LIV Golf ditches Saudi Arabia to wrap up season in place of Trump’s National Doral in Miami
LIV Golf executives have been working behind the scenes to amend its schedule so the league’s final tournament could be played in Miami.
The Blue Monster Course at Trump National Doral in Miami will now host the final event on the LIV Golf calendar, the season-ending Team Championship.
Originally, Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia was to host the Team Championship.
The Saudi Arabian course will now host LIV’s penultimate tournament, LIV Golf - Jeddah, from Oct. 13 to Oct. 15.
The finale in Miami will follow the week after, Oct. 20 to Oct. 22.
“We’re thrilled to return to the Blue Monster at Doral to celebrate a historic year and crown the 2023 LIV Golf League team champion,” said LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman.
“The team concept has come to life this year in exciting new ways as our players and fans embrace the launch of team golf. We’re building up for an action-packed weekend with headline entertainment that will put an exclamation point on another can’t-miss LIV Golf event.”
After seeing how popular LIV Golf’s Miami tournament was last year, LIV Golf executives worked behind the scenes to amend its fall schedule so South Florida would be the final stop on the LIV schedule.
Fans flocked to the famous South Florida course, which used to be a staple on the PGA Tour.
From 1962 to 2016, the Blue Monster Course at Trump Doral hosted a yearly PGA Tour event or a WGC Championship.
Norman seemed to play well every year at Doral, winning three times there on tour.
So too did Tiger Woods, who won four times on the Blue Monster, more than any other player in history.
But this year’s tournament in Miami will look different than in prior years.
Twelve LIV Golf teams will play at the Blue Monster, with the top four teams receiving first-round byes.
Match-play and stroke-play formats will then determine the LIV team champion for 2023.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.