Liv’s Latin Launchpad

BY MATT SMITH LIV’s Latin launchpad

THE CIRCUIT’S SECOND SEASON GETS UNDER WAY IN MEXICO AMID THE USUAL CONTROVERSY AND RUMOURS

it is all systems go for LIV Golf’s 2023 launch, and there is a distinct Latin flavour to proceedings as the circuit’s second season gets the first of its 14 events under way on El Camaleón at Mayakoba Golf Course in Mexico from February 24-26.

The famous golf club joins Sentosa in Singapore, Real Club Valderrama in Spain and The Grange in Adelaide as new global destinations for the 54-hole, no-cut LIV Golf League, where players will compete in concurrent individual and team tournaments, while three US venues have also been confirmed in Arizona, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

Following a successful inaugural season, which began at Centurion just outside London in June and climaxed with the Team Championship in Miami in October, LIV Golf Mk. 2 has doubled in size, with $25 million in prize money on offer at each of the 14 events ahead of the $50 million team finale.

When the series kicked-off in Hampshire last summer, there was a distinct English flare on show amid the fanfare, with Spitfires and Lancashire Bombers flying overhead alongside the Red Arrows as the likes of legends Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter took a bow in front of their home fans.

And this time around it is opening with a Latin vibe, as it heads to El Camaleón in Mexico for the curtain-raiser.

Mito Pereira, who narrowly missed out on winning the 2022 PGA Championship, is widely expected to tee up alongside fellow Chilean Joaquin Niemann, while home hopes Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer will proudly be waving the Mexico flag on home soil.

GO FOR MEXICO

El Camaleón at Mayakoba Golf Course is the destination for the curtain-raiser to the 2023 LIV Golf League season

While the schedule for LIV Golf’s second season is still a work in progress, we know that things will begin on the El Camaleón course at Mayakoba on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, with further stops in Arizona, Australia, Singapore, Oklahoma, Spain and West Virginia already on the slate.

LIV Golf is also expected to return to Centurion Club outside London, and again hold the Team Championship finale at Trump Doral in Miami, while stops in New Jersey and Washington DC are also expected.

Meanwhile, the main focus is El Camaleón, known for its famous cave bunker on the fairway of its signature seventh hole.

As you may recall, Mayakoba has been the site for the World Wide Tech-

THESE DESTINATIONS FOR 2023 SHOW OUR COMMITMENT TO TOURNAMENT PLAY AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

nology Championship for the past 16 years on the PGA Tour, but will now be playing host to the newest circuit on the world golf scene as the club’s agreement with the PGA Tour has reached its conclusion.

“The PGA Tour and World Wide Technology are working together to identify new host site options and will determine a new direction in the near future,” read a Tour announcement late last year, drawing a line under the affair.

With the American circuit and LIV Golf at loggerheads in the media and the US courts — with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson banned from playing in PGA Tour events — it is clear thePGA Tour wants to distance itself from Mayakoba now they are hosting a rival tournament.

However, their loss is LIV’s gain as the flagship course in Mexico is a sight to behold.

El Camaleón is situated on the exclusive Riviera Maya oceanfront in Mayakoba’s 620-acre resort and residential destination that takes in tropical jungle, dense mangroves and natural lagoons.

OUT OF THE TRAPS

El Camaleón has plenty of ominous hazards to challenge the world’s best golfers

CONFIRMED LIV GOLF VENUES FOR 2023

LIV Golf Mayakoba

February 24-26 El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course, Mexico

LIV Golf Tucson

March 17-19 The Gallery Golf Club, Arizona, US

LIV Golf Adelaide

April 21-23 The Grange Golf Club, Australia

LIV Golf Singapore

April 28-30 The Serapong at Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore

LIV Golf Tulsa

May 12-14 Cedar Ridge Country Club, Oklahoma, US

LIV Golf Valderrama

June 30-July 2 Real Club Valderrama, Spain

LIV Golf Greenbrier

August 4-6 The Greenbrier, West Virginia, US

Oh, and there is also the small factor that it was designed by LIV’s CEO and commissioner Greg Norman.

Also, the past two World Wide Technology Championship winners are Graeme McDowell and Pat Perez — both now LIV Golfers — not to mention Mexico’s two finest golfing exports Ancer and Ortiz.

Sergio Garcia is also said to be designing a course at Mayakoba, scheduled to open in 2024.

NATURE TRIAL

Mayakoba is situated on the Riviera Maya and features tropical jungle, mangroves and lagoons.

So, it seems like a match made in heaven, and no surprise that the club and series are aligning their interests.

Niemann is eager to get started alongside Pereira in Latin America — and hopefully on his Torque team.

“I imagine him playing LIV with me,” Jaco said recently. “It would be ideal for him to be on the team, but that is not yet known. I hope it is. For me, at least, it would be ideal if he was on the team.”

After a series of big-name signings throughout 2022 — with the likes of Smith, Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson joining the ranks after the inaugural season began — Pereira is expected to be the first in the Class of 2023 to make the move.

“Basically, we’re looking for maybe seven players, something like that,” Norman said in November.

With regards to the new global venues, he added: “LIV Golf is truly a global league dedicated to expanding the sport throughout the world, and these destinations for the league’s 2023 launch showcase our commitment to tournament play at the highest level. These venues have played host to signature moments in golf, and we’re excited to build new traditions for the sport while delivering a first-class fan experience at some of the world’s best courses.”

And with more US stops also confirmed, he added: “LIV Golf’s expansion to new US markets adds to the growing excitement for the league launch in 2023. More fans across the country and around the globe will experience the LIV Golf energy and innovative competition that has reinvigorated the sport, and these championship courses will contribute to the transformative season ahead for players, fans and the game of golf.”

LIV is expected to announce the rest of its 2023 schedule in the coming weeks.

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