The LIV Golfer has dropped out of the world's top 100 after joining the Saudi-backed league, meaning he no longer makes the entry requirements.

His best finish in the PGA Championship came in his memorable debut in 1999, where the 19-year-old famously hit a shot from a tree root at Medinah and finished one stroke shy of Tiger Woods.

Louis Oosthuizen

The South African misses his first Major in five years - since the 2018 PGA Championship - after seeing his world ranking tumble to 163rd since joining LIV Golf last year.

Oosthuizen, captain of Stinger GC, was T2nd at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island as well as in 2017 at Quail Hollow.

Daniel Berger

The former World No.12 is somewhat of the forgotten man in golf and misses his third consecutive Major, having still hasn't played since last June's US Open. He is out with injury in his lower back and recently told the Golf Channel that he still doesn't know when his next start will be.

The four-time PGA Tour winner will be missing his first PGA Championship since 2015.

Lee Westwood

The Englishman is another 2021 Ryder Cupper - along with Garcia, Ian Poulter and Bernd Wiesberger - to have joined LIV and not made the entry requirements of being in the world's top 100. Paul Casey is another, but he has received a special invite after missing last year's championship with injury. 

Westwood has played in 23 PGA Championships, with his best finish a T3rd in 2009.

Ian Poulter

Westwood's fellow Majesticks GC co-captain is also not going to be at the PGA Championship after seeing his world ranking slide to 197th. The Ryder Cup legend and former World No.5 also missed last month's Masters.

Poulter, who was T3rd at Kiawah Island in the 2012 PGA Championship, has played in the event 20 times and will miss it for just the third year since 2001.

Bernd Wiesberger

The Austrian, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2021, is the fourth member of Team Europe's side at Whistling Straits to have not qualified for Oak Hill.

Wiesberger, who plays for the Cleeks in the LIV Golf League, famously played with Rory McIlroy in the final group of the 2014 PGA Championship. He's played in the Major nine times.

After an electric LIV Golf event in Adelaide, the Tour plays in back-to-back weeks for the first time in 2023, as they head to Singapore for the 2023 LIV Golf Singapore event.

Talor Gooch comes into the week looking for back-to-back wins, but will course experience prove vital, as LIV Golf's European contingent has a wealth of experience at this week's venue, Sentosa Golf Club?

Let's look at what each golfer will need to do well this week to win the LIV Golf Singapore event.

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LIV Golf Singapore Format

The format will remain the same as it does in all the other events on the LIV Golf League, as each of the 48 players tees it up for 54 holes of strokeplay, which contributes to both an Individual and Team leaderboard. 

Even if you are a player out of the running on Sunday, you will still want to shoot the lowest round of the day, so that your team can push forward in the team leaderboard, and potentially win the team event for the week.

Who Has Won on the LIV Golf League This Season?

There have been four events so far this season on the LIV Tour. Charles Howell III won the first event in Mayakoba, and his team Crushers GC also got the win there, with Paul Casey finishing 4th to back up his teammate.

Danny Lee beat Carlos Ortiz, Louis Oosthuizen, and Brendan Steele in a playoff to win at LIV Golf Tuscon. Thanks to Carlos Ortiz's T2 finish, and his captain, Sergio Garcia's top 10, Team Fireballs won in Arizona.

It was Brooks Koepka who won his home event at LIV Golf Orlando, but it was the Spanish-speaking team, Torque GC that took down the team event last time out.

Last week in Adelaide it was Talor Gooch who spoiled the hometown party, with Cam Smith finished T3. The 4Aces picked up their first team win of the season last week.

LIV Golf Singapore Course Preview

• Par 71
• 7,406 Yards

LIV Golf will play at another familiar course this week as the Serapong Course at Sentosa GC hosts this LIV Golf Singapore event. 

This is a course that has been used since 2005 for the Singapore Open, an event that several of the DP World Tour veterans have played on over the years.

Strong driving will be required on this long layout and whilst shorter hitters have won here, the bigger hitters will hold an advantage given the course's length.

The winning score has ranged from -8 to -18 here throughout Sentosa GC's time of hosting the Singapore Open.

LIV Golf Singapore Key Stats

• Driving Distance - Clearly an obvious one but at a course that stretches over 7,400 yards, distance off the tee is advantageous, particularly if you can keep it in the fairway.
• Greens in Regulation - Poinding greens will be vital to set up enough birdie putts to win here, so keep that in mind, when making your selections this week.

LIV Golf Singapore Picks and Predictions: Outright Winner

Peter Uihlein +2000 (Bet $100 to collect $2,100) The best odds for this Peter Uihlein pick are at Bet365

Peter Uihlein continues to play well each and every week on the LIV Tour, finishing inside the top 10 every week since the turn of the year. He was 2nd behind Charles Howell III in Mayakoba, and I suspect he can contend again this week.

Uihlein has not played at this course, but he is a player that is well adept at playing all across the globe, based on his time on the Challenge and DP World Tour. 

The American is one of the longest hitters on Tour and has ranked that way throughout this 2023 season and that can aid his chances of winning this week.

Uihlein has posted rounds of 68 or better in 10 of his 12 rounds on LIV this season and he is one player that has completely embraced life on his new Tour. 

Part of a winning team last week, now is the time for Uihlein to boast individual honors for the first time on LIV and will stretch his lead in the individual standings in doing so.

Sergio Garcia +2500 (Bet $100 to collect $2600) The best odds for this Sergio Garcia pick are at Bet365

Sergio Garcia has found some form of late and he is one of those European players we mentioned earlier that has an affinity with this golf course, which could well lead to his first win on the LIV Tour.

In three visits to this course from 2017-2019, Garcia finished 11th, 1st, and 7th and that win gives me plenty of hope that he can replicate that success this week.

Yes it was four years ago and that is a long time in golf, but Garcia played well last week in Adelaide and now returns to a course he knows as well as anyone in this field.

Fellow course winner, Ian Poulter is also in this field, but Garcia is playing better golf at this stage of the season and that is why he is favored over the Englishman.

6th at LIV Golf Tuscon after sitting 2nd going into the final day and then a T11 finish last week, thanks to three straight 68s, Garcia is playing plenty well enough to contend at this course again.

Even in professional golf, you will struggle to see two rounds as spectacular as Talor Gooch's, with the American firing back-to-back 62s as he amassed an almost unassailable lead of 10 shots with just 18 holes remaining in Adelaide.

During his first round, Gooch carded 10 birdies and eight pars, with the 31-year-old then producing an eagle, eight birdies and eight pars on Saturday to sit 10 clear of the next six players at 10-under-par, which include Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen.

Speaking about his incredible display, Gooch stated that: "You know, it's hard to say. Everything is just going my way. I'm hitting the ball where I want it to go. A couple times where I missed some shots, I ended up in a decent spot, and yeah, it's just a lot of people have asked the last 24 hours, how did you do it, give me the secret basically, and it's like, if I had the secret, we would write that book and everyone would know it. The game is feeling really good right now and, hopefully, we can keep it going."

Obviously, with such a big statement being made by the Range Goats GC player, it has drawn attention from his fellow LIV players, with six-time Major winner, and recent Masters runner-up finisher, Phil Mickelson, claiming that it's "a rarity to have after two rounds such a big lead by Talor Gooch. That's some exceptional play. To have a 10-shot lead after two rounds, that's almost unheard of. It doesn't happen often. I don't know if it's ever happened here on LIV Golf."

Along with Mickelson, Range Goats GC Captain, Bubba Watson, had nothing but praise for his fellow teammate, as he stated: "It's funny, we joked yesterday, for us to get the podium, he's going to have to shoot 30-under. I guess he took it to heart, shot 10-under each day. He's playing great... He's such a steady player, Gooch is, and around this golf course, you've got to put the ball in certain positions, and he's doing that obviously nicely."

Two of the players who lie 10 back of Gooch are Oosthuizen and Koepka, with both men claiming that it'll be "tough to beat" the American over the final day. Such was the surprising nature of his low round, Oosthuizen claimed that 20-under after two rounds is "sort of unheard of."

Looking to take home the $4 million first prize, which will be the biggest payday of his career, Gooch will begin the final day comfortably ahead of a number of players, with a record comeback being needed for them to pick up the title. For reference, the biggest comeback in PGA Tour history came at the 1999 Open Championship, where Paul Lawrie claimed the Claret Jug after Jean Van de Velde's infamous 72nd hole antics at Carnoustie.

Entries closed for US Open qualifying last week, and several LIV Golf players have decided to skip it despite their chances of appearing in the Major hanging by a thread.

Among those opting not to take part in qualifying are Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson and Lee Westwood. Each player is outside the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and, without a special invitation, the only other ways for them to make the tournament is to either reach the top 60 by May 22 or the week before the tournament, or win the PGA Championship. 

None of them are currently in the field for the second Major of the year, and it’s unlikely they’ll make it considering their limited options to accumulate OWGR points.

It's not looking quite so bad for Patrick Reed and Talor Gooch, who are two other LIV Golf players who have not applied for qualifying but have calculated they’ve done enough to reach the tournament. 

Reed is currently World No.44 and Gooch is World No.57. In particular, Reed will be confident of holding onto his place in the world's top 60 in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Gooch is likely to have a PGA Championship appearance as a potential ace up his sleeve in an effort to maintain the necessary ranking. 

Elsewhere, some LIV Golf players aren't taking as many chances, with Sergio Garcia, Matthew Wolff, Marc Leishman and Harold Varner III all having signed up for qualification for a chance to tee it up at Los Angeles Country Club in June.

It's not so precarious for all LIV Golfers. For example, Mito Pereira and Abraham Ancer will be confident of reaching the tournament as they are eligible for the PGA Championship, where they can either win it and qualify or accumulate the necessary OWGR points to get there. The likes of Thomas Pieters and Harold Varner III should also be eligible for the Oak Hill Country Club tournament.

For others, the outlook is even rosier, with players including Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann guaranteed their US Open places thanks to various other qualifying criteria.

This week, LIV Golf players are competing in the circuit's first ever tournament in Australia, at Adelaide's Grange Golf Club.

A unique tournament in the PGA Tour calendar takes place at TPC Louisiana as 80 teams of two compete in fourballs (best ball) in the first and third rounds and foursomes (alternate shot) in the second and final rounds.

Last year, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele cruised to victory over Sam Burns and Billy Horschel by two shots to claim the title, and the World No.4 and World No.5 rekindle that partnership this week. Undeterred by that narrow defeat in 2022, Burns and Horschel also team up again, hoping to go one better this year.

In last week’s RBC Heritage, Matt Fitzpatrick won a thrilling playoff to edge out Jordan Spieth for his first win since last year’s US Open, and the new World No.8 joins forces with brother Alex.

Two years ago, players now on the LIV Golf circuit dominated as Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman beat Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. However, following their decision to join the PGA Tour's rival, they will instead be teeing it up in Australia this week. 

The tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, meaning you need to go back to 2019 to find the most recent winner before Cantlay and Schauffele in this week’s field. That man was Ryan Palmer, who teamed up with Jon Rahm back then as they claimed a three-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood and another player who has since joined LIV Golf, Sergio Garcia. 

There’s no Rahm this week following his appearances in successive tournaments The Masters and RBC Heritage. Palmer instead teams up with Scott Piercy, who won the tournament in 2018 alongside Horschel. 

As well as Cantlay, Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick, another player in the world’s top 10 also plays this week, World No.7 Max Homa. He’ll fancy his chances of success too, as he plays alongside two-time Major winner Collin Morikawa.

Another intriguing team will be the one comprising World No.17 Sungjae Im and World No.58 Keith Mitchell, while World No.19 Tom Kim will also be confident of success alongside World No.40 Si Woo Kim. Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Kurt Kitayama also plays, alongside Taylor Montgomery.

Away from the most recognisable names, another team to look out for will be the one made up of Michael Thompson and a man making his PGA Tour debut, 43-year-old former US army soldier Paresh Amin, who appears on a sponsor exemption.

Teams are competing for a purse of $8.6m, with the winners earning $1,242,700 each.

