Just over two years on from LIV Golf's first-ever tournament, held in London, the LIV Golf League is back in Britain this week at the magnificent JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire. For many of our players, it's a chance to extend their stay in the UK after the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon, where 17 LIV Golf members started.
Jon Rahm led the LIV Golf brigade in Scotland with a T7 finish, with John Catlin (T16) and Dean Burmester (T19) not too far behind. Now, after the perils and prestige of Troon, they take on a stunning new venue riddled with challenges of its own. Designed by master architect Robin Hiseman, the JCB will play as a par-71 at over 7,200 yards that features a variety of different landscapes.
Cameron Smith took the title at LIV UK last year by one stroke over Marc Leishman and Patrick Reed, while his Ripper GC were pipped to the team title by Dustin Johnson's 4Aces GC. With just three events left of the regular season, the clock is ticking for all 13 teams to pick up some points and improve their seeding for the Team Championship in Dallas.
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Here are the team Power Rankings for the 11th event of the LIV Golf League season.
1. Crushers GC
The Crushers sit atop this week's power rankings as they continue to hold a sizeable lead in the season-long team standings coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes. Bryson DeChambeau was the only team member to tee it up at Royal Troon last week, where he surprisingly missed the cut. Reserve player John Catlin, however, had an excellent tournament and was T15 going into the final round. It's unclear whether Catlin will start at LIV Golf UK, or whether regular team member Charles Howell III will return after missing the last two events.
Predicted Order of Finish: DeChambeau, Lahiri, Paul Casey, Howell III
2. Fireballs GC
Following a slow start to the season, the Fireballs have turned it on during the second half of the year with a pair of T2 results and then claimed a sensational back-from-nowhere victory on home turf in Spain two weeks ago. Sergio Garcia's individual win at Valderrama propelled him up to third in the season-long standings. Abraham Ancer was the lone player on the team to make the cut at The Open Championship.
Predicted Order of Finish: Garcia, Ancer, Eugenio Chacarra, David Puig
3. Torque GC
Torque continue to search for their first victory of the year, but they've been a model of consistency as the only team to finish in the top half of every event. Joaquin Niemann has a commanding lead in the individual standings and was playing well at Royal Troon before fading over the weekend. Carlos Ortiz has also been a key piece of the jigsaw, posting a top-15 finish in over half of his starts.
Predicted Order of Finish: Niemann, Ortiz, Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira
4. Ripper GC
After winning in consecutive weeks, the Rippers have cooled off a bit, failing to finish among the top-3 teams in three starts since. Cameron Smith was the only player on the team to play in The Open Championship, where he missed the cut in a major for the first time this year. On a positive note, Marc Leishman continues to enjoy a solid 2024 that includes three top-10s over his last six starts.
Predicted Order of Finish: Smith, Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones
5. Stinger GC
The Stingers have positioned themselves in fifth place in the team standings, as well as in this week's power rankings, on the heels of their fourth top-3 finish two weeks ago, but just like Torque GC they are seeking their first team win. Dean Burmester is coming off his second major top-20 of the year. Meanwhile, Branden Grace has held the team back, finishing in the top half of the field in just two events.
Predicted Order of Finish: Louis Oosthuizen, Burmester, Charl Schwartzel, Grace
6. 4Aces GC
It has been a disappointing season for 4Aces, with just one top-3 result, but Patrick Reed has posted two top-5 finishes over his last three starts to give this team some momentum going into the last three events. Dustin Johnson is also coming off his best major result of the year, but the team will need more from Pat Perez and Harold Varner III to compete this week.
Predicted Order of Finish: Reed, Johnson, Perez, Varner III
7. Legion XIII
Perhaps the most difficult team to predict is Legion XIII, which sit second in the team standings thanks to three wins but haven't finished better than fifth in their other seven starts. Jon Rahm remains second in the individual standings and looked good at Royal Troon where he finished in a share of seventh. Tyrrell Hatton missed the cut last week but has finished third and first in his last two LIV starts.
Predicted Order of Finish: Hatton, Rahm, Caleb Surratt, Kieran Vincent
8. Cleeks GC
Since winning LIV Houston, Cleeks GC have cooled off with back-to-back T6 results and with only two top-4 finishes this year, it's difficult to justify ranking them any higher. Richard Bland has had an excellent year winning two senior major events, while Adrian Meronk leads the team at 15th in the individual standings. Kalle Samooja has just one top-25 finish.
Predicted Order of Finish: Bland, Meronk, Martin Kaymer, Samooja
9. Smash GC
Smash sit seventh in the team standings, but they've managed to beat just one team over the last two tournaments combined and mustered only one top-25 individual finish. Brooks Koepka was the only player to tee-it-up at Royal Troon, but his major magic has waned as he finished T43. Talor Gooch has four top-10s this year, and the potential of this group remains obvious.
Predicted Order of Finish: Koepka, Gooch, Jason Kokrak, Graeme McDowell
10. Majesticks GC
The UK's home-town team have regrouped in recent weeks, with results of T8-4-9, but they're still one of only two teams without a top-3 finish this season. Henrik Stenson and Sam Horsfield both missed the cut in treacherous conditions at The Open, but Lee Westwood is undergoing a resurgence, and all three of his top-20s this year have come over the last three tournaments.
Predicted Order of Finish: Stenson, Horsfield, Westwood, Ian Poulter
11. Iron Heads GC
The Iron Heads bounced back from finishing dead last in Houston and Nashville with an eighth-place finish in Spain. Still, they're a distant last in the team standings with a best finish of sixth all year. A good sign is that Danny Lee finished T6 last time out - his best finish this year.
Predicted Order of Finish: Kevin Na, Scott Vincent, Lee, Jinichiro Kozuma
12. RangeGoats GC
It has been a frustrating last three tournaments for the Goats, who have beaten only four teams in total over that stretch. Matthew Wolff has been the shining light of the team, with five top-20 finishes, and is the only player in the top half of the individual standings. Captain Bubba Watson has now gone eight consecutive tournaments without a top-25 finish.
Predicted Order of Finish: Wolff, Peter Uihlein, Thomas Pieters, Watson
13. HyFlyers GC
Coming in last in this week's rankings are the HyFlyers, who haven't given fans much to cheer about this season, with eight finishes of T8 or worse. Phil Mickelson and Andy Ogletree both made the cut at Royal Troon, finishing T60 and 79th, respectively. With just eight individual top-20 finishes amongst the quartet all year, the ceiling for this team seems capped.
Predicted Order of Finish: Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele, Mickelson, Ogletree
