2025 LIV Golf Season Preview: Torque GC

The 2025 LIV Golf League season starts Feb. 6 in Riyadh. Here’s a quick look at Joaquin Niemann’s all-Latin America Torque GC.

OVERVIEW

Lineup

• Joaquin Niemann (Captain), Chile
• Sebastián Muñoz, Colombia
• Carlos Ortiz, Mexico
• Mito Pereira, Chile

Who’s New? No one. This is the carryover lineup from the 2024 season after Ortiz joined the team after playing for the Fireballs in the first two LIV Golf seasons.

The Offseason: Niemann became The International Series champion after winning the season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers … Niemann received a special invite to play the Masters for the second consecutive year … Niemann turned 26 on Nov. 7 and Muñoz turned 32 on Jan. 4.

Going to be a good year if … Joaco continues his form from 2024, and the team returns to its 2023 form.

ALL-TIME RESULTS

Trophies Won

TEAM (4)
2023 Orlando
2023 DC
2023 Andalucia
2023 Greenbrier

INDIVIDUAL (3)
2024 Mayakoba – Niemann
2024 Jeddah – Niemann
2024 Houston – Ortiz

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Captain Present & Future – Niemann (age 26) is the only LIV Golf captain under 30. He reached a new level in 2024 with two tournament wins while finishing 2nd in the Individual Standings.

Firepower – Torque has ranked third in total birdies in each of the last two seasons and ranks first in cumulative counting score during that span. Niemann led the league in birdies in 2024.

Finding greens – Torque hit nearly 71% of their greens in regulation, best in the league last year.

Camaraderie – The Latin American foursome is as tight-knit as any lineup in the league, with their friendships going back many years. They even vacation together.

OPPORTUNITIES

Team bounce-back – After winning a league-best four tournaments in 2023, Torque didn’t register a single team victory in 2024, despite having the league’s second-best player.

Seb & Mito – Neither player was particularly happy with his results in 2024, which helps explains why the team didn’t generate as much success.

Finding fairways – The team ranked 10th in driving accuracy in 2024 after ranking fourth the previous year.

WORTH NOTING

SAUNA INTERVENTION. Sebastián Muñoz was not in a good head space early last season. “I was at a low, mentally, passionately. Just kind of sad,” he recalled. Joaquin Niemann recalled that during the season opener in Jeddah, Muñoz “had a terrible attitude during a practice round. He was frustrated, struggling.”

A few tournaments later in Adelaide, Niemann had seen enough. He organized a team meeting … inside a dry sauna. For more than 20 minutes they talked. With Ortiz pouring water onto the hot stones, the teammates kept pouring their thoughts on Muñoz. It was exactly what he needed. “They kind of laid hard on me,” he said. “Definitely took what they gave me and try to work my way out of it. And I finished the season better than how I started.”

The sauna incident epitomizes the importance of a tight team bond, certainly the kind that Torque enjoys, even in tough times. “That's why we're a team,” Niemann said. “We are able to say that stuff without anybody getting hurt. I mean, if you don’t like what we’re saying, the only one losing is yourself. But we know that we’re saying it with love and just trying to help you out.”

MITO’S DRIVER. In 2023, Mito Pereira ranked eighth in the league in driving accuracy. In 2024, he ranked 50th, losing four points off his percentage of fairways hit. He said the problems were somewhat technical but mostly a loss of confidence. “And then it was just a snowball that keeps going,” he said. “Normally I’m a very good driver. Last year, it just didn’t work.”

He expects to return to his usual high accuracy off the tee in 2025, saying he’s worked on his tempo and “really focusing on the ball, be 100% committed.”

NO HOUSTON FOR ORTIZ. Two of Carlos Ortiz’s nine career wins have come in Houston, including last year’s LIV Golf victory at the Golf Club of Houston. But the city is not on the 2025 schedule, so he won’t get a chance to repeat. “It’s been good to me, Houston,” Ortiz said, “but it is what it is. We can take it to wherever is next.”

POINT PRODUCERS. The top 8 teams in each tournament receive points for the season-long standings. In the 26 regular-season tournaments the last two years, Torque has only missed the points twice. Only one other team (Fireballs) has matched that feat. “We’re pretty consistent,” Niemann said, “but that’s not enough. We’ve got to win.”

CAPTAIN’S LAST WORD