Below is the breakdown of the prize money and field for the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Zurich Classic Of New Orleans Prize Money 2023

Zurich Classic Of New Orleans Teams 2023

• Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick
• Collin Morikawa and Max Homa
• Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim
• Sam Burns and Billy Horschel
• Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay
• Kurt Kitayama and Taylor Montgomery
• Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard
• Joel Dahmen and Denny McCarthy
• Tyler Duncan and Hank Lebioda
• Harris English and Tom Hoge
• Jim Herman and Ryan Armour
• Sungjae Im and Keith Mitchell
• Andrew Landry and Austin Cook
• Luke List and Henrik Norlander
• Taylor Moore and Matthew NeSmith
• Trey Mullinax and Scott Stallings
• Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer
• JJ Spaun and Hayden Buckley
• Robert Streb and Troy Merritt
• Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin
• Michael Thompson and Paresh Amin
• Brendon Todd and Patton Kizzire
• Erik Van Rooyen and MJ Daffue
• Matt Wallace and Callum Shinkwin
• Richy Werenski and Scott Brown
• Jason Dufner and Kevin Chappell
• Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker
• Jimmy Walker and DA Points
• Thorbjørn Olesen and Nicolai Hojgaard
• John Daly and David Duval
• Edoardo Molinari and Luke Donald
• Sam Saunders and Eric Cole
• Victor Perez and Thomas Detry
• Ryan Palmer and Scott Piercy
• Sahith Theegala and Justin Suh
• Davis Riley and Nick Hardy
• Taylor Pendrith and Michael Gligic
• Wyndham Clark and Beau Hossler
• Lee Hodges and Robby Shelton
• Brandon Wu and Joseph Bramlett
• Dylan Frittelli and Matti Schmid
• David Lipsky and Aaron Rai
• Russell Knox and Brian Stuard
• Sam Ryder and Doc Redman
• Greyson Sigg and Brice Garnett
• Callum Tarren and Ben Taylor
• Max McGreevy and Sam Stevens
• Chesson Hadley and Ben Martin
• Nick Watney and Charley Hoffman
• Doug Ghim and Kramer Hickok
• Kevin Tway and Kelly Kraft
• Matthias Schwab and Vincent Norrman
• Austin Smotherman and Harry Higgs
• Justin Lower and Dylan Wu
• Zac Blair and Zecheng Dou
• Ben Griffin and Ryan Gerard
• Davis Thompson and Will Gordon
• Byeong Hun An and SH Kim
• David Lingmerth and Jonas Blixt
• Tyson Alexander and Carl Yuan
• Harry Hall and Akshay Bhatia
• Harrison Endycott and Aaron Baddeley
• Michael Kim and SY Noh
• Austin Eckroat and Scott Harrington
• Brent Grant and Kevin Roy
• Paul Haley II and Cody Gribble
• Carson Young and Kyle Westmoreland
• Tano Goya and Trevor Werbylo
• Augusto Núñez and Fabián Gómez
• Brandon Matthews and Sean O'Hair
• Trevor Cone and Andrew Novak
• Chad Collins and DJ Trahan
• Cameron Percy and Greg Chalmers
• Bill Haas and Jonathan Byrd
• Chris Stroud and William McGirt
• Ricky Barnes and Kyle Stanley
• Wesley Bryan and Grayson Murray
• Geoff Ogilvy and Kevin Stadler
• Sung Kang and Sangmoon Bae
• Derek Ernst and Robert Garrigus

Much was made of the LIV golfers at this year's Masters.

Do they play 'real' golf? Will they be rusty having played fewer tournaments? Just how badly affected have they been by missing out on the likes of Riviera, Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass and Austin Country Club?

Well, as I said earlier in the week, it's ridiculous to rule them out. Masters week saw some of them play badly - six of the 18 missed the cut - as well as two of them withdrawing, but a LIV player nearly won The Masters with two of them finishing T2nd behind Jon Rahm.

Brooks Koepka held the 54-hole lead but a poor display on Sunday afternoon saw him overtaken and left behind by Rahm. A sensational 65 from Phil Mickelson tied him at eight-under-par, with Koepka eventually signing for a closing 75.

Cameron Smith rallied the LIV troops pre-tournament by saying they need to play well, and the Aussie, Champion Golfer of the Year at St Andrews last July, looked like he was going to do his part with a two-under-par 70 on Thursday but his challenge fell away over the final three days.

A total of four LIV players finished under par, with 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed posting an impressive T4th finish at seven-under and Joaquin Niemann at two-under in T16th.

There were 18 LIV players in the field starting the week, but only 16 completed two weather-delayed rounds after Kevin Na withdrew following his front nine due to illness and Louis Oosthuizen also withdrew on Saturday. An impressive 12 LIV players made the Masters cut.

Take a look at the final LIV Golf leaderboard below to see how they got on in the 87th Masters...

LIV Players' scores at the 2023 Masters:

• -8 Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson (T2)
• -7 Patrick Reed (T4)
• -2 Joaquin Niemann (T16)
• +1 Harold Varner III (T29)
• +4 Cameron Smith, Talor Gooch (T34)
• +5 Abraham Ancer (T39)
• +6 Mito Pereira (T43)
• +8 Thomas Pieters, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel (T48)
• MISSED THE CUT:
• +4 Bryson DeChambeau
• +7 Sergio Garcia
• +8 Jason Kokrak
• +9 Bubba Watson 
• WD Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen

Tiger Woods has withdrawn from The Masters after "reaggravating" his plantar fasciitis foot injury.

"I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis. Thank you to the fans and to @TheMasters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today!"

The Masters released a statement on Sunday morning simply saying: "Due to injury, Tiger Woods has officially withdrawn from the Masters after completing seven holes of his third round."

A clip of Woods limping badly at Augusta went viral on social media, with the American clearly struggling with his injured right leg and foot in the cold, wet weather players were faced with.

Woods still had 11 holes of his third round to complete and then another 18 of the final round, meaning he faced the prospect of 29 holes at Augusta on Sunday - all the while he was in last position at nine-over-par.

His third round got off to a nightmare start with two bogeys and then back-to-back double bogeys on the 15th and 16th, having started on the back nine, dropped him to six-over for his first seven holes and +9 for the tournament.

Earlier in the day, the 15-time Major champion equalled the record for most consecutive cuts made at The Masters - with 23 in a row, dating back to 1997. That means he has still never missed a cut at Augusta in his professional career.

He is the third player to withdraw from the 2023 Masters after Kevin Na and Louis Oosthuizen.

It's his second withdrawal at a Major in the last 12 months, after he pulled out of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills last May in similar circumstances. He battled bravely to make the cut but pulled out after a nine-over-par 79 in the third round.

That resulted in him missing June's US Open before returning at the 150th Open at St Andrews in July, where he comfortably missed the cut and emotionally crossed the Swilcan Bridge for potentially the last time in his playing career.

Wherever he is in the world right now, Greg Norman is probably having a little chuckle to himself. The LIV Golf CEO never misses an opportunity to big up his players – so be sure to keep an eye on the outspoken Australian's Twitter account, because the irony is, after 36 holes have finally been played here at the 2023 Masters, 54 players will be competing over the weekend.

For anyone who has been living under a rock this past year, LIV is the controversial Saudi-backed rival Tour that’s turned the world of golf on its head. As the second round of the 2023 Masters finally got completed in heavy rain on Saturday, 54 players made the cut – ironic given that 54 is LIV in Roman numerals (they play 54 holes).

There has been plenty of mud flying back and forth between players and supporters of every circuit around the world, with some of those playing on the traditional Tours, where 72-hole strokeplay is the norm, poking fun at the 54-hole tournaments and the fact that only 48 players compete. 

Norman has become very vocal in relentlessly backing his LIV Golf team, and the fact that 54 players remain at Augusta National probably won't be lost on him. In total, 18 LIV Golf players teed it up at the start of the week for the 87th Masters. With the top 50 and ties making it through, the first to miss out was Kevin Na, who withdrew after just nine holes of round one due to illness.

Louis Oosthuizen, who lost in a playoff to Bubba Watson in 2012, joined Na, pulling out with just one hole of round two remaining, citing injury. Of the remaining 16, another four failed to make the cut, which fell at three over. Among them were two previous Masters champions in Watson and Sergio Garcia. Meanwhile, Jason Kokrak and Bryson DeChambeau went home early.

At the other end of the leaderboard, LIV golfer Brooks Koepka stormed into the halfway lead with two classy rounds (65 and 67) to give him a two-shot advantage over Spain’s Jon Rahm heading into the third round.

Greg Norman, who did not receive an invitation to The Masters, said the LIV contingent would storm the final green if one of them triumphed this week, and with Koepka in prime position to add to his Major haul of four, that remains a very real possibility.

Phil Mickelson, who boldly predicted that he’s “close to going on a tear” after the conclusion of his second round, is the next best-placed LIV golfer on the Masters leaderboard at four-under-par, the same score as fellow LIV player, Joaquin Niemann. In total, 12 LIV players made the Masters cut.

The 2023 Masters was one of the most highly anticipated in recent memory, as players from LIV Golf and the traditional tours came together for the first time since last year's Open in July. 

With golfers from the breakaway circuit still banned from the PGA Tour, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley confirmed in December of last year that he wouldn't be imposing any bans for the first men's Major of the year. 

In a statement, Ridley said: "Regrettably, recent actions have divided men's professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it. Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honour the tradition of bringing together a pre-eminent field of golfers this coming April.

"Therefore, as invitations are sent this week, we will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament."

That left the way clear for LIV's six past Masters champions - Phil Mickelson, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson - and an additional 12 players who qualified via other criteria. But how many of the 18 LIV golfers made the Masters cut?

With the top 50 and ties making it through, the first to miss out was Kevin Na, who withdrew after just nine holes of round one due to illness. Louis Oosthuizen, who lost in a playoff to Watson in 2012, joined Na, pulling out with just one hole of round two remaining, citing injury.

Of the remaining 16, another four failed to make the cut, which fell at +3. Among them were two previous winners in Watson and Garcia. Jason Kokrak and Bryson DeChambeau were the other LIV players to miss out.

At the other end of the leaderboard, Brooks Koepka not only made the cut but leads at the halfway mark after two stunning rounds of 65 and 67 got him to 12-under and two clear of Jon Rahm heading into the third round.

The breakaway circuit's CEO Greg Norman said the LIV contingent would storm the final green if one of them clinched the Green Jacket, so that remains a very real possibility. In total 12 LIV players made the Masters cut.

Which LIV Golf players made the 2023 Masters cut?

LIV golfers to make the cut:

Brooks Koepka (-12)
Phil Mickelson (-4)
Joaquin Niemann (-4)
Patrick Reed (-3)
Cameron Smith (-2)
Harold Varner III (-1)
Dustin Johnson (-1)
Abraham Ancer (-1)
Mito Pereira (E)
Talor Gooch (+2)
Charl Schwartzel (+3)
Thomas Pieters (+3)

LIV golfers to miss the cut:

Bryson DeChambeau (+4)
Sergio Garcia (+7)
Jason Kokrak (+8)
Bubba Watson (+8)
Louis Oosthuizen (WD)
Kevin Na (WD)

Louis Oosthuizen's venture for a second Major title goes on after the South African withdrew from The Masters with injury. He had been seven-over-par at the time, with the likelihood of making the cut virtually impossible, especially as Oosthuizen had just one hole left to complete.

It now means the 40-year-old is the second LIV golfer to withdraw from the tournament, with Kevin Na backing out after just nine holes on Thursday, citing illness. The two also join Will Zalatoris, who didn't even get to tee off at Augusta National because of injury.

Firing a first round 76, the South African shot a four-over-par front nine to sit at eight-over-par for the tournament. Another bogey followed at the 11th, with the 2010 Open champion making back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th.

After parring the 17th, he and the other remaining golfers on the course were then met with the hooter as play was suspended for the day due to the inclement weather. With golfers set to return at 8.00am on Saturday morning, Oosthuizen withdrew because of injury, meaning he won't be joining playing partners Kevin Kisner and Adrian Meronk on the 18th.

Making his 14th appearance in the event, Oosthuizen in fact withdrew from the tournament last year with injury. That time he was playing with Tiger Woods and Joaquin Niemann, with the 40-year-old also firing a four-over round during the first day back in 2022!

His best result at The Masters came in 2012, when he made it to a playoff against Bubba Watson. That day, he lost via an incredible shot from Watson on the par 4 10th.

