LIV Golf UK by JCB: Team Power Rankings

LIV Golf UK by JCB: Team Power Rankings

Just over two years on from our 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.

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.

PLAY LIV GOLF FANTASY NOW: Now that you read what the experts have to say, it’s time to submit your own picks. Set your lineup by shotgun start on July 26th at 9 a.m. EST for your chance to win great prizes.

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. Prediction: DeChambeau, Lahiri, 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. Prediction: Garcia, Ancer, Chacarra, 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. Prediction: Niemann, Ortiz, Munoz, 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. Prediction: Smith, Leishman, Herbert, Jones
5. Stinger GC. The Stingers have positioned themselves in fifth place in the team standings, and in this week’s power rankings, on the heels of their fourth top-3 finish two weeks ago, but just like Torque GC, they’re also looking for 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. Prediction: Oosthuizen, Burmester, 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. Prediction: Reed, Johnson, Perez, Varner III

Legion XIII Hatton

7. Legion XIII. Perhaps the most difficult team to predict is Legion XIII, who sit in second in the team standings thanks to three wins, but they 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. Prediction: Hatton, Rahm, Surratt, 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. Prediction: Bland, Meronk, 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. Prediction: Koepka, Gooch, Kokrak, McDowell