Fantasy Preview and Picks for LIV Golf Korea

What a start to 2025 for Joaquin Niemann.

The Torque GC captain entered the final round of LIV Golf Mexico two strokes behind Bryson DeChambeau for the clubhouse lead. Niemann, DeChambeau and Cameron Smith were neck and neck through the front nine, but Niemann pulled ahead on the back nine and finished strong with a birdie on the par-3 18th hole to win by three strokes over DeChambeau and Lucas Herbert (who tied the course record set by Jon Rahm with a 10-under 61).

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It was Niemann’s third LIV Golf victory of the season, which ties 2023 champion Talor Gooch for the most wins in one season. It was also Niemann’s fifth win overall, which is level with Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka for most in league history. By capturing the trophy at LIV Golf Mexico City, Niemann sits comfortably at the top of the individual standings with 124.66 points. Importantly, he cannot be caught by Sergio Garcia regardless of the results of LIV Golf Korea, meaning Niemann has secured his spot at the U.S. Open Championship in June and will play in all four majors this year for the first time since 2023.

The efforts of Niemann, Sebastian Munoz (T7) and Carlos Ortiz (16th) lifted Torque GC to third in the team event for their second podium finish of the season. The lead exchanged hands multiple times over the course of the weekend, but Legion XIII captured their second team trophy of the year by two strokes over Ripper GC, thanks in part to Caleb Surratt’s back-to-back birdies at the end of his final round. With their two wins and two runner-up finishes, Legion XIII sit at the top of the team standings with 130 points, closely followed by the Fireballs (113 points) and Ripper (90).

There’s not much time to dwell on what happened at Club de Golf Chapultepec, as the players boarded the plane following Sunday’s final round to head to South Korea, the venue of the seventh tournament of 2025. It’s the first time South Korea will host a LIV Golf tournament, and there aren’t many venues better to host its debut event than the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon.

One of 25 Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses worldwide, the course in Incheon opened in 2010 and has hosted several notable tournaments, including the 2015 Presidents Cup that consisted of 10 LIV Golf players including team captains Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Nicklaus-designed courses are as tough as they come, and the South Korean course is no different. Water will play a factor on over half of the course, including the par-4 fourth, ninth and 14th holes. Players will have to weigh the risks and rewards of going for the green vs. laying up, and going even-par will feel like converting a birdie opportunity. Mike McAllister has the complete breakdown of LIV Golf Korea including the course, storylines and things to watch.

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INDIVIDUALS

GROUP 1

Bryson DeChambeau - Captain, Crushers GC

On paper, three consecutive top-5 finishes is a great stretch of play for most professional golfers, but not so much for DeChambeau. He entered the final round with a lead at LIV Golf Miami and Mexico City and on Championship Sunday at The Masters, but he wasn’t able to hold onto the top spot in any of those tournaments. It’s a frustrating string of finishes for DeChambeau, but he has to tune up his game this weekend before the second major of the year, the PGA Championship, kicks off May 15. Through six LIV Golf tournaments, DeChambeau leads the league in both driving distance (332.0 yards) and eagles made (six) and is in the top-10 in birdies made, GIR and driving accuracy.

Joaquin Niemann - Captain, Torque GC

Niemann started the 2024 season strongly with two victories in the first three LIV Golf tournaments of the year (Mayakoba and Jeddah). He’s one-upped himself already in 2025, winning three of the first six tournaments of the season, with his victory in Mexico City securing his spot at the U.S. Open Championship. Niemann led for most of 2024 before being caught by Rahm and there’s still plenty of golf to play this year, but the Torque GC captain is on track to finish a spot higher in the individual standings in 2025. Niemann ranks top-5 in the field in birdies made, driving distance, GIR and scrambling opportunities.