It's not the first time that the injury bug has plagued Oosthuizen though. Back in November 2021, he withdrew from the PGA Tour's RSM Classic and, since the LIV Golf Invitational event in Tuscon, he has been seen wearing a pad on his right elbow, which could be the main cause of his withdrawal. 

The narrative heading into this week's Masters is that LIV Golf players don't play 'real' golf and they'll be far too rusty to compete for the fabled Green Jacket.

That simply can't be true.

Cameron Smith has admitted that LIV fields are weaker but has hit out at the claims they don't play real golf.

The controversial league does play just 54-holes and players don't have to worry about missing a cut with the added peace of mind that they'll be picking up at least $120,000 in prize money no matter how they play. 

Playing that format vs big, designated PGA Tour events where you must make the cut to cover your expenses around the likes of Riviera and Bay Hill is obviously not as taxing, but you can't rule out the LIV players purely based on the format that they've been playing for less than a year.

The quality of players the league has signed up since June has been fairly remarkable, with the likes of Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, Abraham Ancer and Joaquin Niemann all capable of winning on any given week around any given golf course.

DJ won The Masters in 2020, Smith won The Players and the 150th Open last year among others, Reed won the 2018 Masters and took McIlroy all the way at the Dubai Desert Classic in January, Koepka sounds like he's fit again and motivated to go back to winning Majors like he was doing between 2017-2019, Abraham Ancer won a WGC just over 18 months ago and Joaquin Niemann opened the week 63-63 to win the Genesis Invitational round Riviera last February.

They're six of the league's 'best' players right now and it wouldn't be a surprise to see any of them contending on Sunday afternoon.

Of course there's also 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who looks well out of form to be fair, Mito Pereira who almost won the PGA Championsip last year, seven-time DP World Tour winner Thomas Pieters and plenty of other talented and winning golfers who could surprise people this week.

Will a LIV player win The Masters? It's probably unlikely but certainly not out of the equation. A good amount of them will inevitably miss the cut but to simply rule them all out is naive.

Which 18 LIV players are in the field this week?

• Abraham Ancer
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Sergio Garcia
• Talor Gooch
• Dustin Johnson
• Brooks Koepka
• Jason Kokrak
• Phil Mickelson
• Kevin Na
• Joaquin Niemann
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Mito Pereira
• Thomas Pieters
• Patrick Reed
• Charl Schwartzel
• Cameron Smith
• Harold Varner III
• Bubba Watson

Anticipation is at fever pitch ahead of the first men's Major of the year. The Masters tee times have been announced, with some star-studded groupings set to descend upon Augusta National.

Also announced were the four three-balls that would be included in the featured group coverage for round one, and they were perhaps most notable for those who weren't included.

It could be coincidence, of course, as the green jackets have remained fairly quiet on the ongoing divide in the men's game, but the four groups on Thursday are bereft of a single LIV Golf player.

Instead, they are made up of PGA Tour stalwarts, led by Tiger Woods as he makes his second start of the year alongside Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele at 10.18am local time (3.18pm BST)

Thursday's featured groups are:

10.18am EDT/3.18pm BST: Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele
10.42am EDT/3.42pm BST: Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Cameron Young
1.36pm EDT/6.36pm BST: Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Sam Bennett
2.00pm EDT/6.00pm BST: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau

As picked up on by No Laying Up, in each of the last three Masters tournaments, multiple players who since went on to join the breakaway circuit have been part of the featured group coverage from the famous Georgia venue.

In 2022, LIV's Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and James Piot all made the grade, while in previous years, the likes of Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith have also been included.

Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley confirmed members of the Greg Norman-fronted tour who qualified for The Masters would be allowed to tee it up at the men's season-opening Major, but added he was "disappointed" by recent developments.

"Regrettably, recent actions have divided men's professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it" Ridley said. "Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honour the tradition of bringing together a pre-eminent field of golfers this coming April."

Open champion Smith was given a press conference slot and it remains to be seen whether he or any of his colleagues form part of Friday's featured group coverage.

LIV Golf Orlando 2023 Live Stream

LIV Golf is back for a second season in 2023 with the Saudi-backed venture looking to gain momentum heading into the 3rd event in Florida.

There will be many a keen eye on this week's event, as it is surely the one that holds the highest amount of intrigue so far, as it plays out just one week before the 2023 US Masters. Can Masters favorites like Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson find form at the right time?

It is hosted at the Crooked Cat Course at Orange County National which has not been used in a PGA Tour event, but it did host PGA Tour Q-School in 2007, where both Dustin Johnson and Brendan Steele competed.

It is a course that features elevation changes throughout, and the contoured fairways and larger-than-average greens help give it a links course feel.

Last time out Danny Lee won LIV Golf Tuscon as the New Zealander beat Carlos Ortiz, Louis Oosthuizen, and Brendan Steele in a playoff, to capture his first LIV title, on just his second start. Team Fireballs, captained by Sergio Garcia won the team event. This win was built on on Carlos Ortiz's T2 finish and Garcia's 9th-place effort.

For those of you unaware, LIV Golf features 54-hole competitions, which includes 48 players competing in 12 teams of four with shotgun starts. So then, how do you watch it? The schedule and streaming details are below. 

• 31 March-2 April Orange County National, Orlando, United States
• 21-23 April Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, Australia
• 28-30 April Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
• 12-14 May Cedar Ridge Country Club, Tulsa, United States
• 26-28 May Trump National Golf Club, Washington DC, United States
• 30 June-2 July Real Club Valderrama, Sotogrande, Andalucia, Spain
• 7-9 July Centurion Club, St Albans, UK
• 4-6 August Old White Golf Course, Greenbrier, United States
• 11-13 August Trump National Bedminster, United States
• 22-24 September Rich Harvest Farms, Chicago, United States
• 20-22 October Trump National Doral, United States
• 3-5 November Royal Greens Golf Course, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

How to watch LIV Golf

LIV has signed a TV deal with The CW network in the United States. The first round of action will be available on The CW App and you will need to subscribe to watch, and to download the app of course. The second and third rounds will be available on The CW, as well as the app.

The CW network is only available in the United States but to get around this geo-blocking we recommend taking a look at a VPN below because it allows you to watch, regardless of where you are in the world. 

For viewers outside of the US, LIV can be streamed for free on the newly-launched LIV Golf Plus app and LIVGolfPlus.com website.

LIV Golf Orlando 2023 Live Stream: How to watch from outside your country

There are loads of easy ways to watch golf in 2023, including in the US, UK and almost anywhere else in the world. As we mentioned above, the CW Network will broadcast the LIV event but, for anyone away from their home country, you can still watch the action by using VPNs.

VPNs allow you to get around any geo-blocking and let you watch the same legal, high-quality golf live stream you would at home.

ExpressVPN is one of the best out there. It's easy to use, boasts strong security features, is very easy to setup and is compatible with most major streaming devices, including the  Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox and PlayStation.

Best of all, ExpressVPN comes with a 30 day money-back guarantee. This is the #1 rated VPN in the world right now. You can try it out for a month for free or sign up for an annual plan and get 3 months absolutely free.

We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example

1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service) 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad

We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. 

Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing. 

Even though Masters champions can, in theory, play in the Major for life, there had been some doubt as to whether that would apply to LIV Golf players in 2023.

That question was finally answered in the months before the tournament when Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley confirmed LIV Golf players would be allowed to compete in the first Major of the year.

While that opened the door for 18 LIV Golf players to compete in 2023, six of those do so thanks to their previous victories in the tournament. Here's how they wrote their names into the history books.

Phil Mickelson – 2004, 2006, 2010

The LIV Golf player whose name is most synonymous with The Masters is Phil Mickelson. In fact, so regular had the American’s appearances been in the tournament that, even though he was mired in controversy at the time, it came as some surprise when, in 2022, he missed the tournament for the first time in 28 years.

Mickelson has worn the Green Jacket three times, first in 2004 after edging out South African Ernie Els by one shot after holing an 18-foot birdie on the 72nd hole. While Lefty failed to claim back-to-back victories after finishing 10th the following year, it wasn’t too long until he won again. In 2006, Mickelson had risen to the top of the leaderboard by the end of the third round and eased to a two-shot victory over Tim Clark despite bogeying the final hole.

The following three years brought a tie for 25th, a tie for fifth and an outright fifth before Mickelson claimed his hat-trick of Augusta National victories in 2010. Then, he beat another player who would eventually sign for LIV Golf, Lee Westwood, by three shots after pulling away from the Englishman on the back nine in the final round.

Charl Schwartzel – 2011

The year after Mickelson’s most recent Masters win, Charl Schwartzel claimed the title in only his second appearance in the tournament. The final round was a rollercoaster affair, with eight players sharing the lead at various points. However, Schwartzel came out on top, helped by an eagle on the third and four birdies to close out his round of 66. 

Schwartzel became the third South African to wear the Green Jacket after Gary Player and Trevor Immelman. He came close again in 2017 but eventually had to settle for third behind Justin Rose and another eventual LIV Golf player, Sergio Garcia.

Bubba Watson – 2012, 2014

Schwartzel couldn’t replicate the previous year’s form in the 2012 tournament, finishing tied for 50th. Still, another eventual LIV Golf player, Bubba Watson, claimed his first Major win after beating Louis Oosthuizen – who would also one day play on the circuit – in a playoff. Watson had been in contention throughout the tournament and eventually slugged it out with Oosthuizen and Matt Kuchar over the final round. After Oosthuizen and Watson edged out Kuchar to head for a playoff, Watson took the honours after his opponent narrowly missed out on a par on the second hole.

Two years later, Watson was at it again. As in 2012, he was solid throughout and after a to and fro with Jordan Spieth on the front nine of the final round, he opened up a two-shot lead, which eventually became three, as he closed out the victory, leaving Spieth and Swede Jonas Blixt having to settle for a tie for second.

Sergio Garcia – 2017

It took Spaniard Garcia 19 attempts to win his first Masters, but he finally achieved the feat three years after Watson’s most recent win with a defeat of Justin Rose in a playoff. The final round was not without controversy, with some TV viewers thinking Garcia’s ball moved while he removed some pine straw on the 13th. Masters Officials looked into the incident but determined there would be no penalty, and eventually, he defeated Rose after a birdie at the first playoff hole. 

That was Garcia’s only Major win to date, and he hasn’t come close to a second Masters title since, missing three out of four cuts in his five appearances between that win and the 2023 tournament.

Patrick Reed – 2018

One year after Garcia, another future LIV Golf player, Patrick Reed, claimed his only Major win to date. After taking a two-shot lead into the third round, the American strengthened his grip on the title thanks to a round of 67. That included four birdies and two eagles on the Saturday to head into the final day with a three-shot lead over career Grand Slam-chasing Rory McIlroy. 

Reed was not nearly as assured on the Sunday, hitting a round of 71 that included three bogeys, but it proved just enough to hold off the challenge of Rickie Fowler by one shot.

Dustin Johnson – 2020

Dustin Johnson had already come close to winning The Masters before finally getting over the line in 2020. The American had amassed four top-10 finishes, including a tie for second the year before, which made an Augusta National triumph seem like an inevitability at some point. 

Johnson got off to a blistering start with a round of 65 to leave him tied for the lead with Paul Casey and Dylan Frittelli. Then, a round of 70 saw him share the lead with four others going into the third day. Another 65 saw him ease into a four-shot lead that had become five by the end of the tournament. Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith were left trailing in his wake as Johnson claimed his second and, so far, most recent Major.

It is time for the third LIV Golf event of the season, as LIV Golf Orlando takes places in Orange County National in Orlando.

There will be many a keen eye on this week's event, as it is surely the one that holds the highest amount of intrigue so far, as it plays out just one week before the 2023 US Masters.

Can Masters favorites like Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson find form at the right time? Will any of the 18 LIV Golfer in the field next week make an impact on the final leaderboard? Form this week in Orlando may well dictate that, as the best players look for both form and confidence ahead of the biggest event of the year.

Let's find out whether next week's major has any impact on our 2023 LIV Golf Orlando selections, or whether we will be looking to other players for this week's winner.

