PIETERS, STEELE, LEE, BURMESTER JOIN LIV GOLF; GOOCH NOW A RANGEGOAT

In addition, the RangeGoats have acquired Talor Gooch, who played for the 4Aces GC last season. James Piot and Scott Vincent also are changing teams.

That completes the 12 team rosters who will compete in the full 14-tournament LIV Golf League season. Previous rosters were released last Thursday and Friday.

Here’s a closer look at the four-man rosters of each team announced on Monday.

RANGEGOATS GC

It’s not enough that the RangeGoats get to activate a two-time Masters winner in Bubba Watson, the team captain who was sidelined last year while recovering from knee surgery. The Goats also are adding a proven team winner in Talor Gooch, part of the 4Aces GC lineup that dominated the regular season in 2022 before winning the Miami Team Championship.

Then to add more firepower, Belgium blaster Thomas Pieters has joined LIV Golf and will fill the spot that opened up after Hudson Swafford announced he’s out ifor the season due to a hip injury.

That means Harold Varner III is the only carryover from Watson’s active roster last season. It’s a lineup that looks vastly different and more imposing than last year’s team that finished the regular season last in points while playing under the Niblicks GC label.

Gooch was 11th in Individual Champion points last in 2022 while providing some timely low scores for the 4Aces. He’s pumped to join his good friend Varner and play for Watson.

“He’s obviously a guy that I’ve grown up watching win major championships and changing the game in some facets,” Gooch said of his new captain. “It’s going to be cool to team up with him.”

Said Watson: “I'm very excited to get a great golfer like that, a young talent with a good head on his shoulders.”

Pieters, currently ranked inside the world’s top 40, is a proven winner who has Ryder Cup and Olympics experience on his resume. In fact, he and Watson competed against each other in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games when golf returned as an Olympic sport. Pieters was solo fourth while Watson tied for eighth. Pieters also played in 2021, joining LIV Golf members Patrick Reed and Anirban Lahiri as two-time Olympians.

The 6-foot-5 Pieters has made two starts this season, including a tie for sixth in Dubai.

HYFLYERS GC

One of Phil Mickelson’s two new players is a familiar face. Brendan Steele, like Mickelson, grew up in Southern California, and the two friends play practice rounds together when they’re both in town. A few years ago, Steele discussed the impact the HyFlyers GC captain has had on his career.

“It’s really good to pick his brain about different ways to play courses, different ways to set up your bag … he’s got ideas for everything,” Steele told the Golf Channel. “So you can ask him any kind of question, and he’s always really helpful, which is awesome. So as much as he wants to drum you, he will help you with anything you need help with.”

The 39-year-old Steele will add another steady, experienced hand to a lineup that includes veteran Cameron Tringale and youngster James Piot. The 24-year-old Piot, who won the U.S. Amateur in 2021, spent the majority of last season playing for the old Niblicks team after turning pro to join LIV Golf. He improved during the course of the eight-tournament campaign, with his best result a tie for sixth at LIV Golf Bangkok.

Unlike his three HyFlyers teammates, Piot is not from California. He grew up in Michigan, and is the first U.S. Amateur champ from that state.

STINGER GC

Dean Burmester was born in Zimbabwe, but he plays under the South African flag, which makes him a perfect fit for Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC. He’s currently the highest-ranked South African in men’s golf and goes to a team that has three established stars in Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace.

Schwartzel and Grace won individual titles in the first two LIV Golf tournaments last year, and the Stingers have the distinction of winning the first-ever LIV Golf team title at the inaugural event in London. But the team’s pace slowed in the second half, especially with Grace fighting a rib injury suffered in the final regular-season event.

Adding the 33-year-old Burmester, who has nine pro wins since turning pro in 2010, should provide consistency out of the fourth position. He’s produced 18 top-10 finishes in the previous two years, including two wins in 2021.

Captain Kevin Na and his lone carryover teammate, Sihwan Kim, were each born in South Korea but moved to the United States at an early age and now play under the American flag. The newest Iron Heads GC member, Danny Lee, took a near-similar path growing up.

Lee was born in South Korea but emigrated to New Zealand when he was 8 years old. He now plays under the Kiwi flag and has represented that country in various international competition, including the 2016 Olympics.

Lee had just turned 18 when he won the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst in 2008, and he was the world’s top-ranked amateur prior to turning pro. He’s won three times since then, including a 2015 victory at Greenbrier, which will host a LIV Golf tournament on Aug. 4-6.

By the way, Na also has a win at Greenbrier, in 2018, so the Iron Heads should feel pretty confident heading to West Virginia in the summer.

The other change in the Iron Heads lineup involves the return of Scott Vincent. Zimbabwe’s top-ranked golfer played for four different teams last season, including one start with Na’s Iron Heads at LIV Golf Bedminster. Vincent then landed at Torque GC for the next event and stayed with that team for the remainder of the season.

Vincent earned a full ride in the 2023 LIV Golf League season by winning the International Series Order of Merit on the Asian Tour.