NEWCOMERS PEREIRA, MUNOZ JOIN TORQUE; UIHLEIN, WOLFF MOVE TO NEW TEAMS

LIV Golf will reveal more team rosters in the next two days – Cleeks GC, Crushers GC, Fireballs GC and RangeGoats GC on Thursday, then HyFlyers GC, Iron Heads GC, Ripper GC and Stinger GC on Friday.

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

Torque GC

Captain Joaquin Niemann added two new teammates for his Spanish-speaking lineup – fellow Chilean Mito Pereira and Colombia’s Sebastián Muñoz – while welcoming back Spanish youngster David Puig. Pereira and Muñoz will make their LIV Golf debuts at next week’s LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico, the season opener of the 14-tournament schedule in 2023.

The 31-year-old Pereira, who spent one season at Texas Tech before turning pro, has 10 wins. He was involved in the seven-man playoff for the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. At last year’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills, he was the 54-hole leader and was on the verge of becoming Chile’s first major winner before suffering a double bogey on the final hole.

In his first two starts of 2023, Pereira tied for sixth at the PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers, then followed with a tie for 11th at last week’s International Series Oman.

The 24-year-old Niemann has been close to Pereira for many years, and they share the same swing coach in Eduardo Miquel. When asked about Pereira at the PGA Championship, Niemann told reporters, “If you guys go out and see him play, see him on the range, the way he hits the ball, the way he creates shots, there’s not many of them. He’s an amazing player.”

Ranked as Colombia’s top golfer, the 30-year-old Muñoz has four professional wins after playing collegiately at North Texas. Like Pereira, Muñoz was involved in the seven-man playoff at the Olympics. And like Pereira, Muñoz is a close friend of Niemann. The two often play practice rounds together, and in the fall of 2019, they won tournaments on back-to-back weeks. Muñoz said his win was inspired by watching Niemann win the previous week.

“Kind of like the last piece of the puzzle that I needed to know that we’re good enough, we’re able to compete,” Muñoz said after his own win.

Pereira and Muñoz have recent experience as teammates, representing the International Team at last year’s Presidents Cup. Muñoz provided his team with one of its top moments by beating world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in singles. Muñoz has made three starts this year, including a tie for 42nd at the PIF Saudi International.

The 21-year Puig played in three LIV Golf events during the inaugural 2022 Invitational Series. He was an amateur in his first two starts before leaving Arizona State a year early to make his pro debut as a member of Torque GC at LIV Golf Chicago.

“LIV was very supportive, and they gave me two exemptions as an amateur, which I really appreciated them a lot,” Puig said prior to his first pro start. “They also gave me an opportunity to play against the best players in the world. It was obviously a tough decision to leave ASU, but it was a pretty easy decision to join LIV.”

4Aces GC

The dominant team in LIV Golf’s inaugural season with five wins, including the Miami Team Championship, 4Aces GC now adds Peter Uihlein to the roster to replace Talor Gooch.

Uihlein finished third in the Individual Champion race in 2022. His addition means the 4Aces now have the Individual champion winner in captain Dustin Johnson, along with the No. 3 player in Uihlein and the No. 4 player in Patrick Reed. Veteran Pat Perez rounds out the roster.

Uihlein had two runner-up finishes in his last three regular-season starts while playing for Smash GC. He also played for Crushers GC and Niblicks GC during the first half of the season, captaining the Crushers to second place in the team competition at the first LIV Golf tournament in London.

“I’m joining a team that arguably has one of the top three players in my generation of all time,” Uihlein said of Johnson. “And then an unbelievable Ryder Cup player and major winner in Patrick Reed. And then a 20-year veteran in Pat Perez. So in my mind, I’m going to a situation where I know they’re going to help me get better. Whatever I can do to help them and help the 4Aces win, that’s great.”

Uihlein has made two starts this year, including a tie for 18th at the PIF Saudi International.

Smash GC

Matthew Wolff replaces Uihlein for Smash GC and its captain, Brooks Koepka, while Jason Kokrak and Chase Koepka remain with the team that won the final 2022 regular-season event at LIV Golf Jeddah.

Wolff finished sixth in the Individual Champion race, giving Smash two of the top 10 individual performers from last season (Brooks Koepka finished eighth). Wolff also produced one of last year’s most memorable moments with the first hole-in-one in LIV Golf history in Boston. He played for HyFlyers GC last season.

Wolff and the Koepka brothers live close to each other in South Florida and have become close friends. Wolff considered that a key factor in joining the Smash lineup.

“I feel like it’s just a good fit, and I’m really excited for this year and what’s to come,” said the 23-year-old Wolff, who tied for 10th at the recent PIF Saudi International.

Majesticks GC

Majesticks GC carries over the same lineup that was formed when Henrik Stenson joined the team at LIV Golf Bedminster and won the individual competition in his debut.

Stenson joins fellow co-captains Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, along with Sam Horsfield. The Majesticks are the only LIV Golf team with multiple captains.

“I think we've got a big advantage of having three captains and being such a tight group as a team,” Stenson said.

Along with Stenson’s individual win, the Majesticks had three podium team finishes last season.