Before we get into our picks for the LIV Golf Orlando event, make sure to take a moment to check out these outstanding new customer offers. With these sportsbook promotions, you can secure guaranteed returns and a $150 Moneyline boost, or you can use one of the HUGE first bet offers, to wager with more confidence on your LIV Golf selections this week.

LIV Golf Orlando Format

The format will remain the same as it does in all the other events on the LIV Golf League, as each of the 48 players tees it up for 54 holes of strokeplay, which contributes to both an Individual and Team leaderboard. 

Even if you are a player out of the running on Sunday, you will still want to shoot the lowest round of the day, so that your team can push forward in the team leaderboard, and potentially win the team event for the week.

Who Has Won on the LIV Golf League This Season?

Charles Howell III won the first event of the season at LIV Golf Mayakoba, and his team Crushers GC also won the Team Event. Howell III winning the event, and Paul Casey (4th) finishing high up on the leaderboard as well, secured this win.

Danny Lee won the second event of the LIV Golf League season, as the New Zealander beat Carlos Ortiz, Louis Oosthuizen, and Brendan Steele in a playoff, to capture his first LIV title, on just his second start.

Team Fireballs, captained by Sergio Garcia won the team event. This win was built on on Carlos Ortiz's T2 finish and Garcia's 9th-place effort.

LIV Golf Orlando Course Preview

• Par 71
• 7,297 Yards

Crooked Cat is a course that features elevation changes throughout, and the contoured fairways and larger-than-average greens help give it a links course feel.

The wind can get up in Orlando, so whilst we may not see typical conditions you might expect in an Open Championship in England or Scotland, the same sort of creativity may be needed with approach shots, and around the greens in particular.

The Champions Bermuda greens will be a familiar putting surface for most here in Orlando, and those that have putted particularly well on that type of surface over the years on the PGA Tour may well prosper.

This course has most recently been used on the Korn Ferry Tour, back in 2020, but before that, it hosted PGA Tour Q School in 2007.

LIV Golf Orlando Key Stats

• Greens in Regulation - Hitting greens regularly this week in Orlando will be key, especially as there are several different ways to approach this test. As long as you have a clean lie with your second shot, or third, on some par 5's, hitting greens regularly should be achievable here.
• Putting Average - Making putts is always the order of the day, but a good week with the flat stick looks particularly important here.
• Links Form - This isn't a quantifiable stat, but form on links courses should stand up well here, based on the description of this week's Crooked Cat Course, at Orange County National

Has the Crooked Cat Course at Orange County National Been Used on the PGA Tour?

The Crooked Cat Course at Orange County National has not been used in a PGA Tour event, but it did host PGA Tour Q-School in 2007, where both Dustin Johnson and Brendan Steele competed.

Johnson secured his Tour Card with a T14 finish here that year.

That event was too long ago to be a factor, but one player who has played here more recently is Mito Pereira, who played the 2020 Orange County National Championship here in 2020. That event was on the Korn Ferry Tour, and the Chilean finished T38.

LIV Golfers Who Need to Find Form Ahead of Next Week's US Masters

The following players will be heading to Augusta National for the 2023 US Masters next week and will be desperate to put in a good performance this week in Orlando, so they are sharp for the first major of the season.

• Abraham Ancer
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Sergio Garcia
• Talor Gooch
• Dustin Johnson
• Brooks Koepka
• Jason Kokrak
• Phil Mickelson
• Kevin Na
• Joaquin Niemann
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Mito Peirera
• Thomas Pieters
• Patrick Reed
• Charl Schwartzel
• Cameron Smith
• Harold Varner
• Bubba Watson

LIV Golf Orlando Picks and Predictions: Outright Winner

Louis Oosthuizen +2800 (Bet $100 to collect $2,900) The best odds for this Louis Oosthuizen pick are at Bet365

One player who will be keen to prove his form ahead of next week's US Masters is Louis Oosthuizen. 

Oosthuizen is a one-time major winner, at the 2010 Open Championship, and he's finished runner-up in every major since.

In 2012, the South African was tied with Bubba Watson by the end of regulation play, and the two played two sudden-death holes, before Watson pulled off a miracle shot from the famous pine straw, to get the win.

Oosthuizen has never been as good at Augusta again, but he is incredibly consistent at the US Masters, making the cut in 8 of his 10 starts there since his runner-up finish. Seven of those eight starts saw him finish T29 or better, with a best finish of T12 in 2018.

So why can he win this week? Well firstly, he is coming off a playoff last time out at LIV Golf Tuscon. That effort showed his game is in good enough form to contend on a suitable course, and the Crooked Cat Course could be exactly that! He loves Links Golf, which could be a factor at Orange County National, and given his effort last time out, and his desire to play well in what could be his last Masters, Oosthuizen should be as driven as ever to succeed this week.

Peter Uihlein +3000 (Bet $100 to collect $3100) The best odds for this Peter Uihlein pick are at Bet365

Peter Uihlein has finished 2nd in three of his past five starts on LIV, and he also finished 10th last time out in Tuscon.

Uihlein was faring better at the start of the week in Arizona, ranking 5th after round one, and despite slipping away after a tough Saturday, the in-form American found his way back inside the top 10, after a final round 68.

Uihlein's team, the 4 Aces are leading the way in the Team Standings, having finished runner-up in both events and now the Orlando resident will be looking to win for the first time on the LIV Tour and reward his team its first win of the season.

Until he shows signs of struggling, Uihlein should be someone kept on your LIV Golf betting radar, as he continues to show form week in and week out.

There have been plenty of examples of LIV Golf players slipping down the Official World Golf Ranking in recent months, but few highlight the issue more than the latest drop for Sergio Garcia.

That's because the former World No.2 has now fallen out of the top 150 for the first time since 6 June 1999, and currently stands at World No.153. 

Even when Garcia first teed it up on the circuit as part of its original intake, there seemed little danger he would suffer such a precipitous drop given he was World No.57 at that point. However, despite trying several approaches, LIV Golf has failed to break the impasse that sees it unable to offer its players world ranking points.

Meanwhile, in the nine months since Garcia joined the project he has only taken part in six ranking events elsewhere. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he largely struggled in those tournaments, with his only top-10 finish coming in the most recent, February’s International Series Oman on the Asian Tour, where he tied for fifth. That has meant Garcia’s proud run in the top 150 has come to an end after almost 24 years, a period that featured 11 PGA Tour wins including his 2017 Masters victory. 

The news follows similar dramatic drops in the world rankings for other LIV Golf players, including Brooks Koepka, who recently fell out of the top 100 after a spell of almost 10 years. Before him, Bryson DeChambeau dropped out of the top 100 in February and is now also on the verge of following Garcia out of the top 150 after a fall of six places last week to World No.149. Meanwhile, former World No.4 Louis Oosthuizen is now languishing at World No.112.

With a packed LIV Golf schedule in 2023, opportunities for Garcia and other LIV Golf players to move back up the rankings are limited. However, at least Garcia has a chance to climb back up the world rankings soon. Thanks to that win at Augusta National six years ago, he is eligible to appear in the first Major of the year.

Gary Player is never one to shy away from saying what he is thinking, with the nine-time Major winner regularly voicing his views and opinions. Now, in an interview with the Daily Mail, the 87-year-old has voiced his thoughts on LIV Golf, specifically their CEO, Greg Norman, with Player believing Norman has a "vendetta" against the PGA Tour.

Stating that "I don’t like 54-hole tournaments, nor the team side of it," Player then claimed in the interview that "Greg (Norman) has basically had a vendetta against the PGA Tour for a long time," with the South African adding "he wanted to start a world tour (in the Nineties) and was deprived of it. He’s been a bit bitter about that."

Both men are part of the World Golf Hall of Fame and, according to Player, he "gets on very well with Greg," but added, "I think he has let it (vendetta) creep into some of these decisions, which I think is a pity."

Over the past 12 months, the South African has voiced his thoughts on LIV Golf on multiple occasions. Back in June 2022, Player said that "I don't blame them for playing there (LIV). There's not a lot of them who can win on their regular Tour anymore, so they are wisely taking the money."

Six months later, he then called for the PGA Tour to wave their white flag and end their feud with LIV Golf, with Player now reiterating the claims he made late last year. "I don’t blame those who went,’ he says. ‘Most who left do not believe they can win on the regular tour any more. Louis Oosthuizen is probably the finest gentleman I’ve met in golf and he’s never won a tournament in America, so of course he’s going to take their money. Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith, I was surprised they took the money but that’s their choice."

Currently, LIV players aren't allowed to feature in PGA Tour events, with bans being put in place for those who jumped to the Saudi-backed league. Prior to the WGC Match Play in Austin, it was reported that several LIV Golf players, including Patrick Reed, had been denied the chance to play in the tournament.

According to Player, this is correct, with the 87-year-old stating "I believe once you’ve decided that’s your tour, you should not be allowed to come back and play regular tournaments." However, he later added that "the freedom to choose is important. The thing that irks me is it’s become a damn war. (I) Can’t stand it."

LIV Golf player Anirban Lahiri has moved two places up the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to retain his place in the top 100.

Lahiri spent two weeks outside the world’s top 100 in November. However, helped by two appearances on the Asian Tour and one on the Professional Golf Tour of India, which offer OWGR points, he’s clambered back above that threshold in recent months. Still, the most recent of those tournaments came in February’s Saudi International, so it’s a surprise that he has jumped two places in this week's rankings to World No.97.  

Given the paucity of opportunities for LIV Golf players to accumulate points, particuarly considering the circuit’s packed 2023 schedule and the fact that Lahiri is one of its players unlikely to be in the field for next month's Masters, it seems inevitable that his next spell beneath the top 100 will arrive sooner rather than later.

That has already happened to three more players following last week’s news that former World No.1 Brooks Koepka had also fallen out of the top 100 after almost 10 years. Marc Leishman had a relatively strong performance in the LIV Golf Tuscon event, finishing tied for 13th, but, thanks to its ineligibility for the points, it didn’t improve his position. Instead, the Australian fell six places to World No.101.

Another player now outside the top 100 is Paul Casey, who has suffered a fall of eight places to World No.102. That is in stark contrast to the position of World No.26 he held when he joined LIV Golf last July. Finally, Louis Oosthuizen has fallen four places to World No.104 just one year after he was ranked World No.14.

LIV Golf has been embroiled in a long-running battle secure eligibility for the points, with 50 of its players signing a letter to OWGR chairman Peter Dawson urging the organisation to rule in its favour and a strategic alliance with the developmental MENA Tour among its efforts to resolve the situation. However, more of its players are likely to slip further down the rankings than move up them as that fight continues.

Sergio Garcia has called Fred Couples' 'clown' comment directed towards him as "disappointing."

Couples last week called Phil Mickelson a "nutbag" and voiced his annoyance at “all these other clowns, like Sergio (Garcia)” who complained about the PGA Tour before joining LIV.

Garcia responded to Couples' comments at this weekend's LIV Golf League tournament in Tucson, Arizona, where his Fireballs GC team won their second title.

“It's what it is,” he told Sports Illustrated.  It's disappointing because I don't know where he's going with this.

"But it's Freddy so he can say whatever he wants and then we can say whatever we want. I think at the end of the day his life is his life and my life in this case is my life.

"So, I don't think he should comment on what me or any of these other guys should have done because we didn't tell him what he had to do. Even if I wasn't [happy with joining LIV], it’s my problem, not his.”

Garcia and Couples will be meeting face-to-face next month at the Masters Champions Dinner, with Couples winning his Green Jacket in 1992 and Garcia in 2017.

The LIV golfer says he has no problems with anyone and isn't expecting any awkwardness at the traditional Tuesday evening dinner during Masters week.

"I'm going to feel fine," he said, adding "I don't have any problems with anyone, and I try not to make a big deal out of it. I'm going to be there because I earned it, because I deserve it, and I'm going to enjoy it. I hope the rest of the guys do the same."

Garcia may also run into Rory McIlroy during Masters week, whom he has has a public fallout with following his move to LIV Golf.

The Spaniard said McIlroy was "lacking maturity" after the Northern Irishman confirmed there was "no way" the former Ryder Cup partners could rekindle.

Garcia captained the Fireballs to their second tournament win this weekend in Tucson after victory in Bangkok last year. Mexico's Carlos Ortiz lost in the individual playoff, with Garcia finishing two strokes shy of the nine-under-par total scored by Ortiz, Louis Oosthuizen, Brendan Steele and eventually winner Danny Lee - who took home a check of $4m.

