LIV Golf announce Lawrence J. Burian as new chief operating officer

As COO, Lawrence J. Burian will have a wide range of responsibilities including corporate development and strategy. (Supplied)
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Updated 24 October 2023
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LIV Golf announce Lawrence J. Burian as new chief operating officer

  • Former executive vice-president at Madison Square Garden Co. brings extensive experience across the sports, entertainment, media and hospitality sectors

LIV Golf have announced that Lawrence J. Burian has been appointed Chief Operating Officer after a competitive international recruiting process.

As COO, Burian will have a wide range of responsibilities including corporate development and strategy, the delivery of LIV Golf’s global schedule of 14 league events, the management and commercialization of the teams, investor relations, and general day-to-day business operations.

“I am excited to join LIV Golf as Chief Operating Officer and look forward to harnessing my more than two decades of senior executive experience to help build on the progress and momentum that is well underway,” said Burian.

“The creation of a new global sports league in less than two years was nothing short of extraordinary and now is the time to capitalize and build on that success,” he added.

“LIV Golf has a very bright future as we seek to continue growing the game of golf, engaging new audiences, enhancing the guest experience, innovating our event and media production and building franchise value, all while creating a compelling home for our world-class athletes. I’m committed to working with my talented colleagues at LIV Golf towards achieving our ambitious goals.”

As a former executive vice-president with the Madison Square Garden family of public companies, Burian has extensive experience across the sports, entertainment, media and hospitality sectors.

A selection of MSG companies include the New York Knicks (NBA) and New York Rangers (NHL) franchises, two MSG regional sports networks (with telecast rights to seven professional sports franchises), and the famed MSG arena.

Burian served in multiple executive roles across the portfolio of assets, including as head of corporate development, general counsel and as a member of the board of directors of multiple strategic joint ventures.

“Lawrence is a proven leader and a proven winner, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him on our executive leadership team,” said LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman. “After more than two years of breaking molds and pushing boundaries, LIV Golf is on the precipice of significant growth. Lawrence’s decades of business experience are exactly what we need to keep us competitive and moving forward.”


McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff

Updated 17 March 2025
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McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff

  • Spaun, whose recovery out of the bunker left him with a long, unsuccessful birdie putt, could only par

MIAMI: Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy cruised to a St. Patrick’s Day victory at the Players Championship on Monday, defeating J.J. Spaun in a playoff at TPC Sawgrass.

The four-time major champion completed the three-hole shootout in 1-over par, while Spaun’s challenge wilted after a disastrous triple-bogey on the second playoff hole.

McIlroy had finished tied at the top of the leaderboard with Spaun following Sunday’s storm-hit final round after failing to hold on to a three-shot lead with five holes to play.

But after returning to the course on Monday in bright, breezy conditions, there was no sign of a repeat of the late stumble by McIlroy on Sunday that had allowed Spaun to force his way into the first playoff of his career.

McIlroy struck first on the opening playoff hole, the par-five 16th, crushing a 336-yard drive straight down the fairway before reaching the green in two.

Spaun,meanwhile, looked out of sorts from the get-go, finding the fairway rough off the tee before landing his second shot into the greenside bunker.

McIlroy failed to make his 33-foot eagle putt but calmly rolled in an awkward five-footer for birdie.

Spaun, whose recovery out of the bunker left him with a long, unsuccessful birdie putt, could only par.

After that early wobble, things got worse for Spaun at the par-3 17th island hole, with the American plunging his tee-shot into the water behind the green.

Spaun then missed a long 10-foot putt for double bogey and eventually finished with a triple-bogey six.

While McIlroy missed his birdie chance and a 10-footer to save par, his bogey four still left him three shots clear heading to the 18th.

McIlroy’s tee-shot on the last went well wide of the right fairway, but Spaun was unable to exert pressure, also going wide of the fairway.

Both players reached the green in three and missed their par putts. McIlroy coolly tapped in for bogey to seal victory.


Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun tie at The Players Championship to set up Monday playoff

Updated 17 March 2025
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Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun tie at The Players Championship to set up Monday playoff

  • The Players has a three-hole aggregate playoff on the most dynamic holes on the TPC Sawgrass — the par-5 16th, the island green on the par-3 17th and the daunting par-4 closing hole
  • It will be the first Monday finish since Cameron Smith won in 2022 and the first playoff at The Players since Rickie Fowler won 10 years ago

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida: Rory McIlroy built a three-shot lead on the back nine at The Players Championship and unheralded J.J. Spaun didn’t blink. They wound up tied after a four-hour rain delay and had to return Monday for a playoff to decide the richest tournament in golf.

