2025 LIV Golf Season Preview: Cleeks Golf Club

The 2025 LIV Golf League season starts Feb. 6 in Riyadh. Here’s a quick look at Martin Kaymer’s all-European Cleeks GC.

OTHER TEAM PREVIEWS: Torque GC

OVERVIEW

Lineup

• Martin Kaymer (Captain), Germany
• Richard Bland, England
• Frederik Kjettrup, Denmark
• Adrian Meronk, Poland

Who’s New? Frederik Kjettrup, who replaces the relegated Kalle Samooja in the lineup. The 25-year-old Dane is the second key addition to the team in as many years, after the Cleeks signed Meronk before the 2024 season. Kjettrup, who played collegiately at Florida State, won three times on PGA Tour Americas after turning pro last year.

The Offseason: Along with the Kjettrup signing, the other big development for the team was its recent brand evolution announcement that includes a fresh visual identity and a new tagline: Tradition Refreshed … Soon after the rebrand came out, the team found itself in a fun social skirmish with American golfer Max Homa, who apparently didn’t know that a cleek is “probably the oldest name for a golf club,” responded Kaymer. “These days we would call it a 1- or a 2-iron. It’s that easy.” … Kaymer turned 40 on Dec. 28 and Bland turns 52 on Feb 3.

Going to be a good year if … Kjettrup solidifies the No. 4 spot and Kaymer continues his return to form. No sleeper team this season; the Cleeks are legit.

ALL-TIME RESULTS

Trophies Won

TEAM (1)
2024 Houston

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Prime Meronk – It took a few starts to adjust, but the 31-year-old eventually found his rhythm, posting the team’s best-ever tournament result and highest-season ranking.

Like wine – Bland seems to be getting better with age, with the LIV competition sharpening his game, leading to two senior major titles. He’s never finished outside the Lock Zone.

Rising confidence – The breakthrough team win in Houston last year feels like the start of continued positive results for a team with a new identity.

OPPORTUNITIES

Distance limitations – The team ranked 11th in average driving distance last year, which may limit their opportunities on some of the longer courses.

Kaymer’s health – After being slowed by injuries that caused him to feel like the team’s weak link, Kaymer says he’s “pain-free now.” Good to hear; now he’ll want to back it up with consistent play.

Team Championship – The team’s best season ended on a sour note – shut out in three quarterfinals matches, and a 11th place finish on the final day.

WORTH NOTING

KAYMER AT 40. It was a milestone birthday for Martin Kaymer in December, giving the former world No. 1 a chance to evaluate his future as a competitive golfer. His last significant win was the 2014 U.S. Open, and for the last few years, he battled problems with his left wrist that eventually required surgery. Now pain-free, he likes his chances moving forward. “I still have another five, six good years in me,” Kaymer said. “If I can get my stuff together, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t have a good season in 2025.”

The wrist problems limited his ability to practice with a driver. He doesn’t hit it long (ranking 52nd in distance last year) but he wants to find more fairways. “If I hit enough fairways,” he said, “I don’t need to hit 320 yards in the air to compete. I know my strength is somewhere else.”

BLAND’S TITLE DEFENSES. Richard Bland won two senior majors in 2024, the Senior PGA and the U.S. Senior Open. But he’ll only get to defend the Senior PGA in late May at Congressional, since the U.S. Senior Open is the same weekend as LIV Golf Dallas. “It would’ve been nice to defend both, but obviously my priority is LIV,” Bland said. “Looking forward to the PGA. Hopefully my game will be in good shape going into it.”

INJECTION OF YOUTH. At age 25, Frederik Kjettrup becomes the youngest full-time player in Cleeks history. Despite the other three players becoming a year older, his addition helped lower the Cleeks’ average age from 38.5 last year to 37.0 this year, “Nice to have some youth in the team, bringing a different vibe and energy into the team,” Kaymer said. Added Meronk: “He brings a lot of fresh energy.”

Kjettrup said one of the many considerations in joining LIV Golf was the opportunity to be teammates with proven, successful players. “They’ve been through so many things that I haven’t tried,” Kjettrup said. “I’m obviously the youngest by a good bit on this team, but that only means they have much more experience than me, and I can hopefully learn from them.”

COACH CHANGE. Adrian Meronk changed coaches during the offseason and is now with Jérôme Theunis, a Belgian who used to coach another LIV Golf player, Thomas Pieters. Theunis is based in Abu Dhabi and Meronk lives in Dubai, so they’re able to see each other easily during off-weeks. “He’s a great guy,” Meronk said. “I’ve been working quite hard over the last few months. Feel like the game is progressing nicely.”

EURO IDENTITY. With a Dane (Kjettrup) replacing a Finn (Samooja), the Cleeks remain the only LIV Golf team with players from four different European countries. The club hasn’t intentionally gone that direction, but it does provide a nice little niche. “I think from a business point and marketing point of view it would make it a little bit easier and would make sense, but it’s not a given that it has to stay European,” Kaymer said.

CAPTAIN’S LAST WORD