Thomas Pieters, the 31-year-old world no.34, is among the latest recruits to the LIV Golf League, which has announced its full line up for the 14-tournament season which gets under way at Mayakoba’s El Camaleón course in Mexico next week.
Pieters, who has won six DP World Tour events and won four points for Europe in the 2016 Ryder Cup, is among six new signings announced for the 12-team, 48-player field set to compete all season in the LIV Golf League. The other five new recruits to be announced this week are Brendan Steele, Danny Lee, Dean Burmester, Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz.
Pieters, who played in last month’s Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi, will join Bubba Watson’s Range Goats GC team, where he will play alongside Harold Varner and Talor Gooch. The Belgian replaces Hudson Swafford in the team, who is taking six months out from the game to recover from impending hip surgery.
Three-time PGA Tour winner Brendan Steele joins Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC, while New Zealand’s Danny Lee has been added to the Iron Heads GC captained by Kevin Na. Dean Burmester, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour and current world No.63, has signed for the all-South African team Stinger GC captained by former major champion Louis Oosthuizen.
The first eight team line-ups were confirmed last week, with Presidents Cup players Mito Pereira from Chile and Columbian Sebastian Munoz announced on Wednesday as members of Torque GC, which is captained by Joaquin Niemann and also includes America’s David Puig, who turned pro last year.
Major winners Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed are among the highest-ranked players to return in 2023, having featured in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series last year. Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson will serve as co-captains of the Majesticks team, which is completed by Sam Horsfield.
Players who finished in the top 24 of the 2022 Invitational Series were guaranteed places in the league for this season. Over 20 players who have played in at least one LIV Golf event have now been dropped from the Saudi-backed Tour since its inception, including Hennie du Plessis, Oliver Fisher and Justin Harding.
“In less than a year, LIV Golf has reinvigorated the professional game and laid the foundation for the sport’s future. In 2023, the LIV Golf League comes to life,” said Greg Norman, LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner. “The most popular sports in the world are team sports, and our league format has already begun to build connections with new audiences around the globe. Major champions, current and future Hall of Famers, and up-and-coming stars are all committed to creating this new platform for world-class competition as the sport evolves for the next generation.”
US TV network CW will air all 14 events starting at 1pm Eastern Time in the United States, with Friday rounds airing exclusively on the CW App. Saturday and Sunday competition will be broadcast on both the CW Network and the CW App. All tournament rounds will air live on the CW App. Details on LIV Golf’s event broadcasts in regions outside of the US have yet to be announced, although last year viewers could watch events on a livestream on YouTube or on LIV Golf’s website, LIVGolf.com