The next LIV event takes place in Orlando, Florida at Orange County National in the week prior to The Masters.

Whilst Taylor Moore was picking up his first PGA Tour trophy, it was Danny Lee who secured a first LIV Golf title in style, with the 32-year-old overcoming a four-man playoff that included Carlos Ortiz, Louis Oosthuizen and Brendan Steele.

As the final day got underway, Marc Leishman held a two shot lead over Sergio Garcia, as the Australian looked to win his first title on the LIV circuit. However, Leishman faltered badly on Sunday, as a five-over-par final round dropped him all the way down into a share of 13th place.

With Leishman struggling, it was the season opening winner, Charles Howell III, who took the early advantage, with the American coming out of the blocks on fire as he birdied four of his opening six holes.

However, Howell's advantage was soon reduced to one, as a triple bogey-birdie run put him just ahead of a congested leaderboard. Not long after the dropped shots, his lead was wiped out altogether with just a handful of holes remaining.

As Howell struggled, Oosthuizen took the initiative and, with six holes to go, he held a two shot lead over Howell and recent LIV signing, Steele. Looking to win his first LIV title, the former Champion Golfer of the Year began to suffer, with three dropped shots meaning he fell one back of a three-way tie for first. These included Ortiz, Lee and Steele.

Miraculously though, Oosthuizen mustered up a clutch birdie at the 54th hole, with a four-man playoff set to grace our screens in Tucson. At the first hole, it was Ortiz who bowed out, with the Mexican producing a bogey that cost him a shot at a possible maiden win. It's worth noting that it was a great effort from Ortiz, who had started eight shots back off the lead going into the final day.

Three remained then and, after all hit their approach shots into the 18th, it was Lee who held the advantage. However, the New Zealander couldn't convert a very makeable birdie putt to wrap up the $4 million first prize.

As we headed up the 18th for a third time, there was no such mistake from Lee this time around, with his putt from just off the edge of the green smacking the pin and dropping in for an extremely unlikely birdie. In the process, the 32-year-old picked up his first LIV Golf title in just his second start.

The Masters is always the most eagerly-awaited of the four Majors given it’s the first of the year, but with PGA Tour and LIV Golf starts colliding at Augusta National this year it seems even more significant.

All four Majors will allow LIV golfers to play if they fit the qualifying criteria, which means we’ll get the best of the best all competing against each other around one of golf’s most iconic venues.

Some have said that playing in the LIV Golf format, with a 54-hole competition and shotgun start, will be a disadvantage – a theory dismissed by previous Masters champion Phil Mickelson.

Overall, 18 players from LIV Golf have qualified for the 2023 Masters and for some of them the pressure will be on as it could be their last trip down Magnolia Lane for a while.

With LIV Golf still not getting Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, players who qualified via being in the top 50 at the end of last year will really struggle to get in next year unless something changes.

So, unless they win a Major they otherwise qualify for in the meantime, this year could be their last time playing for that coveted Green Jacket.

That means a huge amount of pressure will be on the nine LIV players who are included in the 2023 Masters field, but could be playing for the last time if they don’t perform well enough.

The players under pressure are Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters and Mito Pereira.

A way these players can earn a return to the Masters next year is if they bank a top-12 finish at Augusta National in this year’s event – or if they finish in the top four in one of the other three Majors.

Of the other LIV Golf stars – six have won the Masters, so they will be able to play in the event for life – meaning Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel never have to worry about having to qualify again.

Major champions Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka get five-year exemptions into all the other Majors so will get invites until 2027, 2025 and 2024 respectively.

Brooks Koepka has become the latest LIV Golf star to drop out of the world's top 100.

The four-time Major champion was World No.1 as recent as February 2020 but a little over three years later he has dropped to No.102 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Since joining LIV Golf in June, Koepka has played in just three OWGR sanctioned events - the 150th Open, the Saudi International and the International Series Oman. He dropped out of the top 50 in December and now finds himself out of the top 100 for the first time since September 2013.

A number of other LIV players have seen the same fate as Koepka recently, with 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau sliding out of the top 100 last month for the first time in five-and-a-half years. DeChambeau currently sits at No.131.

Louis Oosthuizen currently finds himself ranked 100th in world, having been inside the top 100 every week since January 2009. Anirban Lahiri, number 99, is also in danger of sliding out very soon. Paul Casey, No.94, is another who looks likely to fall out in the coming weeks, having been in the top 100 since 2014.

Dustin Johnson, who has spent 135 weeks atop the Official World Golf Ranking, the third-most since the ranking's inception in 1986, recently fell out of the top 50 for the first time in 13 years and is currently sat at No.62.

The second event of the LIV Golf League takes place this week in Tucson, Arizona, where once again no world ranking points will be on offer to competitors.

LIV's OWGR fate rests in the hands of the four men's Majors after PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley recused themselves from the Saudi-backed league's ranking application in January.

One of the world’s exclusive tournaments, the Seminole Pro-Member, takes place in its traditional slot the Monday after the Honda Classic, and, like last year, it features more big-name players than the PGA Tour event.

Popular Twitter account The Fried Egg shared the field for this year’s tournament, taking place at Florida’s Seminole Golf Club, one of the best golf courses in Florida. It includes 12 the world’s top 20 male players. That’s nine more than this week’s tournament at PGA National.

World No.4 Patrick Cantlay returns to defend the trophy he won last year. Meanwhile, there is also an appearance from Jon Rahm, who reclaimed the World No.1 position following his win in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club last week. World No.3 Rory McIlroy is competing too, alongside his dad, Gerry, while other members of the world’s top 10 are Xander Schauffele, Max Homa and Justin Thomas.

That's not all, though. More notable names in the field include World No.12 Tony Finau and US Open champion, World No.13 Matt Fitzpatrick, while the three members of the world’s top 20 appearing in this week’s Honda Classic also appear – Sungjae Im, Billy Horschel and Shane Lowry. Cameron Young completes the list of players in the world's top 20 competing.

As well as some of the best present-day players, veterans including Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and captain of the 2022 Presidents Cup International team, Trevor Immelman, participate too.

It’s not just the world’s best men’s players that are represented either. The Honda LPGA Thailand boasted a field with nine of the world top-10 players, with the only absentee being World No.6 Lexi Thompson. After skipping the event at Siam Country Club, she instead tees it up in Florida the day after the LPGA Tour event concluded.

Away from golf, other high-profile figures in the field include businessman Stan Drunkenmiller and NFL legend Tom Brady.

Notable absentees include LIV Golf players, who have not been invited to the two-person team event. So, there’s no room for the likes of Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen, who all competed in 2022.

For the PGA Tour players, the one-day tournament will act as the perfect preparation for another elevated event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which starts on Thursday at Bay Hill.

Ernie Els has expressed his disappointment that South African LIV Golf players didn’t seek his opinion before signing for the circuit.

Speaking at last week’s Chubb Classic on the PGA Tour Champions, Els admitted to the Palm Beach Post that there was no animosity between him and the likes of Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, but said: “We’ve lost that camaraderie, definitely. I’m still friends with them but it’s different.”

Four-time Major winner Els is not only a mentor to many South African players, but also a friend, and he explained he was unhappy players didn't approach him before making the leap to the big-money organisation. He said: “I was disappointed they never asked me my opinion. I had them in the foundation [in South Africa], looked after them as youngsters. They flew with me, they stayed at my house. Kind of nurtured them to get onto the PGA Tour. It just was done in a way I didn’t like.”

Despite that, Els said he could understand the appeal of signing for LIV Golf. He said: “As an international player and living in South Africa, it’s tough to come over here, your family, upend your whole household to join the PGA Tour. So I get that. But for me, no.”

Els also admitted that he was unimpressed with the way that LIV had disrupted the top of the game. He explained: “They have gone about it the wrong way and they’ve really upended a lot of good the game stands for. The whole thing just doesn’t sit right.”

Els explained that he’d also met with officials from LIV Golf before it launched, but that his proposal for it to partner with the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PGA Tour Champions fell on deaf ears. Els said he told them: “We can play around the world and play team golf and get some television network that will buy it and come back to your respective tours and get on with life."

While that suggestion never went any further, Els insisted the idea was worth considering, saying: “I think that would have been a cool way… they didn’t see it that way and they basically showed me the door early on.”

One of the most high-stakes battles LIV Golf is currently involved in is the fight to gain eligibility for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points in its events. Attempts to secure eligibility have included forming a strategic alliance with the developmental MENA Tour and 50 of its players signing a letter addressed to OWGR chairman Peter Dawson stating its case for approval. So far, nothing it has tried has found a breakthrough, and Els thinks he knows why.

He said: “There is no way you can give ranking points. They’re playing team golf. They say it’s all about team golf. How in the hell can you give that any serious consideration? It’s not a stroke-play event, you’re playing a team event with 48 players. There is no way they can get ranking points.”

The 12 team line-ups for the opening tournament of the season, have now been confirmed, with the season beginning on 24 February in Mexico at the El Camaleon Golf Club. One of the teams is the all South African Stinger GC, but it seems unlikely Els will be tuning in to see how they get on. He admitted: “I have not seen one golf shot” of theirs since his compatriots signed for LIV Golf.

LIV Golf has confirmed the line-ups for its remaining four teams just days before the new 14-tournament League begins at El Camaleon Golf Club in Mexico, and with it four new signings.

As had been reported over recent days, Thomas Pieters is the biggest new signing joining last week’s confirmations that Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz had moved to the circuit. The World No.35 will be on Bubba Watson's Range Goats GC, with Harold Varner III and Talor Gooch making up the four. 

Other players signing for LIV Golf are South African PGA Tour rookie Dean Burmester, New Zealander Danny Lee and American Brendan Steele. Confirmation of the latter's involvement marks a significant U-turn on his part considering in December he declared he was not interested in joining the organisation. 

Steele joins after winning three times on the PGA Tour, most recently in 2017’s Safeway Open. The 39-year old will play on Phil Mickelson's all-American Hy Flyers GC along with Cameron Tringale and James Piot after Bernd Wiesberger and Matthew Wolfe made way. 

As for Pieters, there have been indications the DP World Tour pro was becoming disgruntled with the PGA Tour. Last week, he aired his frustration on his failure to qualify for the Genesis Invitational despite his relatively high world ranking.

Pieters described the tournament as his favourite, but it is likely he won’t be appearing on it for the foreseeable future considering his move and subsequent suspension from PGA Tour events. Where he fits into the DP World Tour’s plans is still uncertain. However, the outcome of an arbitration hearing to determine the future of LIV Golf players on the tour is expected in the coming weeks.

Burmester only earned his PGA Tour card for this season before making the decision to defect to the rebel circuit. Since becoming a regular on the Tour, he has had one top-10 finish, in the Sanderson Farms Championship last October. Burmester will play for Louis Oosthuizen's all-South African Stinger GC, which also features Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel. 

Lee has one PGA Tour victory, the 2015 Greenbrier Classic. He will hope to repeat that success at the course this year, which is now a LIV Golf venue. He joins Iron Heads GC alongside captain Kevin Na, Sihwan Kim and Scott Vincent.

All four signings come as a timely boost to LIV Golf after it was dealt a blow with the news that one of its 2022 regulars, Hudson Swafford, will be out for six months due to hip surgery.

Phil Mickelson is set to unveil a new-look LIV Golf team on Friday, with Bernd Wiesberger and Matthew Wolff leaving his Hy Flyers quartet.

The Hy Flyers finished the inaugural season with a line-up of Mickelson, Wiesberger, Wolff and Cameron Tringale, but both Wiesberger and Wolff are no longer part of the team.

Wiesberger has joined Martin Kaymer's Cleeks GC, replacing Laurie Canter, while Matthew Wolff has joined Brooks Koepka's Smash GC, replacing Peter Uihlein.

A total of eight teams have been confirmed for the LIV Golf League that starts next week, with Mickelson's Hy Flyers set to be unveiled on Friday along with Kevin Na's Iron Heads, Bubba Watson's Range GOATs and Louis Oosthuizen's Stinger.

