Famed Blue Monster to host fourth consecutive LIV Golf
MIAMI, Florida – LIV Golf returns this week to Miami and Trump National Doral for a fourth consecutive year. The famed Blue Monster, once an annual staple on the PGA Tour, now becomes the first golf course to host LIV Golf tournaments in each of its first four seasons. Miami marks the first of six LIV Golf tournaments to be held in the U.S. in 2025.
Last year, Stinger GC’s Dean Burmester defeated Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia in an exciting playoff after tying in regulation at 11-under; Captain Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team shot a -22 to take the team title over the RangeGoats GC by a shot.
The Blue Monster will play as a par 72 at 7,701 yards, and its demanding length, ubiquitous water, and slick greens will present some problems for the 54 entrants over the 54 holes of the no-cut event, which begins with a shotgun start on Friday at 12:15 pm. Shotguns on Saturday at 11:15 am and then again on Sunday at 12:05 pm complete the tournament.
The individual purse is $20M with the winner earning $4M; the team purse for the top three teams is $5M with first place worth $750,000 per player.
Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann moved to No. 1 in the individual points standings in 2025 ahead of Rahm, after winning his second in Singapore and capturing his first in Adelaide. Niemann now has four career LIV Golf wins and can tie Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka’s record of five career wins. Garcia, No. 3 in points, won in Hong Kong in early March for his second championship after his initial 2024 victory at Valderrama. The Cleeks Adrian Meronk won the first LIV event this year in Riyadh.
Garcia’s Fireballs GC enter Miami atop the team points standings and are seeking a fourth consecutive LIV Golf team title after decimating the other 13 teams at Adelaide, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Rahm’s Legion XIII won in Riyadh.
For the FanDuel cognoscenti, the current odds for the top three contenders are Jon Rahm 6/1, Joaquin Niemann 13/2, and Tyrrell Hatton 10/1.
Twelve of LIV’s 54-player roster will head to Augusta National next week, comprised of seven Masters champions – Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, and Charl Schwartzel.
Joining them in search of a first green jacket will be major winners Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Cameron Smith, along with special invitees, Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton (who registered a top-10 finish last year).
2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia, who is currently at the top of his game, said, “Miami is good preparation for Augusta. There’s nothing better than competition to get ready for a major.”
Also, LIV has made some headway in the exemption process in starting this season. The U.S. Open will reward an exemption to the leading LIV Golf player not already exempt among the top three of the individual standings as of May 19. The Open will provide a similar exemption for the leading player among the top five in the standings after LIV Golf Dallas. These new exemptions are significant as LIV Golf players continue to make their presence known in the majors.
LIV Golf Miami, and the entire LIV Golf season, can be viewed on Fox Sports channels and streaming services.
