LIV Golf Watch: Stars set for BMW Australian PGA Championship

This week, 11 LIV Golf players will be in action, with nine teeing it up in the BMW Australian PGA Championship on the DP World Tour’s Opening Swing, one playing in the Casio World Open on the Japan Tour and one in the Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship on the Sunshine Tour.

BMW AUSTRALIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

The BMW Australian PGA Championship will take place Nov. 27-30 at Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane. The event officially opens both the 2025-26 PGA Tour of Australasia season and the DP World Tour’s Opening Swing, which is new this season. The historic Royal Queensland is a 7,085-yard par-71 parkland course originally designed by Carnegie Clark and later renovated by Mike Clayton in 2008. Despite not being overly long, the course can play relatively difficult due to its deep and difficult bunkering with water in play on several holes. This is the fifth consecutive year that Royal Queensland will host the Australian PGA Championship. Each of the four previous winners at the course have been Australian players.

ABRAHAM ANCER. Ancer will be making his offseason debut this week as well as his debut at Royal Queensland. The Mexican has had success in Australia, winning the Emirates Australian Open in 2018 at The Lakes Golf Club.

JOSELE BALLESTER. Ballester should be extremely dangerous this week following his first ever professional win at last week’s Saudi International. The young Spaniard shot rounds of 66-65-66-65 to claim victory in just his 10th professional start. Ballester will be making his Australian PGA Championship debut.

MATT JONES. Jones missed the cut at last week’s Saudi International but finished T6 in his only other start of the offseason at the Link Hong Kong Open. The veteran will be making his first start at the Australian PGA since 2018 when he finished T30 at Royal Pines.

SEBASTIÁN MUÑOZ. Muñoz will be making his debut the Australian PGA Championship. His first start of the offseason took place last week at the Saudi International, where the Colombian finished T50.

JOAQUIN NIEMANN. Niemann has not quite looked like his dominant self so far this offseason. In three starts, he has a T20, T55 and a missed cut. The Torque GC star should find some strong vibes this week, as he finished 5th in the event last year and has also won in Australia at the 2024 ISPS Handa Australian Open.

MARC LEISHMAN. Leishman has played the Australian PGA three times, boasting finishes of T12, 3rd and T3. He arrives in Queensland in fantastic form, finishing in the top 11 in all three of his worldwide starts this offseason.

CARLOS ORTIZ. Like Muñoz, Ortiz will be making his Australian PGA Championship debut. The Mexican finished T50 at last week’s Saudi International, shaking off the rust after making his first start since the end of the LIV Golf season.

DAVID PUIG. Puig has been playing steady golf this offseason, finishing in the top 20 in three of his four worldwide starts, including a 16th-place finish at last week’s Saudi International. The Fireballs GC star is still seeking his first professional victory and may find some inspiration from teammate Josele Ballester getting in the winner’s circle last week.

CAMERON SMITH. Smith missed the cut at last week’s Saudi International and has struggled throughout 2025 but will be heading to one of his favorite courses in the world in Royal Queensland. The Queenslander has been phenomenal at the course throughout his career and boasts a 2023 victory at the event as well as a runner-up finish last season. If there’s anywhere the Ripper GC captain can find some form, it’s here.

CASINO WORLD OPEN

The Casio World Open is one of the most prominent tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO), held annually in November as one of the big events that wrap up the JGTO season. The tournament is played at Kochi Kuroshio Country Club in Geisei, Kōchi Prefecture and is a 72-par measuring 7,335 yards.

JINICHIRO KOZUMA. Kozuma finished T50 at last week’s Saudi International, continuing a stretch of less-than-stellar form over the LIV Golf offseason. Kozuma has missed five of seven cuts and his best finish of the fall has been a T43 at the Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters. Kozuma last played in the Casio World Open in 2019 (T23) and his best finish came in 2021 (T4).

FITCH & LEEDES PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

The Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship is set to take place at the prestigious St. Francis Links in South Africa's Eastern Cape. This event is a crucial part of the Sunshine Tour's “Triple Crown” and holds the distinction of being South Africa's second-oldest professional tournament. Last month, Stinger GC announced that they were helping to increase the prize pool for the tournament.

DEAN BURMESTER. Burmester will be representing Stinger GC in their home country this week fresh off a fantastic week at Riyadh Golf Club. Burmester finished 3rd in the event with rounds of 69-63-64-71. He won the Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship in 2021 with a long-range putt from off the green.

PLAYER NEWS

At last week’s PIF Saudi International, LIV Golf players made up the entirety of the top 10, with young Fireballs GC star Josele Ballester getting his first professional win.

In one of the golf world's biggest stories of the week, Anthony Kim had his best start since his return to professional golf in 2024 at last week’s Saudi International. The former Ryder Cup star finished T5, showing he can still compete with an elite field. The finish was Kim’s first top-20 result since he returned from a 12-year absence from the game.

Coming off a difficult season in 2025, Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith said he hopes to find some form this week in his home country while speaking to Australian Golf Digest. “I’m looking forward to [the Australian PGA and Open],” Smith said. “I feel like the game is in a good enough spot to compete. Obviously, Royal Queensland is a course that I love and have played well at. I think just being at home brings that [playfulness] back a little bit as well, and obviously having success here at [Royal Queensland] probably helps. I’m trying to go out there and not worry about it so much.”

Episode 4 of Behind the Aces has been released, with this episode focused on the story of Harold Varner III.

SuperSport will premiere an all-access documentary following Stinger GC called “Greens & Gold”. Produced by T&W (the Emmy-nominated team behind Chasing the Sun), the series promises raw locker-room moments, team banter and everything that makes the Stingers uniquely South African. The documentary airs Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. CAT on SuperSport in South Africa.

LIV Golf’s newest member, Victor Perez of Cleeks Golf Club, will be teeing it up in next month’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa over on the DP World Tour.

While playing with YouTube star Grant Horvat, Bryson DeChambeau discussed his wedge play, saying it’s holding him back from being the best player in the world.

"This is where if I can get better with these wedges, then I can get to the best player in the world," DeChambeau told Horvat. "But I’ve got to get better with them.

"The problem is I can’t hit it high, and then I try to steepen it and go down after it and just a massive divot. Got to figure that one out. That’s the thing that’s holding me back.”

Horvat and DeChambeau’s match, posted on the Crushers GC captain’s YouTube channel, has over 2 million views in just over a week.

A guest appearance from Majesticks GC Captain Ian Poulter delivered plenty of entertainment when he made an appearance on the extremely popular “Bryan Bros Golf” YouTube channel. “The Postman” took on the Bryan Brothers in an 18-hole match at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida.

In a feel-good moment, RangeGoats GC shared a video on social media highlighting their Goats Vs. Kids event in Chicago.