Oosthuizen is reportedly adding a new member to the side in the form of two-time DP World Tour winner and PGA Tour rookie Dean Burmester. The South African is said to be joining his countryman's side according to The Times.

If the report is true, Burmester would be at least the third new signing for LIV in 2023 after South Americans Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz were unveiled as part of Joaquin Niemann's Torque GC team.

Journalist Matias Miguel Torge has also reported that Danny Lee could be joining LIV.

It's unclear as to whether Mickelson will unveil brand new signings to his team or whether other LIV players from last year will join up. As things stand, the likes of Talor Gooch, Laurie Canter, Scott Vincent, Wade Ormsby and Adrian Otaegui have been replaced on their teams so could fill the vacant spots. We'll find out the full LIV roster on Friday.

LIV Golf Teams announced so far...

Torque

• Joaquin Niemann (c)
• Sebastian Munoz
• Mito Pereira
• David Puig

4 Aces

• Dustin Johnson (c)
• Patrick Reed
• Pat Perez
• Peter Uihlein

Smash

• Brooks Koepka
• Chase Koepka
• Jason Kokrak
• Matthew Wolff

Majesticks

• Ian Poulter (co-captain)
• Henrik Stenson (co-captain)
• Lee Westwood (co-captain)
• Sam Horsfield

Crushers

• Bryson DeChambeau (c)
• Paul Casey
• Charles Howell III
• Anirban Lahiri

Cleeks

• Martin Kaymer (c)
• Bernd Wiesberger
• Graeme McDowell
• Richard Bland

Fireballs

• Sergio Garcia (c)
• Abraham Ancer
• Carlos Ortiz
• Eugenio Chacarra

Ripper

• Cameron Smith (c)
• Marc Leishman
• Matt Jones
• Jed Morgan

After earning his PGA Tour card for the first time last year, South Africa's Dean Burmester has signed with LIV Golf according to The Times, with the two-time DP World Tour winner set to join his countrymen on Louis Oosthuizen's Stinger GC team.

The Times' Tom Kershaw reports the news, which, if confirmed, would mean that LIV will have made at least three news signings for the 2023 LIV Golf League launch along with South Americans Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz.

Burmester, the World No.62, earned his 2022/23 PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and has played in eight events so far this PGA Tour season.

He finished 4th in his first start as a PGA Tour member at the Sanderson Farms Championship and has made a total of seven cuts in his eight starts. He is not in the field for this week's Genesis Invitational at Riviera, where Tiger Woods makes his first start on tour since July's 150th Open.

The South African, 33, won his first DP World Tour title at the 2017 Tshwane Open, with his second coming at the 2021 Tenerife Open. He has a further seven wins on the Sunshine Tour, including the 2021 South African PGA Championship.

He has played in six Majors, with his best finish coming at the 150th Open last year where he was T11th.

Burmester is reportedly joining Louis Oosthuizen's Stinger GC, which will likely also feature Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel.

The fourth member of the team alternated last year between Hennie du Plessis and Shaun Norris. If the Times report is true, It's likely that Burmester would replace these two and occupy the fourth spot on the team along with Oosthuizen, Grace and Schwartzel.

The full Stinger GC line-up will be confirmed on Friday, meaning Burmester would be officially announced as a LIV player then.

Seminole, one of the best golf courses in Florida, has taken sides in the LIV Golf and PGA Tour saga by banning LIV players from February’s popular Pro-Member tournament.

The tournament is held on the Monday after the Honda Classic, at nearby PGA National, has finished, and usually attracts a decent field of Tour pros leading to the Pro-Member field looking almost like a regular tournament.

Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas all played in the 2022 edition, with more than a dozen players who later signed with LIV Golf also taking part.

However, Golfweek broke the news that the club has said that all of those LIV golfers would not now be welcome to play in the 2023 Pro-Member event which takes place on the 27th February.

Long-time Seminole president Jimmy Dunne made the decision based on the event being linked to the PGA Tour – who have suspended players who have joined LIV, with some of these also resigning their membership.

“We are doing what we have always done,” Dunne told Golfweek on Thursday. “PGA Tour players get the first priority. This event has always been supported by the PGA Tour. We try to make this a special and unique day for Tour players.”

Dunne played with Dustin Johnson last year and has previously played alongside Phil Mickelson in the two-player team event, but Dunne has recently been appointed to the PGA Tour board so his loyalty must now lie with them.

Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter and Bubba Watson all played last year, along with Louis Oosthuizen who played with seven-time Super Bowl champion and NFL legend Tom Brady as one of the star non-pro golfers in the field.

Dunne says he still has good relationships with many of the players who will not be included in the field this year, but insists that making the decision to join LIV Golf was the blame.

“Candidly, I have a pretty good relationship with most people,” Dunne said. “These guys had a choice to make, but they’ve made it. That’s it. I’m not going to say something nasty about guys who participated in the past.”

Louis Oosthuizen dropped out of the world's top 50 for the first time since 2014 earlier in the month but he'll finish the year just inside to likely earn a Masters invite.

The South African, winner of the 2010 Open at St Andrews, headed home for the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the DP World Tour where a T7th finish was enough to move him back just inside the top 50.

Twitter Official World Golf Ranking guru 'Nosferatu' @VC606 described Oosthuizen's T7 finish as "crucial", with the LIV player set to finish outside of the world's top 50, instead of Daniel Berger, had he not had that result.

Oosthuizen's invitation to The Masters isn't guaranteed as it's officially an 'Invitational' tournament but invites historically go out to all of the world's top 50 players at the end of the prior year.

With the nine-time DP World Tour member being a LIV Golf player there may be some suspicions as to whether players from the Greg Norman-fronted league will be allowed to play, although there has been no indications of that at this time. Invites are set to be sent out in the coming weeks.

Oosthuizen will likely tee it up at Augusta National for the 15th consecutive year, where he'd be joined by past champions from LIV including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia.

Plenty of other LIV Golfers are qualified for upcoming Majors including Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Joaquin Niemann and others. Other LIV players in the top 50, and likely heading for Augusta, include Kevin Na, Jason Kokrak, Harold Varner III and Talor Gooch.

Oosthuizen finished runner-up in the 2012 Masters, where he famously lost to Bubba Watson's incredible hooked wedge on the 10th hole in a playoff. The South African has finished runner-up in all four of the men's Majors.

His last victory on tour came at the 2018 South African Open.

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The DP World Tour season continues with the third of four tournaments co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour.

This week, the action moves to Leopard Creek Country Club in Malalane, South Africa, for the Alfred Dunhill Championship. After Covid-19 restrictions led to the cancellation of last year’s tournament, local player Christiaan Bezuidenhout will attempt to emulate his success of two years ago when he beat four players by four shots to claim the title.

To repeat that success this year, he’ll need to better the performances of several high-profile players in the field, including compatriot Louis Oosthuizen. The 2010 Open winner will be desperate for a strong performance after he slipped out of the world’s top 50 for the first time since 2014 earlier this week. Nevertheless, he has an immediate chance to reclaim his place in the elite group. With the chances of making next year's Masters potentially resting on him finishing the year in the world's top 50, the pressure will be on the LIV Golf player to perform.

Several other LIV Golf players are also in the field, including another quartet of South Africans – Oliver Bekker, Hennie Du Plessis, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace. Schwartzel has won this tournament four times, most recently in 2015, and has had some success this year, too, claiming the first-ever LIV Golf trophy at London’s Centurion Club in June. Meanwhile, 2014 Alfred Dunhill Championship winner Grace took the honours in the second LIV Golf tournament at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, Oregon. Those relatively recent victories, plus their strong records in home-based tournaments, will leave the two confident of victory this week.

Other South Africans hoping to impress in front of their home crowd are 2016 winner Brandon Stone, Thriston Lawrence, who won last week’s South African Open Championship, and veteran former World No.1 Ernie Els, who won the tournament in 2005.

Another LIV Golf player in the field is Spaniard Adrian Otaegui, who won the Andalucia Masters in October, while Englishman Laurie Canter completes the list of players who have competed in the Greg Norman-fronted venture. 

A purse of €1.5m is on offer this week. The winner will earn €255,000, with the runner-up claiming €165,000. Below is the full breakdown of the prize money and field for the 2022 Alfred Dunhill Championship. 

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Alfred Dunhill Championship Prize Money 2022

Alfred Dunhill Championship Field 2022

• Jaco Ahlers
• Thomas Aiken
• Marcus Armitage
• John Axelsen
• Nick Bachem
• Matthew Baldwin
• Oliver Bekker
• Wil Besseling
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• Jacques Blaauw
• Dan Bradbury
• Merrick Bremner
• Christoffer Bring
• Daniel Brown
• Luke Brown
• Dean Burmester
• Jorge Campillo
• Alejandro Cañizares
• Laurie Canter
• Todd Clements
• Aaron Cockerill
• George Coetzee
• Ruan Conradie
• Sean Crocker
• Mj Daffue
• Jens Dantorp
• Keenan Davidse
• Kyle De Beer
• Louis De Jager
• Alejandro Del Rey
• Wynand Dingle
• Cj Du Plessis
• Hennie Du Plessis
• James Hart Du Preez
• Bryce Easton
• Tobias Edén
• Ernie Els
• Philip Eriksson
• Jens Fahrbring
• Stephen Ferreira
• Darren Fichardt
• Pedro Figueiredo
• Ross Fisher
• Grant Forrest
• Simon Forsström
• Jeremy Freiburghaus
• Deon Germishuys
• Branden Grace
• Mateusz Gradecki
• Alex Haindl
• Chase Hanna
• Joachim B Hansen
• Angel Hidalgo
• Ryo Hisatsune
• Keith Horne
• Jean Hugo
• Daan Huizing
• Gary Hurley
• Sam Hutsby
• Scott Jamieson
• Casey Jarvis
• Luke Jerling
• Kristian Krogh Johannessen
• Anton Karlsson
• Nathan Kimsey
• Alexander Knappe
• Jeong Weon Ko
• Ruan Korb
• Gudmundur Kristjansson
• Jbe Kruger
• Thriston Lawrence
• Joshua Lee
• Mikael Lindberg
• Zander Lombard
• Herman Loubser
• Joost Luiten
• Christian Maas
• Tom McKibbin
• Anthony Michael
• Edoardo Molinari
• Niklas Nørgaard Møller
• Pieter Moolman
• James Morrison
• Dylan Mostert
• John Murphy
• Dylan Naidoo
• Lukas Nemecz
• Wilco Nienaber
• Shaun Norris
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Adrian Otaegui
• Matthieu Pavon
• Eddie Pepperell
• Aldrich Potgieter
• Yurav Premlall
• Jaco Prinsloo
• David Ravetto
• Jovan Rebula
• JC Ritchie
• Martin Rohwer
• Lyle Rowe
• Antoine Rozner
• Neil Schietekat
• Freddy Schott
• Charl Schwartzel
• Robin Sciot-Siegrist
• Marcel Siem
• Martin Simonsen
• Combrinck Smit
• Clément Sordet
• Matthew Southgate
• Gary Stal
• Joël Stalter
• Richard Sterne
• Brandon Stone
• Jean-Paul Strydom
• Ockie Strydom
• Tristen Strydom
• Santiago Tarrio
• Sami Välimäki
• Rourke Van Der Spuy
• Darius Van Driel
• Erik Van Rooyen
• Daniel Van Tonder
• Jaco Van Zyl
• Albert Venter
• Mj Viljoen
• Scott Vincent
• Justin Walters
• Marc Warren
• Dale Whitnell
• Gunner Wiebe
• Ashun Wu
• Harvey Young

Louis Oosthuizen has been ever-present in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking since 2014. However, the South African’s run has finally drawn to a close after he slipped to World No.51.

The South African will have been aware for some time that there was an air of inevitability about his fall considering his decision to sign for LIV Golf – an organisation that currently cannot offer OWGR points to its players.

Nevertheless, It could have implications for his eligibility for next year’s Masters at Augusta National. While former champions automatically qualify for the Major, Oosthuizen’s best performance was a runner-up finish in 2012. Another way to qualify is to sit in the world’s top 50 on the last day of the calendar year, something that Oosthuizen can no longer rely on. 

