LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL PORTLAND TO DEBUT MAJOR CHAMPIONS BROOKS KOEPKA, BRYSON DECHAMBEAU AND PATRICK REED, INTERNATIONAL STAR ABRAHAM ANCER AND FAN FAVORITE PAT PEREZ
Written by LIV Golf
In Only Second Event, LIV Golf Players Represent Nine of the Last 21 Major Winners; Team Captains for Portland Announced
London and West Palm Beach (June 22, 2022) – LIV Golf today announced the global field of players and the 12 team captains that will tee off at the second tournament of the season, the LIV Golf Invitational Portland, taking place June 30-July 2 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon.
Among the headline players making their LIV Golf debuts are four-time major champion and former world No. 1 Brooks Koepka, 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, 2018 Masters champion and Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed, and international sensation and current world No. 20 Abraham Ancer. Pat Perez, a fan favorite who boasts 74 top-10 finishes including four professional wins, and Yuki Inamori, a four-time winner on Japanese tours with 39 top-10 finishes as a pro, also make their first appearances with LIV Golf.
Three weeks after LIV Golf’s historic launch at Centurion Club in London, the Portland field will showcase nine of the last 21 major winners, four former world No. 1 players and nearly half of its competitors currently ranked in the top 100. The global field represents 12 different countries and a combined 20 major titles, as well as future stars of the game who earned an NCAA National Championship, US Amateur Championships and professional tour wins among their accomplishments. Players will compete in golf’s most exciting new format for $25 million and the chance to become the second individual and team champions for LIV Golf.
Players confirmed for the LIV Golf Invitational Portland (country of origin and OWGR listed):
Abraham Ancer
Country: MEX
OWGR: 20
Career Highlights: Three professional wins
Richard Bland
Country: ENG
OWGR: 69
Career Highlights: Two career wins
Itthipat Buranatanyarat
Country: THA
OWGR: 607
Career Highlights: Three wins on the Asian Development Tour
Laurie Canter
Country: ENG
OWGR: 122
Career Highlights: One professional win
Bryson DeChambeau
Country: USA
OWGR: 30
Career Highlights: Major champion; 10 professional wins
Hennie Du Plessis
Country: RSA
OWGR: 134
Career Highlights: Three professional wins
Sergio Garcia
Country: ESP
OWGR: 59
Career Highlights: Major champion; 36 career victories
Talor Gooch
Country: USA
OWGR: 39
Career Highlights: Two professional wins
Branden Grace
Country: RSA
OWGR: 125
Career Highlights: 14 professional wins
Justin Harding
Country: RSA
OWGR: 114
Career Highlights: 11 professional wins
Sam Horsfield
Country: ENG
OWGR: 77
Career Highlights: Three professional wins
Yuki Inamori
Country: JPN
OWGR: 106
Career Highlights: Four professional wins
Dustin Johnson
Country: USA
OWGR: 16
Career Highlights: Former World No. 1; Two-time major champion
Matt Jones
Country: AUS
OWGR: 72
Career Highlights: Four professional wins
Sadom Kaewkanjana
Country: THA
OWGR: 119
Career Highlights: Former Asian Tour Order of Merit leader (2 wins)
Martin Kaymer
Country: GER
OWGR: 224
Career Highlights: Former World No. 1; Two-time major champion
Phachara Khongwatmai
Country: THA
OWGR: 136
Career Highlights: Youngest player to win pro event (2013)
Sihwan Kim
Country: USA
OWGR: 137
Career Highlights: Two Asian Tour wins
Ryosuke Kinoshita
Country: JPN
OWGR: 91
Career Highlights: Three professional wins
Brooks Koepka
Country: USA
OWGR: 19
Career Highlights: Former World No. 1; Four-time major champion
Chase Koepka
Country: USA
OWGR: 1607
Career Highlights: Six professional top-10 finishes
Jinichiro Kozuma
Country: JPN
OWGR: 109
Career Highlights: Two professional wins
Graeme McDowell
Country: NIR
OWGR: 372
Career Highlights: Major champion; 16 victories
Phil Mickelson
Country: USA
OWGR: 83
Career Highlights: 6X major champion; World Golf Hall of Fame
Jediah Morgan
Country: AUS
OWGR: 251
Career Highlights: 2021-22 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit
Kevin Na
Country: USA
OWGR: 34
Career Highlights: Nine professional victories
Shaun Norris
Country: RSA
OWGR: 76
Career Highlights: 12 professional wins
Louis Oosthuizen
Country: RSA
OWGR: 23
Career Highlights: Major champion; 20 professional wins
Wade Ormsby
Country: AUS
OWGR: 285
Career Highlights: Four professional wins
Adrian Otaegui
Country: ESP
OWGR: 169
Career Highlights: Three professional wins
Pat Perez
Country: USA
OWGR: 170
Career Highlights: Four professional wins; 74 top-10 finishes
Turk Pettit
Country: USA
OWGR: 615
Career Highlights: 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Champion
James Piot
Country: USA
OWGR: 1785
Career Highlights: 2021 U.S. Amateur Champion
Ian Poulter
Country: ENG
OWGR: 98
Career Highlights: 19 professional victories; former World No. 5
