LIV Golf Riyadh: Team Power Rankings

1. Legion XIII tops the Power Rankings to start the year as they were the lone team to win four times last year. Interestingly, those were there only podium finishes to date until they closed the season with third and second-place finishes, respectively. They replaced Kieran Vincent with Tom McKibbin, a newcomer to the league at 22-years-old which should only make their team stronger. He posted nine top-10s on the DP World Tour last year and looks to have a bright future. Reigning individual champion Jon Rahm forms the best duo in the league with Tyrrell Hatton. Prediction: Rahm, Hatton, McKibbin, Surratt

2. Crushers GC enters as the defending season-long champions after posting seven podium finishes and three victories in 2024. It’s no surprise that their team remains unchanged as a result, led by captain and last year’s U.S. Open champion, Bryson DeChambeau. The question will be if the rest of the team is strong enough to keep them at the top as Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri and Charles Howell III finished 11^th, 16^th and 32^nd in the individual standings. Prediction: DeChambeau, Casey, Lahiri, Howell

3. Ripper GC. Last year’s season-ending Team Champions, and they head into 2025 with the same quartet of Australians. This group finished third in the season-long standings last year after winning twice, although they also finished 10^th or worse four times. Captain Cameron Smith failed to win last year but finished T2 three times. Marc Leishman will look to build off a pair of T3 finishes in Australia to close 2024. Prediction: Smith, Leishman, Herbert, Jones

4. Stinger GC is another team remaining unchanged as the group of South Africans are content with their squad that finished seventh last year with four podium finishes but zero wins. Captain Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester are a formidable duo in the league. Charl Schwartzel had a runner-up finish on the Asian Tour this fall, while Branden Grace posted a top-20 in all four of his starts there. Perhaps that’s a sign of good things to come for them in 2025. Prediction: Oosthuizen, Burmester, Schwartzel, Grace

5. Torque GC is led by captain Joaquin Niemann, who started last year off with a victory and ultimately finished second to Rahm in the individual standings. Although they didn’t pick up a victory, Torque still managed a fifth-place season finish and could be in line for an improvement if more things go their way this year. Sebastian Munoz and Carlos Ortiz are solid players, and one would think Mito Pereira is too talented not to have a much improved 2025**. Prediction:** Niemann, Ortiz, Munoz, Pereira

6. Fireballs GC. Although they started the season slow, the Fireballs heated up late in the year with a win and two T2s to finish sixth in the team standings. Nevertheless, they still made a change in adding Luis Masaveu to replace the inconsistent Eugenio Chacarra. The 22-year-old Spainiard has good length off the tee but is a relative unknown having passed on collegiate golf. Captain Sergio Garcia is coming off an excellent season, winning at Valderrama en route to a third-place finish in the individual standings. Prediction: Garcia, Ancer, Puig, Masaveu

7. 4Aces GC welcomes a new member in Thomas Pieters, as he’ll replace Pat Perez who is now working as an on-course analyst. The long-hitting Belgian should be a boost for this group, and his ceiling is higher than his two top-10s last year would indicate. Patrick Reed is the most reliable player on this team, and he began the year with back-to-back top-10s on the DP World Tour. Captain Dustin Johnson will look to bounce-back from a disappointing campaign. Prediction: Johnson, Reed, Pieters, Varner

8. Smash GC didn’t feel a need to make any changes after winning late in the year to finish fourth in the team standings. Captain Brooks Koepka won twice for a second-straight season and remains as one of the most feared players in the game. Three-time LIV Golf winner Talor Gooch regressed a bit last year but remains one of the better players in the league. On the weeks where Jason Kokrak and/or Graeme McDowell contribute, this team should be in contention to win. Prediction: Koepka, Gooch, Kokrak, McDowell

9. RangeGoats GC closed their year with back-to-back T5 results to finish ninth in the season-long standings. They made a change in adding Ben Campbell to replace Pieters, which feels like a similar replacement. The 33-year-old grinder has played primarily on the Asian Tour, where he had a win and a runner-up last year. Perhaps the sleeper on this team is Peter Uihlein, who won twice on the Asian Tour in 2024, most recently in November. Prediction: Uihlein, Wolff, Campbell, Watson

10. Cleeks GC has a new addition to their team this year in Frederik Kjetterup, a 25-year-old from Denmark who won three times on the PGA Tour Americas last summer after graduating from Florida State. He replaces Kalle Samooja, who will serve as a reserve this year. The youth should be a nice element to a team that is led by captain Martin Kaymer and 52-year-old Richard Bland. Adrian Meronk had a runner-up in Houston last June but has struggled since. Prediction: Meronk, Bland, Kjetterup, Kaymer

11. HyFlyers GC remains intact from a year ago, but that might not necessarily be a good thing for Phil Mickelson's squad, considering they managed just one finish among the top-half of teams in 13 events. Cameron Tringale posted three finishes of T11 or better across the final six tournaments last season. With Mickelson dealing with a shoulder injury, Ollie Schniederjans is set to fill-in fresh off a win in India. Prediction: Steele, Tringale, Schniederjans, Ogletree

12. Iron Heads GC finished a distant last in 2024 before making an upset charge in the Team Championship, and they’re hoping the addition of Yubin Jang (to replace Scott Vincent) can make a regular season difference. The 22-year-old from South Korea played primarily on the Korean Tour last year, where he won twice. The remaining trio of captain Kevin Na, Jinichiro Kozuma and Danny Lee combined for just five top-10s last year, which certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Prediction: Jang, Na, Kozuma, Lee

13. Magesticks GC. Rounding out the Power Rankings are the Majesticks, who despite a disappointing season that saw them finish 11^th in the standings didn’t make any changes to their squad. The upside appears limited for this group of aging golfers who failed to post a podium finish across 13 events. Sam Horsfield is the only player that’s played a tournament since the end of the LIV season, posting a best result of T22 over three Asian Tour events. Henrik Stenson is probably still the best player on this group and finished with a T6 result in Chicago in September. Prediction: Stenson, Horsfield, Poulter, Westwood