LIV Golf League Team Name Changes Revealed

Preparations for the new LIV Golf League continue to take shape less than three weeks before the action gets under way El Camaleon Golf Club in Mexico, with confirmation that two of the team names are changing.

Like last year’s inaugural season,12 teams of four players will compete in each tournament. However, while 10 names remain the same, two have changed. Last year, Bubba Watson was a non-playing captain of Niblicks GC as he recovered from injury. Now fully fit, he will tee it up as captain of the newly named Range GOATS GC. Meanwhile, another change sees last year’s all-Australian Punch GC, led by Cameron Smith, become Ripper GC in 2023. The news came via a newly released trailer for the season, which also confirms the team captains.  

Dustin Johnson will once again captain last season’s all-conquering 4 Aces GC. Meanwhile, Martin Kaymer leads Cleeks GC for a second season. Bryson DeChambeau returns as Crushers GC captain, while Sergio Garcia heads Fireballs GC. Elsewhere, Phil Mickelson remains captain of Hy Flyers GC, and Kevin Na is again named Iron Heads GC captain. 

Last year, Lee Westwood captained the majority of Majesticks GC’s tournaments, but this year the honour goes to Ian Poulter. Louis Oosthuzen resumes his role as Stinger GC captain while, Joaquin Niemann is again named captain of Torque GC.

It is likely that the two new names will create the most interest, though. Watson prompted speculation he would rename his team last week when he was shown wearing a cap with the name Range GOATS emblazoned on it. As for Punch GC’s rebranding, Ripper GC makes sense within the context of the all-Australian team given the word's common use in the country.

The team element is likely to be a big driver for LIV Golf in its second season, with Greg Norman hoping the franchise model, giving the captain who the chance to build their team franchise to gain the greatest fan followings and sponsor interest, takes off.

The news follows other recent announcements of the LIV Golf League schedule and a multi-year TV deal with the CW Network in the USA as preparations for what will be an important season for the circuit begin to ramp up.