Patrick Reed
Country: USA
OWGR: 38
Career Highlights: Major champion; Nine professional wins
Charl Schwartzel
Country: RSA
OWGR: 123
Career Highlights: Major champion; London Invitational Winner
Travis Smyth
Country: AUS
OWGR: 405
Career Highlights: International Series Order of Merit Qualifier
Ian Snyman
Country: RSA
OWGR: 379
Career Highlights: International Series Order of Merit Qualifier
Hudson Swafford
Country: USA
OWGR: 96
Career Highlights: Four professional wins; 12 top 10 finishes
Hideto Tanihara
Country: JPN
OWGR: 183
Career Highlights: 16 professional victories
Peter Uihlein
Country: USA
OWGR: 329
Career Highlights: Former No. 1 Amateur; Four professional wins
Scott Vincent
Country: ZIM
OWGR: 92
Career Highlights: Four professional wins
Lee Westwood
Country: ENG
OWGR: 85
Career Highlights: Former World No. 1; 44 professional wins
Bernd Wiesberger
Country: AUT
OWGR: 97
Career Highlights: 13 professional victories
Blake Windred
Country: AUS
OWGR: 269
Career Highlights: Earned first professional win in 2021
*Note: The final three players will be announced in the coming days.
“Coming off our successful launch in London, we take another leap forward with our strengthened field for Portland. Record-setting champions, global ambassadors and rising stars are showing that players are eager to get involved with our innovative model that stresses camaraderie, competition, and above all, fun, that drives a new and entertaining product for today’s golf fans,” said Greg Norman, CEO and Commissioner of LIV Golf. “The response after one event has been overwhelming. Free agency has officially come to golf. I’m proud of this field and our entire team that is committed to creating a new and exciting future for this sport.”
The 48-man field in Portland will play across 12 teams of four players each. Teams for Portland will be announced on Tuesday, June 28 following a draft during which team captains will select players from the field via a snake format.
The team captains announced for the Portland Invitational are:
Stinger GC - Louis Oosthuizen
Crushers GC - Bryson DeChambeau
Majesticks GC - Lee Westwood
Torque GC - Hideto Tanihara
4 Aces GC - Dustin Johnson
Cleeks GC - Martin Kaymer
Punch GC - Wade Ormsby
Niblicks GC - Graeme McDowell
Smash GC - Brooks Koepka
Hy Flyers GC - Phil Mickelson
Fireballs GC - Sergio Garcia
Iron Heads GC - Kevin Na
The LIV Golf Invitational Portland offers opportunities for golfers from around the world including the Asian Tour, DP World Tour, PGA Tour, Sunshine Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and Japan Golf Tour, as well as leading players from The International Series, which launched in Thailand in March, and top finishers from the LIV Golf Invitational Series. LIV Golf will continue to reward players that compete and perform well in LIV events, with a broad spectrum of exemption categories designed to ensure it delivers new opportunities for international golfers, as well as pathways for amateurs and the next generation of leading players, into elite professional golf.
Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel earned first prize in the individual competition at the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational London at Centurion Club. Stinger GC, Schwartzel’s team captained by major champion Louis Oosthuizen, took the team honors with fellow South Africans and teammates Hennie du Plessis and Branden Grace finishing second and third, respectively. Stinger GC finished with a total score of 20-under-par, besting the second-place competition by 14 strokes.
The LIV Golf Invitational Series launched June 9 to a worldwide audience showcasing its new, innovative format with more action, shotgun starts and no cut. Complete, live coverage of LIV Golf tournaments is globally available direct to fans on LIVGolf.com, YouTube and Facebook. LIV Golf event broadcasts are also aired live on a global roster of leading premium and free-to-air broadcasters providing coverage in over 150 territories around the world. The list of international networks covering the LIV Golf Invitational Series is available on LIVGolf.com.
LIV Golf is owned and operated by LIV Golf Investments whose vision and mission are centered around making holistic and sustainable investments to enhance the global golf ecosystem and unlock the sport’s untapped worldwide potential.
About LIV Golf Investments
LIV Golf Investments is a newly formed company, with group companies in the USA and UK. Its purpose is to holistically improve the health of professional golf on a global scale to help unlock the sports’ untapped potential. Greg Norman is the first and founding CEO of LIV Golf Investments. PIF, one of the world’s largest wealth funds, with a diverse international investment portfolio, is the majority shareholder in LIV Golf Investments.
LIV Golf Media Contacts:
Jane MacNeille
Allen Barrett
media@livgolf.com