Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith will take on two-time major winner and Cleeks GC skipper Martin Kaymer in a match play showdown during the opening round of LIV Golf’s season-ending teams championship in Miami.
LIV’s top four teams on points will be given a bye for day one while seeds 5 to 12 will compete in head-to-head team matchups. Each matchup will have three games: two singles matches and one alternate-shot (foursomes) match. Each match winner us awarded one point, and the first team to earn two points will advance to Saturday’s semifinals.
Seventh-seed Ripper GC are up against the Cleeks. While 2022 Open champion Smith squares off against former world No.1 Kaymer, Ripper’s Matt Jones and Jed Morgan will take on former US Open champion Graeme McDowell and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger. Marc Leishman was chosen for Ripper’s second singles match, where he’ll tee up against England’s Richard Bland.
“Obviously playing against Cam is going to be tricky but it’s always going to feel nice if you have a chance to win against the Open Champion, so I’m going to take on that challenge,” Kaymer said. “We had a very good tournament last week. So we are coming in strong.”
Smith backed his Ripper GC teammates to get at least two points. The Aussies finished second at last year’s teams event for an $US8 million prize.
“I think Leish has been playing some of the best golf of anyone out here recently,” he said. “I think it’s been pretty set in stone now for a couple of months to be honest. Jed and Jonesy have known they are going to play together for a little bit now.
“It’s a really strong driving golf course, and Jed and Jonesy are two of the best drivers out here. So I think that will set each other up nicely. I think they will be tough to beat.”
This week’s three-day team championship will be held at Trump Doral’s Blue Monster course in Miami. The event has a $US50 million purse, $US14 million of which goes to the winning team. The tournament features match play Friday and Saturday and stroke play on Sunday with all 12 teams competing to determine the team champion.
Aside from Smith’s Ripper GC taking on Kaymer’s team, pairings for Friday’s first day are: Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC vs. Kevin Na’s Iron Heads, Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs vs. Henrik Stenson’s Majesticks, and Brooks Koepka’s Smash vs. Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers.
The top four teams — Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces, Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers, Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC, and Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats — receive a bye into Saturday’s semifinals.
Below is a prize money breakdown in US dollars. LIV Golf Miami can be watched on 7Plus.
