TEAM PREVIEWS FOR LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL BANGKOK

Here’s a look at each of the 12 teams going into the sixth event of the inaugural 2022 LIV Golf season in Bangkok.

4 ACES GC: The all-American lineup completed the 4-peat and the sweep of the four regular season events held in the U.S. with a one-stroke win in Chicago. It was the smallest margin of victory in their four consecutive titles … Captain Dustin Johnson had the highest individual finish among team members, claiming third place in points and producing the winning birdie on the par-5 18th. He also set a LIV Golf record with the lowest round in relation to par, shooting a 9-under 63 in the first round. But for the first time this season, one of his scores did not count (73 in the second round) … Patrick Reed continues to play an important role in the final round, as he holed two chips en route to a 66 … Pat Perez had his best final-round score in his four starts with a 3-under 69 … Talor Gooch provided one of the counting scores in the first round … 4 Aces GC has a commanding lead in the regular-season points race that will determine the seeds for the Team Championship in Miami.

SMASH GC: For the first time this season, Smash GC finished in a money position, taking second place in Chicago, just one stroke behind 4 Aces GC … Smash GC’s previous best finish was a sixth place in Portland … All four players finished under par for the event … Peter Uihlein was the top player on the individual standings, finishing in second place in points at 10 under, with all three of his rounds counting toward the team score … Chase Koepka enjoyed his best LIV Golf performance, shooting 6 under. His final-round 67 led the team … Captain Brooks Koepka shot 70 in the first and third rounds, with both scores counting … Jason Kokrak contributed a second-round 68 for the all-American squad.

HY FLYERS GC: Captain Phil Mickelson’s team finished in the top three for the first time this season, claiming third place in points via tiebreaker while sharing third-place earnings with Punch GC at 17 under … Hy Flyers GC have now claimed points in the last three events after going pointless in the first two … Mickelson had his best result as a LIV Golfer, shooting 6 under and finishing eighth in individual points. Mickelson’s 6-under 66 was the lowest final-round score among the 48 players in the field … Cameron Tringale had a key birdie putt late in the final round to help his team secure a money position. Tringale shot a final-round 68 … Matthew Wolff opened with a 67 and contributed a second counting score with his final-round 72 … Bernd Wiesberger’s 72 in the second round also counted.

PUNCH GC: Thanks to captain Cameron Smith’s individual win, the all-Australian lineup finished in the money for the first time, sharing the third-place prize with Hy Flyers GC while taking fourth place in points … Punch GC’s previous best finish this season was seventh place in London and Boston … Making his second LIV Golf start, Smith won his first individual title by three shots, shooting 13 under, and was the only player to shoot three rounds in the 60s … Matt Jones also provided counting scores in all three rounds while finishing at 4 under … Former captain Wade Ormsby’s final-round 72 also counted … Marc Leishman hopes to get back on track in Bangkok after a disappointing 6 over.

STINGER GC: The all-South African team remains one of LIV Golf’s most consistent performers, finishing inside the top 5 for the fourth time this season … Charl Schwartzel, who led Stinger GC to the team title in London while winning the individual trophy, contributed counting scores in all three rounds in Chicago while shooting 7 under … Captain Louis Oosthuizen also finished at 7 under, with two of his rounds counting … Both players finished inside the top 10 on the individual leaderboard … Portland winner Branden Grace contributed a final-round 71, while Shaun Norris’ second-round 70 also counted … Stinger GC is currently in second place in the season-long points standings.

CRUSHERS GC: After finishing second in the team competition in Boston, captain Bryson DeChambeau’s team followed it with a sixth-place finish in Chicago. That leaves the team in fourth place in the season-long standings … Crushers GC joined Smash GC as the only teams in which all four players finished under par for the event … DeChambeau contributed counting scores in all three rounds. He also contributed three counting scores in his LIV Golf debut in Portland … Charles Howell III shot 68-71 in the first two rounds to contribute those scores … Paul Casey and Anirban Lahiri contributed counting scores in the final round … Lahiri has the top individual performance among the Crushers this season, finishing second in Boston in his LIV Golf debut.

TORQUE GC: Joaquin Niemann continues to set the pace since joining LIV Golf and taking over the team’s captaincy in Boston. The Chilean star shot 8 under for the tournament to finish fifth in individual points, and was the only member of his team to shoot in the 60s (69 in the second round, 68 in the third round) … Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent also contributed three counting scores in shooting 5 under for a top-15 individual finish … Australia’s Jediah Morgan shot a final-round 71 as one of the counting scores … Japan’s Hideto Tanihara replaces David Puig in the lineup in Bangkok. Tanihara was the Torque captain in Portland and Bedminster before Niemann assumed the role.

FIREBALLS GC: For the fourth consecutive event, the all-Spanish speaking Fireballs GC finished in a points position, taking eighth place in Chicago. However, it was the team’s lowest finish since their 11th place showing in the inaugural event in London … Fireballs GC, which produced back-to-back podium finishes in Portland and Bedminster, are in fifth place in the season-long standings … Captain Sergio Garcia had his best LIV Golf result, a fourth place in points while shooting 8 under. It’s the third consecutive top 10 finish for the Spanish star, as he contributed scores in all three rounds … First-year pro Eugenio Chacarra had his most productive tournament, shooting 2 under and providing two counting scores … Abraham Ancer also counted twice with a pair of 71s … Carlos Ortiz’s 70 was the team’s low score in the first round.

CLEEKS GC: England’s Laurie Canter was the bright spot for the all-European team in Chicago, shooting 6 under and taking 11th on the individual leaderboard. All three of Canter’s scores counted for Cleeks, which finished ninth as a team … The only time the team has finished in the points this season was a sixth place in London … Fellow Englishman Richard Bland counted twice, with a 70 in the second round and a 71 in the third round … Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell provided the other two counting scores … Captain Martin Kaymer of Germany saw his streak of 11 consecutive counting scores end.

MAJESTICKS GC: For the first time this season, Majesticks GC failed to pick up a team point, finishing 10th in Chicago. But Majesticks remains third in the season-long standings, one point ahead of Crushers GC … Captain Lee Westwood continued his impressive play, providing counting scores in every round and finishing at 5 under … Henrik Stenson, the winner in Bedminster, returned to the lineup after having to withdraw in Boston due to vertigo. The Swedish major champ opened with a 68 as one of his two counting scores … Ian Poulter also provided two counting scores, while Sam Horsfield was shut out for the first time this season.

IRON HEADS GC: After coming close to a podium finish in Boston, Iron Heads GC was unable to build on that performance, finishing 11th in Chicago. None of the four players on the team finished under par individually … Captain Kevin Na was the team’s best player, finishing at 1 under and shooting a final-round 70 as one of his two counting scores … Sihwan Kim and Phachara Khongwatmai also contributed two counting scores. Khongwatmai shot even-par 72 for all three rounds … Sadom Kaewkanjana’s opening-round 70 was his counting contribution.

NIBLICKS GC: Non-playing captain Bubba Watson’s team remains in search of its breakout performance, as it finished 12th for the second consecutive event … Harold Varner III contributed counting scores in all three rounds, remaining the team’s most consistent performer … Varner (70 in the first round) and James Piot (70 in the second round) provided the only two rounds under par for the week. Piot also contributed two counting scores … Hudson Swafford and Turk Pettit contributed one counting round each.

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