Thomas Pieters will play for Bubba Watson's Range Goats GC and make his debut at the season opener in Mexico; Brendan Steele, Danny Lee and Dean Burmester also announced as signings for the LIV Golf League in 2023
Tuesday 21 February 2023 07:05, UK
Six-time DP World Tour winner and Ryder Cup contender Thomas Pieters is among the players confirmed to be playing in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League for the 2023 season.
The world No 34, who finished tied-sixth in his last start at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic last month, was part of Continental Europe's winning Hero Cup team earlier this year and expected to be in consideration for Luke Donald's Ryder Cup team in Rome this September.
LIV Golf announced its first four team line-ups last Wednesday and four more the following day, with Pieters confirmed on Monday as part of Bubba Watson's Range Goats GC team ahead of the 14-event league season which begins in Mexico on Friday.
The Belgian was critical that he was ineligible to feature at the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational, despite his lofty world ranking compared to others in the field, with Pieters missing out on a sponsor's exemption at an event where he finished runner-up to Dustin Johnson in 2017.
Pieters, who will now face an indefinite suspension from the PGA Tour for joining LIV Golf, tweeted: "Sad to miss my favourite tournament of the year. Because well as No 34 in world, I just couldn't get in."
Three-time PGA Tour winner Brendan Steele was also announced on Monday and joins Phil Mickelson's HyFlyers GC, while New Zealand's Danny Lee has been added to the Iron Heads GC captained by Kevin Na.
Dean Burmester, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour and current world No 63, has signed for the all-South African team Stinger GC captained by former major champion Louis Oosthuizen.
The first eight team line-ups were confirmed last week, with Presidents Cup players Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz announced on Wednesday as members of the Torque GC.
Major winners Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed are among the players to return in 2023, having featured in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series last year.
Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson will serve as co-captains of the Majesticks team, which is completed by Sam Horsfield.
Players who finished in the top 24 of the 2022 Invitational Series were guaranteed spots for the 2023 LIV Golf League.
American Sihwan Kim earned a spot for winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and Zimbabwe's Scott Vincent did the same by winning the Asian Tour International Series Order of Merit.
*Denotes captain
4Aces GC - Dustin Johnson*, Pat Perez, Patrick Reed, Peter Uihlein
Cleeks GC - Martin Kaymer*, Graeme McDowell, Bernd Wiesberger, Richard Bland
Crushers GC - Bryson DeChambeau*, Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III
Fireballs GC - Sergio Garcia*, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra
HyFlyers GC - Phil Mickelson*, James Piot, Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele
Iron Heads GC - Kevin Na*, Scott Vincent, Sihwan Kim, Danny Lee
Majesticks GC - Henrik Stenson*, Lee Westwood*, Ian Poulter*, Sam Horsfield
RangeGoats GC - Bubba Watson*, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III, Talor Gooch
Ripper GC - Cameron Smith*, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Jediah Morgan
Smash GC - Brooks Koepka*, Matthew Wolff, Jason Kokrak, Chase Koepka
Stinger GC - Louis Oosthuizen*, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Dean Burmester
Torque GC - Joaquin Niemann*, Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira, David Puig
LIV Golf has announced a 14-event schedule for its 2023 league season, with seven countries hosting events as part of an expanded calendar.
All 14 events take place on weeks outside of the men's majors and the Ryder Cup, with any potential clashes with the PGA Tour's elevated events and Rolex Series tournaments on the DP World Tour also avoided.
El Camaleon at Mayakoba in Mexico will host the season opener from February 24-26, with The Gallery Golf Club in Tucson the venue for an Arizona-based event from March 17-19.
