The Duels: Miami competitors ready for LIV Golf’s latest fun – and unique – adventure

MIAMI – Golf content creator Fat Perez has been known to enjoy an adult beverage or two. So when Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith confirmed that a shoey – the Australian tradition of drinking beer out of a shoe to celebrate victory – would be in order if the duo wins The Duels: Miami competition, Perez added an extra layer.

“I’ll do one, win or lose. A shoey per birdie?” Perez said.

Smith’s eyes lit up. “That would be good,” he replied with a mischievous grin.

Whether in-game shoeys is the most advantageous path to victory can be debated (OK, it’s probably not). But no doubt the partners planned to have a good time while competing in The Duels, LIV Golf’s new single-event competition that paired six captains with six content creators in a made-for-YouTube contest at Trump National Doral.

The nine-hole scramble on the famed Blue Monster course is the league’s latest twist on the game in hopes of engaging the next generation of golf enthusiasts. The action took place at this week’s LIV Golf Miami, with The Duels video to be exclusively shown on Grant Horvat’s YouTube channel starting Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

The Smith-Perez partnership made up one team, while Horvat paired with HyFlyers GC Captain Phil Mickelson for another duo. The others include: Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia with George Bryan; 4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson with Wesley Bryan; Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann with Rick Shiels; and RangeGoats GC Captain Bubba Watson with Luke Kwon.

“What makes it so unique is the combination between creators and incredible players,” said Shiels, golf’s most followed content creator. “This has never been done before.

“Creators, we’re all about entertainment, making sure it’s fun and engaging. We’re not always the greatest golfers, and then when you throw in the mix of incredible talent, I think the chemistry is going to be electric.”

Added Watson: “It should be fun out there. We’ll all enjoy it, and the golf course is playing tough right now, especially on that back nine. The par-5 18th is going to be nice.”

Shiels was particularly pumped about his team’s chances since his partner Niemann is the current LIV Golf individual points leader, having won two of the league’s first four events this season.

“I’ve got the hottest property in golf at the moment on my team,” Shiels said.

Garcia, also in terrific form with an individual win in Hong Kong and three consecutive team wins for his Fireballs, should produce a strong showing with George Bryan, a professional golfer who made two starts on the PGA Tour in 2024.

Mickelson and Horvat are partners on Horvat’s new 2v2 series. Horvat also was part of a threesome that became the first to successfully Break 50 on Bryson DeChambeau’s popular YouTube series.

As for Smith and Perez … well, one’s a slim Australian and the other is a bulky American. But they share a love of golf as well as the same mullet hairstyle. They also share one other thing – the putter is their best weapon, which should make them dangerous.

“He's the greatest putter in The Duels, which may be the coolest thing you've ever heard, and then I'd like to think I may be the best putter from the creator side of things,” said Perez, part of the Bob Does Sports group.

Although golf content creators are receiving increased opportunities to play with pros, Shiels said he still doesn’t feel comfortable when teeing it up with golf’s biggest names. A recent filming with Watson as part of his LIV Golf content was a reminder.

“I could hardly put the tee in the ground because you're surrounded by just incredible talent,” Shiels said. “I've grown up watching these guys and just thinking they're superheroes the way they play golf.”

Added Perez: “We've been very lucky to have some incredible guests on our YouTube channel, and I think we kind of bring them into our world with food challenges and drinking challenges, whatever it may be. We kind of flipped the script I think a little bit on our comfort level versus their discomfort maybe at some turns.

“Yeah, you get to know these guys. They're great players but they're people that want to have a good time. You go out on the golf course to have fun, no matter where that is, what the circumstances are. As long as you keep that mindset, it's just kind of a round with the boys.”

There will be a winner after this round, though. One pro and one content creator will celebrate together. If it’s Smith and Perez, they may run out of shoes.