McIlroy needed two putts from 75 feet on the par-4 18th for a 4-under 68. All he could do was wait in the scoring area on Spaun, who had caught up with a marvelous chip on the par-5 16th and stood over a 30-foot putt for the win.

It stopped inches short, giving Spaun a 72 to match McIlroy at 12-under 276.

They did well to finish in regulation before sunset. The Players has a three-hole aggregate playoff on the most dynamic holes on the TPC Sawgrass — the par-5 16th, the island green on the par-3 17th and the daunting par-4 closing hole.

It will be the first Monday finish since Cameron Smith won in 2022 and the first playoff at The Players since Rickie Fowler won 10 years ago.

“I’m standing here feeling like I should be going home with the trophy today,” McIlroy said. “But it’s all right. I’ll reset and try to go home with the trophy tomorrow.”

Tom Hoge had to wait out the four-hole delay with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th. He returned and missed, posting a 66 and wound up two shots behind. Lucas Glover rallied from a rough front nine for a 71 and joined Hoge and Akshay Bhatia (70).

Bud Cauley, whose thought his career was over from crushing injuries in a 2018 car crash in Ohio, fell back early and steadied himself for a 74. He tied for sixth, giving him more than enough points to fulfill his medical exemption for the rest of the year.

McIlroy faced a four-shot deficit going into the final round and roared into contention with an 8-foot birdie putt and beautiful long iron to 10 feet for eagle on the par-5 second. He took the lead for the first time when Spaun made bogey on the seventh hole.

Spaun caught a big break on the ninth hole when his second shot was in the collar of deep rough. He got relief from standing on a sprinkler head, then more relief when his drop was in the sprinkler head, leading to a clean lie. He chipped to 6 feet for birdie.

Still, McIlroy appeared to start pulling away right before and after the four-hour delay from a band of thunderstorms moving across north Florida.

He holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 11th to reach 12 under. Spaun, playing in the group behind him, was in trouble in a bunker well short of the green.

Four hours later, McIlroy made a 15-foot birdie on the 12th, while Spaun barely got the bunker shot on the green and three-putted for bogey from some 70 feet.

Just like that, McIlroy was three shots clear and Spaun appeared rattled, missing birdies chances from the 12-foot range on consecutive holes. And then it became tight again.

“Once that bogey kind of hit me, I just tried to just fight back,” Spaun said. “I kind of went with the odds. I had nothing to lose. Now I’m trying to catch Rory, and I can’t really control what he does, but I can control what I do, and I just started committing to my shots and my swing and trusting it more.

“When I’m hunting, it’s easier to let it go. Whereas, starting the round I was a little tentative, a little scared and stuff,” he said. “I think it put me in a pretty comfortable spot to finish off the round.”

McIlroy fanned a drive well right on the 14th, couldn’t reach the green, hit wedge to 15 feet and powered it through the break for only his second bogey of the round. The one-quarter inch of rain softened the green. The 15 mph wind all but vanished. The Stadium course was vulnerable.

McIlroy, however, missed a birdie chance from just inside 6 feet on the 15th and didn’t judge the rain-softened speed of the green on the par-5 16th, missing a 12-foot birdie. Behind him, Spaun threw a dart to a foot on the 14th for birdie, and chipped tight at the 16th for a birdie that tied him for the lead.

Both found land on the island at the 17th — McIlroy against the collar for an awkward stab at his 15-foot birdie attempt, Spaun lagging beautifully from 45 feet on a putt that is slow up the slope and races to the pin.

Danny Walker, who has lived in the area the last few years and only got in as an alternate Thursday morning when Jason Day withdrew with illness, shot 70 and tied for sixth with Cauley and Corey Conners (71)

Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler was never really in the mix. He went 15 straight holes without a birdie between the third and fourth rounds, made only one birdie on Sunday and closed with a 73 to tie for 20th.

“Being able to repeat here was very special and I would have liked to have done it a third time,” Scheffler said. “At the end of the day, I just didn’t have what it took this week. The guys that are ahead of me on the leaderboard — there’s many of them, so they obviously played better than I did.”


