Races For Individual Champion and Team Championship Seeding Heat Up As Liv Golf Prepares For Asian Debut In Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand (October 5, 2022): The 48 world-class players preparing to tee off at the $25 million LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok will have plenty to play for this week when they line up at the all-new Stonehill venue October 7-9. 

“In our inaugural year with the Invitational Series, LIV Golf is already making waves among golf fans globally. Innovation creates energy that will further grow the sport into the future, and we are proud to be at the forefront of this movement,” said Greg Norman, CEO and Commissioner of LIV Golf. “Our world-class players and new team format are generating a thrilling conclusion to this first year, and I’m eager to watch the action unfold in our final three tournaments of 2022.” 

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION

With just two regular season tournaments remaining for the 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Series, the world’s best are jostling for position in the individual standings, where a $30 million purse will be shared among the top three podium places at the end of the campaign. This year’s champion in the final individual standings after the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah will receive a first-place prize of $18 million, with $8 million to the runner-up and $4 million for third place.

In the individual standings, where points are awarded to the top 24 finishers within each tournament’s 48-player field, 2016 U.S. Open and 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson leads the pack with 118 points. The American holds a healthy 39-point lead over his nearest challenger thanks to a win in Boston, top-three finishes in Bedminster and Chicago and consistent play throughout five events in which he has never finished outside the top 10. South African Branden Grace (79) is in second place with a victory in Portland and is trailed by 2022 Open winner Cameron Smith (56). The Australian currently holds third place after notable performances in just two events: a fourth-place finish in his LIV Golf debut in Boston, followed by a three-stroke win in Chicago, the largest margin of victory for any LIV Golf individual champion his season. 

 *In the case of ties, rankings are decided by a set of tiebreakers in the following order: 1) Best finish in an event, 2) 2nd best finish in an event, 3) 3rd best finish in an event, and so on (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th best finish)

With 40 points awarded for a tournament win and 30 for runner-up, the door is still open for those outside the top 10. Major winners Sergio Garcia (43) and Henrik Stenson (40), top Chilean golfer Joaquin Niemann (40), former world No. 1 Lee Westwood (36) and 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau (23) are among the notable names still in the hunt with two big weeks ahead.

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

The team competition is building for an exciting finish, as LIV Golf’s 12 teams prepare for the back-to-back Asian swing in Thailand and Saudi Arabia before turning their attention to the season-ending LIV Golf Invitational Miami Team Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club, October 28-30. The iconic Blue Monster course will stage the seeded three-day, knockout tournament featuring both match play and stroke play, delivering the excitement of head-to-head competition as teams compete for a historic $50 million purse.

The Invitational Series has seen a remarkable run from 4 Aces GC, with captain Johnson leading 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez to the top of the standings with 136 points thanks to four straight team wins in Portland, Bedminster, Boston and Chicago. South African squad Stinger GC, winner of the inaugural London event and the only other team to record a win this season, is in second place with 72 points. Led by 2010 Open champion Oosthuizen, with 2011 Masters champion Schwartzel and Portland winner Grace consistent all season, Stinger GC has produced one win, one second place, and two other top-five finishes. 

Majesticks GC, featuring Westwood, European Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter, 2016 Open Champion Stenson and English pro Sam Horsfield lie third at 57 points thanks to a second place and two third-place finishes. The Majesticks are currently just one point ahead of Crushers GC featuring DeChambeau, former world No. 3 Paul Casey, Indian star Anirban Lahiri and veteran Charles Howell III.

With the top four seeds receiving a day one bye at the season-ending Team Championship at Doral, teams have much to play for in preparation for the finale. At each regular season LIV Golf Invitational event, the top eight teams receive points based on their position on the final team leaderboard. For the first two rounds of every tournament, the best two stroke-play scores count for each team. In the third and final round, the best three scores count, with the winning team decided by the lowest overall team score after 54 holes. If two or more teams finish with the same score, the team with the better final-round result wins the tiebreaker. Teams that finish in the top three receive prize money from the $5 million team purse.

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