LIV Golf Virginia Team Power Rankings

Following a month-long break in the action, LIV Golf returns to the United States and heads to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, for the first time. Let’s break down the teams in this week’s Power Rankings.

1. Crushers GC will look to remain hot following the brief hiatus after cruising to a nine-shot victory in Korea. It was only the team’s second podium finish of the year, although they’ve both come over the last three events. Bryson DeChambeau picked up his first win in Korea and teammate Charles Howell III III was the runner-up. DeChambeau was the lone player of the group to play the PGA Championship, where he finished T2. Predicted order of finish: DeChambeau, Casey, Howell III, Lahiri

2. Coming off a disappointing T5 finish in Korea is Legion XIII, although that tied for their worst showing of the year and shows how high the floor is. Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Tom McKibbin all made the cut at Quail Hollow, although Rahm was the only one ever in contention. Rahm is looking to make it a perfect 8-for-8 for top-10s on LIV, while McKibbin will look to bounce back from his worst showing of the year (47th). Predicted order of finish: Rahm, Hatton, McKibbin, Surratt

3. Torque GC has finished third in back-to-back events, marking their highest spot in the Power Rankings this year. Joaquin Niemann remains the individual season-long leader and will look to keep the momentum rolling after posting his first top-10 in a major. Torque is also the only team in the league that has three players in the top-10, and Sebastian Munoz has been the most consistent with four top-10s. Predicted order of finish: Niemann, Ortiz, Munoz, Pereira

4. Sitting in fourth place in the Power Rankings and the season-long team standings we find Ripper GC, who made a move up the leaderboard in the final round of Korea to finish T5. Cameron Smith continues to play well with three consecutive top-10s, although he did miss the cut at the PGA Championship. Lucas Herbert also continues to get the job done with five straight top-20s to rank fifth in the individual standings. Predicted order of finish: Herbert, Smith, Leishman, Jones

5. Smash GC couldn’t hold their 36-hold lead in Korea as Crushers GC caught fire, but they were eight clear of third place to post by far their best showing of the year. The question will be whether it was a flash in the pan or a sign of things to come in the second half of the season. Talor Gooch finished third and his recent resurgence is a great sign. Brooks Koepka sits 12th in the standings but has been hit-or-miss and didn’t see the weekend at Quail Hollow. Predicted order of finish: Koepka, Gooch, Kokrak, McDowell

6. Stinger GC will look to improve on a T5 finish in Korea and the group has been consistently in the middle of the pack this year. Dean Burmester and Charl Schwartzel each have a runner-up finish on their resume, but the group has failed to collectively put their good weeks into the same tournament. Branden Grace returns this week after overcoming a wrist injury. Predicted order of finish: Burmester, Oosthuizen, Schwartzel, Grace

7. Showing some signs of life last time out was RangeGoats GC, whose fourth-place finish was their best result since a T2 in the season opener. They did it without Ben Campbell (wrist) who was originally aiming to return this week, but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready. Minkyu Kim finished T42 in his place. Matthew Wolff will look to build off his first top-10 of the year, while Bubba Watson has posted back-to-back top-20s. Predicted order of finish: Campbell, Uihlein, Watson, Wolff

8. After a stretch of three solid showings in a row, 4Aces GC came down to earth in Korea where they finished eighth. The bright side was that Patrick Reed had his best result of the year with a T4, but he and Dustin Johnson both missed the cut at Quail Hollow. Harold Varner III uncharacteristically only beat two golfers last time out, so the team could outperform here if Varner bounces back. Predicted order of finish: Reed, Pieters, Johnson, Varner III

9. We have a pretty big difference between Fireballs GC’s power ranking of ninth and their season-long team standing of second, but the group is trending downward having finished, fifth, eighth and most recently 10th following their three early season victories. David Puig and Sergio Garcia finished T60 and T67, respectively, at the PGA Championship, and the recent slides of Garcia and Abraham Ancer have held the team back. Predicted order of finish: Puig, Garcia, Ancer, Masaveu

10. Majesticks GC was one of only four teams to shoot under-par all three rounds in Korea, but they failed to go low and ultimately finished ninth. It did break a stretch of four consecutive tournaments of finishing 12th or 13th, however. Ian Poulter T13 was his first finish in the top half of the field this year, but the team needs a better showing from Lee Westwood to contend going forward. Predicted order of finish: Horsfield, Stenson, Poulter, Westwood

11. It was a slow start for HyFlyers GC in Korea, as they posted the worst opening round but climbed out of the basement to finish 11th. Their last two starts (10th in Mexico) halted any momentum they might have had, although Andy Ogletree's best finish of the season gives them hope for a decent summer. Phil Mickelson recorded his first result outside the top half of the field, so we’ll find out this week if that was an anomaly or not. Predicted order of finish: Tringale, Steele, Mickelson, Ogletree

12. For a sixth straight tournament, Cleeks GC finished 11th or 12th in the team standings as they continue to show minimal upside. The bright side is Richard Bland, who finished a respectable T37 at Quail Hollow to follow up his T7 in Korea. Can anyone else step up to help the team? Rookie Frederik Kjettrup is still looking for his first top-25 and Adrian Meronk continues to struggle. Projected order of finish: Bland, Meronk, Kjettrup, Kaymer

13. IronHeads GC closes out this week’s Power Rankings after finishing last by four shots last time out. Jinichiro Kozuma impressively is 36th in the individual standings – best on the team despite only having played in two events in his return from injury. Yubin Jang finds himself in the drop zone currently as the rookie has failed to impress. Needless to say, this is a hard team to be optimistic about. Predicted order of finish: Kozuma, Na, Jang, Lee