As the Battle of ‘Blue Monster’ Inches Closer, Here’s All You Need to Know About the Key Changes in the $50M LIV Showdown

Stroke play. Singles. Foursomes. Throw some money – a staggering amount of money – into the mix and you have the perfect cocktail of a LIV Golf season finale. It’s that time of the year again when the $50M final event returns to Trump National Doral Golf Club near Miami to decide its crowning champion.

Initially, it was decided that the final would be played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this year. But a sudden change of plan meant the breakout league is set to return to the ‘Blue Monster’ once again for its final like it did last year. Touring on four continents over the course of nine months, LIV Golf returns to Miami but this time with some tweaks in the format to make it more interesting for its growing number of fans.

LIV Golf season finale offers equal title opportunity to each team

This year, all twelve teams will play on the Sunday finals, but for different positions. Similar to the last year’s final, in the Friday quarterfinals, the teams from no.5 to no. 12 will play each other. From there, top four teams will advance to the Saturday semifinals. But unlike the 2022 LIV final, it’s not the end of the story for the remaining four teams.

As per this year’s rules, the bottom four teams will again play on Sunday for 9-12 positions. For example, if Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC fails to qualify for the semifinals, but wins the finals on Sunday, they will be placed at No. 9.

It’s the same for the semifinals as well. Teams seeded 1-4 will play off against the qualified teams from the semifinals. The top four from there will advance to the finals vying for the top spot.

For the remaining four teams, Sunday offers an opportunity to grab the fifth on the leaderboard. Theoretically, a team currently lagging at the bottom of the leaderboard has the chance to take a shot at the title on the final weekend.

Read More: How Important Is 2023 LIV Golf Jeddah? All We Need to Know About the Flagship Event of the Rival League

Schedule for LIV Golf’s grand weekend at Miami

LIV Golf, unlike the PGA Tour & the DP World Tour, focuses on team play. With 12 teams and 48 players, the final event will be a massive showdown over three days. Let’s take a look at the final schedule of the event.

Friday, Oct. 20–Quarterfinals

• The top four teams, i.e. teams ranked at 1-4 after the Jeddah event will receive a bye.
• Teams ranked 5-12 will play off each for a spot in the semi-finals the next day.
• All 32 players from those eight teams will also play against each other in two singles matches and one foursome match.
• Matches will be played until there is a decisive winner on the line.
• Each win earns a point for the respective team.
• Teams with two points will automatically qualify for the semifinals.

Saturday, Oct. 21–Semifinals

• The top four teams rested on Friday will square off against the qualified teams from the quarterfinals.
• Similar to the quarterfinals, 32 players from the eight teams will face each other in two singles matches and one foursome match.
• The matches will be played until a winner is announced.
• Each point won in matches will add to the total tally of the respective team’s points.
• Eliminated teams will finish at 5-8 on the leaderboard.

Sunday, Oct. 22–Finals

• Unlike the previous year, all 48 players and 12 teams will play in the finals this time.
• There will be one round of stroke play. All four individual scores will be counted towards the team score.
• The top four teams from the semifinals will compete for the title. The team with the lowest score will be crowned the season champion.
• The four teams eliminated in the semifinals will face each other. The winner will take the fifth place on the leaderboard.
• Similarly, the four teams eliminated in the Friday quarterfinals will go up against each other vying for the 9-12 position on the final leaderboard.

Despite these changes from the last year, one thing has remained constant – 4Acers GC topping the leaderboard. Dustin Johnson’s men are ten points ahead of Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC ahead of the Jeddah tee-off this week. They will look to extend that lead before coming to the final showdown at the Dorian.

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