LIV Golf 2026 Season Preview: Cleeks Golf Club

Cleeks Golf Club should be an improved team in 2026 after making a roster upgrade in the offseason. 

2026 ROSTER

Martin Kaymer (captain), 41, Germany. LIV Golf starts (43); Best result (T8)
Adrian Meronk, 32, Poland. LIV Golf starts (26); Best result (1st)
Richard Bland, 52, England. LIV Golf starts (46); Best result (T3)
Victor Perez, 33, France. LIV Golf starts (0); Best result (N/A)

OFFSEASON NEWS

Cleeks Golf Club made a significant roster improvement, adding three-time DP World Tour winner Victor Perez after Frederik Kjettrup was relegated following the 2025 season. 

2026 OBJECTIVES

• Finish on the podium for the first time since 2024.  

• Continue to grow Cleeks Golf Club into a global brand.  

• Finish in the top half of the standings.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHTS

Martin Kaymer: Kaymer showed signs of a resurgence last year in Virginia, where he contended for most of the event before eventually finishing T8, his best-ever LIV Golf finish. After reaching the No. 1 spot in the world rankings in 2011, the German has faced plenty of ups and downs. If he can remain healthy and continue to improve as he did last season, he has plenty of strong seasons ahead of him.

Adrian Meronk: Meronk won the first LIV Golf event of the season in 2025 but was mostly boom or bust for the entirety of the season. The Pole is arguably the Cleeks best player and will need to be more consistent in 2026 for the team to avoid the bottom fourth of the team standings. Meronk had an active offseason and should be ready to defend his LIV Golf Riyadh title.

Richard Bland: Bland continues to defy father time and put up good results year after year. However, at this stage of his career, the 52-year-old will need his teammates to contribute a bit more if the team is to be competitive going forward.

Victor Perez: Perez is a solid addition to the team and brings stellar iron play along with winning experience to the Cleeks. Last year, Kjettrup failed to earn points, making it difficult for them to keep up in the standings. Perez should be a steady point earner next season and take some pressure off his teammates who were forced to overcompensate for a lack of production for much of 2025. 

WHAT THE STATS SUGGEST

The Cleeks will need to improve a great deal in every stat category to be competitive in 2026. The addition of Perez will undoubtedly help, but they’ll need an improvement from their whole roster to be competitive. 

WHERE CAN THEY IMPROVE?

The Cleeks ranked 9th or worse in every major statistical category last season. The ranked last in driving distance and scrambling, and 11th in putting, birdies made and fairways hit. 

KEY QUOTES 

Martin Kaymer on the recruitment of Victor Perez: “Well, first of all, we are very happy to have Victor. We approached it a little bit differently. We worked with a stats team together, so we had a few players from different tours were interested in joining our team, so we worked together with a stats team in order to make a leaderboard, just to have some facts, and then once we figured out who was No. 1, 2 and 3, we went with personalities, characters, do they fit to our team, can they include themselves nicely, and then all of a sudden we got a call from Victor that he was interested in joining our team.”

Victor Perez on joining LIV Golf: “Joining Cleeks Golf Club for the 2026 season feels like joining golf’s next great chapter, as this club continues to push boundaries, perform at the highest level, and bring fresh energy and vision to the game. The sport’s growth has been incredible, and LIV Golf’s innovation and energy are driving it forward. I'm excited to be part of that momentum and can’t wait to get started in Riyadh."

Richard Bland on his playing future: “I want to retire from the game. I don’t want the game to retire me. I’m hoping I’m good for next year. And as long as I feel like I’m competitive, I’ll keep playing.”

BOTTOM LINE

Victor Perez is a strong addition who will immediately make the team more competitive in 2026. The Cleeks, however, are starting from way behind the top teams in the league and will need Kaymer, Meronk and Bland to all perform better than last season if they are to make a significant jump in the standings. 

THREE BOLD PREDICTIONS

• Victor Perez will lead the team in points. 

• Martin Kaymer will have his career-best LIV Golf finish.  

• Richard Bland will finish in the Lock Zone.