Given that he is suspended from PGA Tour events following his defection to LIV Golf, his chances of climbing back into the top 50 are limited, although he has a chance this week as he plays in the DP World Tour's  Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Oosthuizen isn’t the first high-profile player to slip outside the top 50 since joining LIV Golf, either. In September, Patrick Reed’s eight-year spell in the top 50 also ended. Unlike Oosthuizen, though, Reed, who is now World No.67, is still eligible for next year’s Masters as he won the Green Jacket in 2018.

One Major Oosthuizen will be able to compete in - assuming no changes are made to the eligibility criteria - is next July’s Open Championship. That’s because he won the tournament in 2010 with his only Major victory to date. However, whether he will appear in the PGA Championship and US Open remains to be seen given he is not a former champion of either tournament.

Interestingly, Oosthuizen’s fall in the rankings closely mirrors that of another big-name LIV Golf player, Brooks Koepka. The American is currently World No.48, having also entered the world’s top 50 in 2014. However, he is eligible for all four of next year's Majors thanks to his wins in the PGA Championship and the US Open in the last five years.

The difficulty facing Oosthuizen and other LIV Golf players further highlights what many see as a flawed OWGR system, with questions raised as to its eligibility when some of the world’s best players, including World No.3 Cameron Smith, are unable to capitalise fully by earning points with LIV Golf.

In October, former pro Mike Clayton suggested scrapping the OWGR altogether and redrawing the criteria for Major qualification. He had several suggestions for how that can be done, saying: “Top 40 PGA Tour, top 20 DP World Tour, top five to 10 LIV, top two Japan. Winners of big tournaments – take your pick. Canadian Open, Australian, British PGA, Irish Open, Memorial, Players... winners past 10 years. Masters can do what they want.”

In the meantime, LIV Golf is seeking ways to earn OWGR eligibility. In September, 50 of its players signed a letter pleading with OWGR chairman Peter Dawson to grant it eligibility. It also formed a strategic alliance with the developmental MENA Tour in an effort to qualify for OWGR points, but so far its efforts have been in vain.

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Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick are preparing for this week’s DP World Tour season finale, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Before the duo tee it up at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, though, DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley presented them with Honorary Life Membership cards, making them the 58th and 59th members to be handed the honour.

Rahm and Fitzpatrick are the last two winners of the US Open. Rama claimed his first Major victory at Torrey Pines, finishing one shot ahead of Louis Oosthuizen in 2021. Earlier this year, Fitzpatrick claimed his own maiden Major win in the same tournament, this time at Brookline. Fitzpatrick’s win was particularly special as he achieved it at the same venue he won the US Amateur in 2013. That placed him alongside one of the game’s all-time greats, Jack Nicklaus, as the second player to claim both titles at the same venue.

Pelley explained why the honours for Rahm and Fitzpatrick couldn’t be more appropriate given their achievements. He said: “Jon and Matt’s achievements over the last two years were truly special and we are delighted to present them both with Honorary Life Membership of the DP World Tour. Jon assumed the status of an Honorary Life Member of our Tour immediately after his win at Torrey Pines but with him not being here in Dubai last year, we were unable to make the official presentation – I am delighted to be able to put that right this year, alongside recognising Matt for his own magical US Open moment in June.

 “Jon’s victory was an incredible achievement, becoming the first Spaniard to win the US Open and just the fourth Major winner from Spain. And for Matt to write his name alongside Jack Nicklaus in golf’s record books is something that few golfers in history can claim to do.”

Rahm was understandably delighted with the accolade. He said: “To join the list of icons that have earned this, it is truly an honour. Any time you can write your name in history next to some of the greatest players that have accomplished this before me is very unique. To keep doing things like this, it is a true honour to represent Spain and an honour to receive this.”

Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick was equally grateful and explained it was something he’d had his eye on for some time. He said: “I’ve been out on Tour seven or eight years now and I remember when Danny Willett received his and I thought at the time ‘I’d love one of those’. When I found out that I’d be presented with Honorary Life Membership by Keith and the Tour I was truly honoured. I’m very grateful.”

The Tour began awarding players Honorary Life Memberships in 1978, six years after its inception. John Jacobs, Bernard Hunt and Dai Rees were the recipients that year. Since then, greats of the game, including Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo, Arnold Palmer and Rory McIlroy, have received the honour. Last year, Collin Morikawa was handed Honorary Life Membership in recognition of his Open Championship victory the previous July.

First reported by the Twitter page Nosferatu, Paul Casey is the most recent LIV golfer to fall outside of the World's Top 50, something which hasn't happened to the Englishman since the 2015 Northern Trust Open.

Casey joins the likes of Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau, who have also dropped outside the World's Top 50, with two-time Major winner, Dustin Johnson, also falling down to 35th in the Rankings.

Although Casey was injured for the majority of the events in the early half of the year, with the 45-year-old withdrawing from three of the four Majors, the Masters, US Open and PGA Championship, it's his time with LIV Golf where his World Ranking has suffered most.

Since joining the Saudi-backed series, Casey has currently dropped around 20 places and, with there being no sign of LIV Golf securing World Ranking points any time soon, that position is likely to only get worse.

Currently, Cameron Smith is the best ranked LIV player in the World Rankings, with the current Champion Golfer of the Year sat third. Other players inside the Top 50 include Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer, Dustin Johnson, Talor Gooch, Brooks Koepka, Kevin Na, Harold Varner III, Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Kokrak, with all seeing their Ranking drop since their time with LIV Golf.

The story of LIV Golf and World Rankings has been a slightly bizarre one... Back in October, the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Tour announced a strategic alliance with LIV Golf that would see it qualify for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points for its events.

However, although the MENA Tour said LIV would "immediately qualify" for Official World Golf Ranking points as part of the deal, OWGR has said that "insufficient notice" was given, saying that "only after the review is complete will a decision be made on awarding points to the MENA Tour's new "Limited Field Tournaments" (the LIV Golf Invitational Series)."

The decision, obviously, didn't go down well with LIV's CEO, Greg Norman, who stated "it doesn't make sense" and that "just because you have a negative viewpoint and you're one of the voting members of an independent organization, that you hate LIV and you vote against it... Grow up."

The saga surrounding LIV Golf has gone somewhat muted over the past few days it has to be said. Last week, the Presidents Cup dominated the golfing landscape, with a thrilling tournament being won by the American team and, at the beginning of October, attention turned to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship where a number of big names feature.

However, alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton, there have been several players from the Saudi-backed series competing, including 2010 Open Championship winner, Louis Oosthuizen.

The South African, who has played in all of the LIV Golf events, claimed that being omitted from the International side of the Presidents Cup was a "punch in the gut", with Oosthuizen now believing that the best thing LIV and the PGA and DP World Tours can do is get together to sort a solution.

“I saw what Rory (McIlroy) said here earlier this week about the game ripping itself apart and the need for the guys in all camps to get together and talk and figure something out and, in truth, I’ve always thought that’s inevitable eventually," said Oosthuizen.

After the first tee shot was struck at Centurion in 2022, the PGA Tour banned those teeing it up in a LIV Golf event, with further bans being put in place for those who jumped at a later date. Currently, the DP World Tour has not banned LIV players from their tournaments, but there is a reported court hearing scheduled for February that will decide if Keith Pelley has the power to ban LIV rebels.

According to Oosthuizen though, “LIV isn't going anywhere and neither are the Tours," with the 39-year-old adding "after the lawyers do their thing, it will come to a point when they will all get round a table and find a solution. I’m not sure where I’ll be in my career by then, but it needs to happen. There is no need for any animosity. I’ve encountered none here this week and that’s the way it should be.”

At the DP World Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, a number of players voiced their distain at certain LIV golfers featuring in the tournament. Prior to the competition, Shane Lowry admitted that he “can’t stand” some of the LIV Golf players taking part.

His words were echoed by American, Billy Horschel, who branded the Saudi-backed players as "hypocritical". The comment came after the LIV Golf members explained that one of the reasons they went to LIV is to play less golf.

The PGA EuroPro Tour has announced that the 2022 season will be its last, citing shifts in economic landscape, rising costs and a change in audience appetite for its decision.

The news has come as a shock to the golfing world. Afterall, Europe's third-tier circuit held an important place in the ecosystem for over two decades. Each year, the PGA EuroPro Tour awarded Challenge Tour cards to the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit, alongside unrivalled and vital experience of life on tour, playing in front of television cameras and learning to handle media obligations.

It comes as little surprise that many of its alumni have gone on to compete and achieve great success at the highest level of the game, including Major championship titles, countless victories on the DP World and PGA Tour and representing the European and International Teams in the Ryder and Presidents Cup. 

Here we take a look at ten of the biggest names to have featured on the PGA EuroPro Tour: 

1. Tommy Fleetwood

The Englishman played on the PGA EuroPro Tour in 2011 and took advantage of home knowledge in the Formby Classic, where rounds of 67, 68 and 65 secured a four-shot victory. 

The following month, Fleetwood earned his first Challenge Tour victory and graduated to the DP World Tour, where he secured his maiden title at the 2013 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

The 31-year-old has since amassed five DP World Tour victories and has twice represented Team Europe in the Ryder Cup - forming a formidable partnership with Francesco Molinari as the duo became the first pairing to win all four matches in Paris in 2018. 

2. Tyrrell Hatton

Hatton was PGA EuroPro Tour Rookie of the Year in 2012, courtesy of victories at the Your Golf Travel Classic and Final Qualifying School. 

The Englishman would go on to graduate to the Challenge Tour and subsequently the DP World Tour, where he earned his first victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Home of Golf. 

He has since added the flagship BMW PGA Championship, three other Rolex Series events and the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational to an ever-increasing resume that includes ten professional victories and two Ryder Cup appearances. 

3. Louis Oosthuizen 

Louis Oosthuizen became the first PGA EuroPro Tour alumni to win a Major title when he ran away from the field at the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews.

Prior to that, the South African played on the circuit in 2002 and 2003 with his best finish being a T3 at the Marriott St Pierre in Chepstow in Wales.

The 39-year-old credits the PGA EuroPro Tour for preparing him for a career in professional golf, which has included 14 victories to date: "There is no doubt that the experience I gained on the PGA EuroPro Tour at the start of the century stood me in good stead for what awaited me on the European Tour and the golf world in general," he said. 

4. Charl Schwartzel 

Schwartzel followed in the footsteps of his countryman, Oosthuizen, and became the second PGA EuroPro Tour alumni to taste Major success at the 2011 Masters.

The South African featured in the circuit's inaugural year and, at the age of 18, became the second youngest South African golfer to earn a European Tour card after Dale Hayes.

The 38-year-old has notched 16 professional wins in his global career, including the LIV Golf Series curtain-raiser at Centurion Club earlier this year. 

5. Nicolas Colsaerts 

The Belgian Bomber featured on the PGA EuroPro Tour in both 2002 and 2008 before earning regular playing rights on the DP World Tour. 

The 39-year-old has since amassed 10 professional victories, including three DP World Tour titles. The biggest victory in his career came at the 2012 Volvo Match Play Championship, when he defeated US Open champion Graeme McDowell in the final.

His performance in Spain caught the eye of Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal, who awarded the Belgian with a pick into the 2012 tournament. Colsaerts managed just a single point, but it came at the expense of Tiger Woods and Steve Sticker when he and Lee Westwood defeated the American pair on the final hole of Friday's fourball. 

6. Aaron Rai

Rai played on the PGA EuroPro Tour in 2014 and 2015, where he won the Glenfarclas Open, finished fifth in the Order of Merit and secured a place on the Challenge Tour.

The 27-year-old went on to notch three Challenge Tour titles in the 2017 season and earn automatic promotion to the DP World Tour. The Englishman didn't have to wait long for his first title on the main stage when he defeated recently-crowned US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick in the 2018 Honma Hong Kong Open. 

Rai has since claimed the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, a DP World Tour Rolex Series event, as well as a PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Finals. He will be a prominent feature throughout 2023 in the United States. 

7. Ross Fisher 

Ross Fisher featured on the PGA EuroPro Tour back in 2005 before elevating his status on the Challenge Tour and securing DP World Tour playing rights via its Order of Merit.

The Englishman showed the golfing world his capabilities with victory at the 2007 KLM Open and backed it up with a dominant seven shot demolition of Spaniard Sergio Garcia at the 2008 European Open - the largest winning margin across his five professional victories.