Honorable mentions: Jon Rahm (Captain, Legion XIII - earned his third top-5 finish of the season in Mexico City and preserved his streak of top-10 finishes in LIV Golf), Cameron Smith (Captain, Ripper GC - his short game and putting keeps him out of trouble, was in contention in Mexico City before settling for a T5 finish)

GROUP 2

Bubba Watson - Captain, RangeGoats GC

Watson turned back the clock at The Masters two weeks ago, finishing tied with Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton for 14th. Watson carried that momentum into Mexico City, where his T7 placement was his first top-10 finish at a LIV Golf tournament since Tulsa in 2023. The RangeGoats GC captain ranks 13th in driving distance (314.1 yards), T15 in GIR (68.83%) and T16 in driving accuracy (60.71%).

Sebastian Munoz - Torque GC

Munoz has been one of the under-the-radar performers in the LIV Golf league this season. He stormed up the leaderboard in Mexico City to finish tied for seventh, which was his fourth top-10 finish of the season after doing so three times in 2023. Munoz ranks fifth in both driving accuracy (63.89%) and GIR (71.60%) and ranks in the top-15 in putts per hole and scrambling opportunities.

Honorable mentions: Lucas Herbert (Ripper GC - coming off an historic final round in Mexico City and leads the league in putts per hole), Charl Schwartzel (Stinger GC - four top-15 finishes over his last five LIV Golf outings and finished T36 at The Masters).

GROUP 3

Louis Oosthuizen - Captain, Stinger GC

Outside of a T5 finish in Singapore, it’s been a disappointing first half of the 2025 season for Oosthuizen. He’s finished T25 or worse in four of six LIV Golf tournaments this season and is coming off a solo 40th in Mexico City. I’m including him here because of his experience at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club; Oosthuizen was the best performing member of the International team that competed against the U.S. in 2015.

Talor Gooch - Smash GC

Gooch opened the season with finishes of T44-T51-49. The 2023 Individual Champion has strung together nice outings of late, finishing T12-T13 over the last two LIV Golf tournaments to crawl out of the dreaded Drop Zone in the standings. He has the talent to be included with the Group 1 players (kudos to those of you who selected Hatton in Group 2 last weekend), and Gooch ranks 10th and T14 in scrambling opportunities (62.75%) and driving accuracy (61.11%), respectively.

Honorable mentions: Matt Jones (Ripper GC - was in contention for a top-five finish before going 4-over on the back nine of the final round), Richard Bland (Cleeks GC - top-15 in scrambling, putts per hole and driving accuracy, recorded the second albatross in LIV Golf history in Mexico City).

GROUP 4

Jinichiro Kozuma - Iron Heads GC

Kozuma made his 2025 LIV Golf debut in Mexico City after missing the first five tournaments due to a lower back injury. He opened the tournament 2-over across the first two days, but he surged to a T21 finish after carding a 6-under 65 in the final round.

Graeme McDowell - Smash GC

McDowell has earned points in three of the first six tournaments of the season and is coming off a T17 finish in Mexico City. He ranks T19 in GIR (68.21%) and T23 in driving accuracy (57.94%).

Honorable mentions: Danny Lee (Iron Heads GC - didn’t have a great performance in Mexico City, but his he did well on the tough Blue Monster course to finish T9 in Miami), Chieh-Po Lee (Wild Card - T2 in the field in driving accuracy, came close to earning points in Mexico City if it weren’t for his three bogeys over the final seven holes).

TEAMS

Ripper GC - Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones

The All-Australian foursome finished second in Mexico after entering the final round with a two-stroke lead, though they were only as competitive as they were thanks to the blazing 10-under score from Herbert. Ripper GC were able to stay above water on the difficult Blue Monster course at LIV Golf Miami, and their ability to scramble out of trouble should allow them to navigate the Jack Nicklaus course in South Korea.

Legion XIII - Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Caleb Surratt

Rahm and Hatton have served as the anchors for Legion XIII this season; if both are on form, they’re most likely destined for a podium finish. That was the case in Mexico City, and Surratt’s T11 placement and finish to Championship Sunday propelled Legion XIII to their second win of the season. Legion XIII ranks in the top-3 in most statistical categories and lead the league in driving distance and birdies per round.

Honorable mention: Crushers GC (held the lead for the first half of Mexico City, driving accuracy of 59.33% is tied with the HyFlyers for second-best in the league behind Majesitcks GC).

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