Fireballs continue dominance as Niemann claims second LIV Golf victory of season in Singapore

Updated 16 March 2025
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Fireballs continue dominance as Niemann claims second LIV Golf victory of season in Singapore

  • Dramatic comeback extends Fireballs’ winning streak to three consecutive events
  • Niemann’s win propels him to top of the Individual Champion points standings

SINGAPORE: Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC extended their winning streak to three consecutive events with a dramatic comeback at LIV Golf Singapore on Sunday, while Joaquin Niemann secured his second individual title of the season with a commanding five-shot victory at Sentosa Golf Club.

The Fireballs’ triumph marks the longest team winning streak since 4Aces GC won four straight during the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series in 2022.

They will now look to match that record at LIV Golf Miami on April 4-6.

“We’re the only ones that can keep the streak alive,” said Fireballs captain Garcia. “Hopefully, we’ll keep it going.”

Niemann, the 26-year-old Chilean and Torque GC captain, delivered the only bogey-free round of the day, shooting a six-under 65 to finish at 17 under par. His dominant performance not only secured his second win in three events but also propelled him to the top of the Individual Champion points standings, putting him in prime position for the LIV Golf exemption into this year’s US Open.

“Today was one of those days,” Niemann said. “Everything went my way.”

The battle for the title was expected to be between Niemann and Dustin Johnson, but the much-anticipated duel never materialized. Johnson, the 4Aces GC captain, struggled with four bogeys in a two-over 73, dropping into a tie for fifth place at nine under.

Instead, defending Singapore champion Brooks Koepka emerged as Niemann’s closest competitor, matching his six-under 65 to finish solo second at 12 under.

“Not really hitting it great,” Koepka said. “But kind of tried to figure out how to finish second because first was obviously out of reach.”

The Fireballs’ victory was particularly impressive considering Garcia battled bronchitis throughout the week, managing only an even-par total. Despite his struggles, his teammates stepped up to erase an eight-shot deficit in the final round.

David Puig led the charge with a five-under 66, finishing solo fourth at 10 under, while Luis Masaveu (68) and Abraham Ancer (69) helped the team to a 10-under aggregate score on Sunday, tying for the lowest of the day.

“This week was a tough week because I’ve been sick all week and haven’t been able to help the team as much as I would have liked to,” Garcia said. “To see the performance that my teammates put in to be able to get this win was pretty impressive.”

Puig, 23, now boasts a record eight LIV Golf team victories, the most of any player, having won four times with Torque GC in 2023 before joining the Fireballs this season.

“I love team golf,” Puig said. “I think I’m a good team player. I like to be surrounded by a good group of guys, and I have them here at the Fireballs. I just have a lot of fun, and I never give up, and I just love it.”

With two wins in the first four events of 2024, Niemann has reasserted himself as the dominant force in LIV Golf, reclaiming the top spot in the season standings from Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm.

“There’s a few things that I can improve, then go down to Miami and have a chance to win,” Niemann said. “I feel like that for me is really exciting to become a better player and try to get better every day.”

With the Fireballs chasing history and Niemann eyeing further success, all eyes will now turn to LIV Golf Miami next month to see if the streak continues.


4Aces take LIV Golf Singapore team lead after Johnson’s 8-under 63

Updated 14 March 2025
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4Aces take LIV Golf Singapore team lead after Johnson’s 8-under 63

  • Johnson has won once in each of LIV Golf’s first three seasons and can become the first player to win in all four seasons
  • “I couldn’t turn my head to the right,” Johnson explained