Fisher contended in each of the four Majors in the 2009 season. So much so, he held the lowest cumulative score across players that made the cut in each of the four events. This led to automatic qualification for the 2010 Ryder Cup, where he and Padraig Harrington combined for two points in a narrowly fought victory for Europe at Celtic Manor. 

8. Robert Rock

Robert Rock joined the DP World Tour in 2003 as an affiliate member but enjoyed PGA EuroPro Tour events across 2002, 2003 and 2005. 

Although winless on the development circuit, the Englishman's career breakthrough came in 2009 with three second-place finishes on the DP World Tour - including the memorable scenes at the Irish Open where amateur Shane Lowry won on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff in torrential rain.

The Englishman tamed both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods at the 2012 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, a victory that propelled him to a career-high 55 in the Official World Golf Ranking. 

9. Branden Grace

Branden Grace turned professional in 2007 and became a fixture on the PGA EuroPro Tour, before turning to the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour and earning playing rights on Europe's mainstage - the DP World Tour - via Qualifying School.

It proved to be a breakthrough year in 2012, with four DP World Tour victories in a ten month span. The South African has gone on to notch 15 professional victories, including nine on the DP World Tour and twice on the PGA Tour.

At the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, the 34-year-old became the first male player to shoot 62 in a Major championship. 

10. Eddie Pepperell 

Eddie Pepperell was a feature on the PGA EuroPro Tour in 2011 and 2012 but raced through the ranks to the DP World Tour courtesy of a victory on the Challenge Tour when playing on an invitation. 

The Englishman continued to retain his card but his true breakthrough came on his 129th DP World Tour start with victory at the 2018 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. This was followed by victory in the British Masters at Walton Heath just a few months after.

The 31-year-old came agonisingly close at the PGA Tour's flagship Players Championship in 2019, finishing just two shots adrift of Rory McIlroy. 

Other Notable PGA EuroPro Tour Alumni 

• Marcus Armitage
• Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston
• Thomas Aiken
• Lee Slattery
• Jamie Donaldson
• Bradley Dredge
• Marc Warren
• Richard Finch

The PGA EuroPro Tour has announced that the 2022 season will be its last, citing the economic landscape of rising costs and changes in audience appetite for its decision.

It was created in 2002 following a merger between the EuroPro Tour and PGA MasterCard Tour, as the Professional Golfers' Association and Barry Hearn's Matchroom Sport joined forces.

As Europe's third-tier golf tour, the PGA EuroPro Tour held an important place in the ecosystem. The top five finishers on the Order of Merit graduated to the Challenge Tour and secured a place at Stage Two of the DP World Tour Qualifying School.

The success of the Tour is perhaps merited by its alumni, which includes Major winners in Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel and European Ryder Cup players in the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Ross Fisher, Jamie Donaldson, Nicholas Colsaerts and Oliver Wilson. 

Although unknown at this stage, it is likely PGA EuroPro Tour members will take up opportunities on other development circuits upon conclusion of the 2022 season, such as the Clutch Pro Tour, Alps Tour, Pro Golf Tour and Nordic Golf League. 

Speaking of the decision, PGA EuroPro Tour President Barry Hearn said: "I have been honoured to have created the PGA EuroPro Tour alongside Sandy Jones of the PGA and to watch the development of so many aspiring and inspiring professional golfers.

"Sadly, in these changing times for professional golf support for Europe's biggest development tour has not been sufficient to justify its continuation but I must stress my eternal gratitude to Dan Godding and his team at the PGA EuroPro Tour, the PGA, our broadcasters Sky Sports and the golf clubs and volunteers in both the UK and Europe without whom we would never have created so many opportunities for next generation of professional golfers."

The season closing Tour Championship will serve as the final PGA EuroPro Tour event and will take place at Lough Erne Resort 19-21 October 2022. James Allan, Michael Stewart, Dermot McElroy, Josh Hilleard and Ryan Brooks currently occupy the top-5 positions in the Order of Merit. 

Patrick Reed will miss the Dunhill Links Championship after reportedly developing a bad back caused by an unsupportive mattress at last week's French Open.

Confirmation of the former Masters winner’s participation caused quite a stir on social media last week, with people questioning a schedule that has seen him play LIV Boston and Chicago with a trip to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship in between, then a return to Europe for the French Open last week.

Playing the Dunhill Links in Scotland would have been five weeks straight, with numerous trans-Atlantic flights thrown in too. Some LIV Golfers have given wanting to play less golf and spend more time with their family as reasons to join Greg Norman’s breakaway, so Reed’s schedule had raised a few eyebrows.

When his name disappeared from the Dunhill Links entry list, speculation began over Reed's reasoning. Was it was the reaction to his participation, the disappointment at missing the cut in France, or something else? According to IrishGolfer.ie, an overly soft mattress in Versailles is to blame.

“The mattress was just too soft for me," the 32-year-old told IrishGolfer.ie. "I played well in the pro-am but the pain in my back was getting worse. It’s disappointing as I was looking forward to coming back to France after being there for the Ryder Cup. I first played the Dunhill Links back in 2011. It was my first European Tour event, so that’s another event I was looking forward to playing.”

Reed has fallen out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2014 after his disappointment at Le Golf National. He was up with the leaders in his opening round at 3-under par before dropping five shots in the final four holes to post a two-over 73. He followed that up with a second round 72 to miss the cut by three strokes.

The 2018 Masters champion is a lifetime member of the DP World Tour, but has complained of the Tour’s treatment of LIV players recently. In France he likened his treatment to 'a slap in the face', having not been selected to give a press conference despite being the only Major winner in the field.

The Dunhill Links Championship is held over three of the best golf courses in Scotland - Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, starting on Thursday. While Reed is no longer in the field, a number of LIV players will tee it up, including Talor Gooch and Louis Oosthuizen. LIV players are currently able to continue playing on the DP World Tour while the final court ruling on their suspensions, due in February, is awaited.

Team USA raced into a commanding 4-1 lead after day one of the Presidents Cup, as the omission of LIV Golf stars hit the International side hard. 

The Ryder Cup replica event is sanctioned by the PGA Tour, meaning anyone who opted to leave the traditional tours and join the Saudi rebel series was ineligible to feature following Jay Monahan's decision to suspend players from the US-based circuit.

That has left International captain Trevor Immelman with a threadbare side, bereft of the likes of Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann Louis Oosthuizen, Abraham Ancer and Marc Leishman. 

Minus such firepower had many fearing for the competitiveness of what is already a typically one-sided affair, and those fears look likely to be realised after a dismal start by the away team on Thursday at Quail Hollow. 

Immelman opted to front-load his pairings in a bid to establish some early momentum, with the duo of Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama getting the contest underway. However, that plan backfired as the former Major champions succumbed to the formidable Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay to the tune of 6&5. 

That the US didn't complete a clean sweep on day one is the only real source of optimism for the Internationals. A sea of red momentum dominated proceedings in Charlotte, North Carolina until Si Woo Kim and rookie Cam Davis staged an unlikely late comeback from 3 down to defeat Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 2up.

In game two, Jordan Spieth kept up his flawless foursomes record in the Presidents Cup, combining with Justin Thomas to take down Sungjae Im and Corey Conners at the 17th, while in game three, Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young got the better of Tom Kim and K. H. Lee.

The final match went down to the wire but ultimately fell the way of the hosts when Taylor Pendrith missed from 10 feet to cap off a miserable day at the first tournament that feels like it has truly been impacted by golf's ongoing Civil War. 

That we're not able to marvel at some potential blockbuster match-ups at a venue that looks tailor made for this format is a travesty for all involved, especially given the momentum created by Ernie Els and his side when the Internationals ran the United States close at Royal Melbourne three years ago. 

If that was a step forward for the Presidents Cup, 2022 threatens to take it two steps back as thoughts already turn to record margins of victory. Should Friday follow Thursday's lead, the contest will be as good as over without having ever really began, and will only increase pressure on the PGA Tour to relax its stance on its noisy rival.

2022 Presidents Cup: Day one results

Match 1: Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Adam Scott/Hideki Matsuyama (INT), 6 and 5

Match 2: Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas def. Sungjae Im/Corey Conners (INT), 2 and 1

Match 3: Cameron Young/Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Tom Kim/K.H. Lee (INT), 2 and 1

Match 4: Si Woo Kim/Cam Davis (INT) def. Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns (U.S.), 2-up

Match 5: Tony Finau/Max Homa (U.S.) def. Taylor Pendrith/Mito Pereira (INT), 1-up

Patrick Reed is set to continue his busy schedule by teeing it up at the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland next week.

The 2018 Masters champion has been clocking up the air miles of late, playing in the LIV Golf events in Boston and Chicago, with a trip to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship in between. After finishing tied-12th at Rich Harvest Farms, Reed then headed back to Europe to play at this week’s French Open, and is now set to head for the Dunhill Links, which is held at three of the best golf courses in Scotland - Old Course at St Andrews, as well as Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. The next LIV event starts on October 7th at Stonehill Golf Club near Bangkok, Thailand.

There are expected to be at least 10 LIV Golf players in the Dunhill Links field next week as the pursuit of world ranking points continues. Currently LIV events are not recognised by the Official World Golf Ranking, and with indefinite suspensions from the PGA Tour, players have been forced to look elsewhere to maintain world ranking positions.

LIV Golfers are still permitted to play on the DP World Tour until February's court case when a final ruling on whether their bans there will be upheld is due. Talor Gooch, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Shaun Norris, Branden Grace. Richard Bland, Laurie Canter, Peter Uihlein and Jed Morgan are all currently among the Dunhill Links field, though Abraham Ancer, who was expected to play and is still inside the top 50 having only joined LIV in June, is not now part of the entry list.

Reed has enjoyed a successful introduction to LIV Golf. His 4 Aces GC have won the team event at all four stops since he joined, banking $3million, and he has won another $2.73million for his individual efforts. He has complained at his treatment on the DP World Tour since joining LIV, likening it to 'a slap in the face'.

He looked in good form through most of the first round of the French Open, but dropped five shots in the last four holes to fall from 3-under to 2-over par, posting a first round 73. Reed went into the event in 72nd place on the Race to Dubai and looks intent on booking his place in the DP World Tour Championship.

While it’s no shock that LIV Golf players have been omitted from the Presidents Cup, the absence of Louis Oosthuizen is more of a surprise given he resigned his PGA Tour membership to join the Saudi-backed venture.

Ahead of the PGA Tour-sanctioned event at Quail Hollow, International team captain Trevor Immelman explained that he’s happy with his selection despite the LIV Golf absentees, and talked specifically about why the South African was one of them. He said: “My understanding is that he made particular announcements and allowed himself to be used in different marketing campaigns and announcements once he was not given the release from the PGA Tour, and he did all of those things before he resigned his membership. So there were still particular infractions there.”

Video: What Is LIV Golf?

Despite Immelman’s explanation, there seemed to be good reason for the expectations of Oosthuizen’s inclusion, not least the pair’s friendship and the LIV Golf player’s excellent Presidents Cup record. Not only that, but Oosthuizen clearly would have liked the chance to take make his fifth appearance in the tournament. Last week, he admitted to Sports Illustrated that his omission from the tournament was “a bit of a punch in the gut.”

Look back further, though, and the PGA Tour was clear in its stance. In June, it sent a strongly worded letter to its members stating LIV Golf players are "suspended or otherwise no longer eligible to participate in PGA Tour tournament play, including the Presidents Cup.”

Nevertheless, Oosthuizen also admitted to Sports Illustrated that he anticipating still being eligible. He said: “I thought by resigning my membership before I did anything wrong really... there's no rule that says I need to be a PGA Tour member to play the Presidents Cup, especially as an International team player.”

As far as Immelman is concerned, though, no one was left in any doubt as to their status. He said: “Every single player that I spoke to from early on in this process knew exactly what the situation and the consequences were going to be. They knew that if they made certain decisions, it was going to be highly unlikely they were going to be able to represent the International team. That went into their decision-making process. All the cards were out on the table, and everybody knew where they stood.”

In the event, Immelman will need to help inspire an International team that starts as heavy underdogs to a USA team that boasts five of the world’s current top 10 as they go in search of their first outright win in the Presidents Cup since 1998.