SINGAPORE: 4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson is back to full strength — and back at the top of the leaderboard.
Johnson leads LIV Golf Singapore presented by Aramco by three shots after a bogey-free 63 in Friday’s opening round at Sentosa Golf Club. His 8-under round matches his best single-round LIV Golf performance, relative to par, in 109 career regular-season rounds.
His 4Aces, seeking their first win since 2023, lead the team competition by two strokes over Torque GC.
A week ago in Hong Kong, the 40-year-old Johnson woke up prior to the first round with a sore right shoulder that limited his range of motion. He shot rounds of 75 and 72 to drop to last place after the first two days.
“I couldn’t turn my head to the right,” Johnson explained. “I kind of just pulled when I was on the through swing, so I was hitting everything left. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun.”
He received treatment between rounds and his body finally responded prior to Sunday’s final round. He shot a 6-under 64, tying for the third-best score of the day, but the leaderboard damage had been done, as he finished last for the first time at a LIV Golf tournament.
Feeling good about his game entering last week, Johnson said it was easy to dismiss the first two rounds and the final result because of the injury.
“Swung it really nicely on Sunday,” he said. “Obviously, the body loosened back up and I could hit the shots that I wanted.”
In shooting 63 at Sentosa’s Serapong course on Friday, Johnson hit 16 greens, tying for best in the field, and missed just three fairways. Meanwhile, his putter heated up, especially at the par-3 14th when he rolled in a birdie putt from 58 feet.
“I put a lot of work in the last couple of days on the putter,” Johnson said, “and it paid off.”
Johnson will enter the weekend seeking his fourth league individual title. He has won once in each of LIV Golf’s first three seasons and can become the first player to win in all four seasons.
His closest pursuer is Torque’s Sebastian Munoz, who continues to push for his first LIV Golf title. Munoz shot a 5-under 66 to take solo second. He has held or shared second after five of the first 10 rounds of the 2025 LIV Golf season.
“I don’t know if I’m going to get it done this week, but I’m working hard at it,” Munoz said. “I want that opportunity again.”
Eight players are tied for third after shooting 4-under 67, including five team captains: Jon Rahm (Legion XIII), Brooks Koepka (Smash GC), Joaquin Niemann (Torque GC), Louis Oosthuizen (Stinger GC) and Cameron Smith (Ripper GC).
Rahm is the reigning LIV Golf Individual Champion and Niemann already has a win this season. Koepka is the defending Singapore champion while Smith tied for second with teammate Marc Leishman as the Rippers won the team title in 2024.
The 4Aces shot a collective 14 under, while Torque is at 12 under. Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC are another two strokes back, with all four of their players shooting in the 60s. Not only do the Aces have a lengthy winning drought, Torque also hasn’t won since 2023, while the HyFlyers have yet to win a team trophy.
“We’ve got a lot of golf to play in the next two days,” Niemann said. “We’re excited to see what’s coming.”
Team scores
LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. (Click here for more on the new format). Here are the results and scores for each team after Friday’s Rd. 1 of LIV Golf Singapore.
1. 4ACES GC -14 (Johnson 63, Reed 68, Varner III 69, Pieters 70)
2. TORQUE GC -12 (Munoz 66, Niemann 67, Ortiz 68, Pereira 71)
3. HYFLYERS GC -10 (Tringale 67, Mickelson 69, Ogletree 69, Steele 69)
4. FIREBALLS GC -7 (Ancer 67, Puig 68, Masaveu 70, Garcia 72)
T5. STINGER GC -5 (Oosthuizen 67, Schwartzel 68, Burmester 70, Grace 74)
T5. LEGION XIII -5 (Rahm 67, Surratt 68, Hatton 70, McKibbin 74)
7. RIPPER GC -3 (Smith 67, Herbert 68, Jones 72, Leishman 74)
T8. RANGEGOATS GC -2 (Uihlein 68, Campbell 68, Watson 70, Wolff 76)
T8. IRON HEADS GC -2 (Lee 68, Catlin 70, Jang 72, Na 72)
10. SMASH GC -1 (Koepka 67, Kokrak 68, Gooch 70, McDowell 78)
11. CRUSHERS GC +1 (Casey 67, Lahiri 70, DeChambeau 74, Howell III 74)
12. MAJESTICKS GC +8 (Stenson 71, Westwood 72, Horsfield 73, Poulter 76)
13. CLEEKS GC +10 (Meronk 70, Bland 71, Kaymer 73, Kjettrup 80)
Wild Cards: Lee 70, Kim 73


Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover among those sharing Players Championship lead on wild day

Updated 14 March 2025
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Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover among those sharing Players Championship lead on wild day

  • Lucas Glover had nine birdies in his round of 6-under 66, leaving him tied with Villegas and J.J. Spaun
  • Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler figures he left a few shots out there — two birdie chances were in the 8-foot range — but was satisfied enough with a 69

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida: Camilo Villegas was on the phone the day before The Players Championship trying to sort out his swing with a coach who is in Singapore caddying at a LIV Golf event. He wound up tied for the lead, a peculiar twist in a tournament filled with them.

Thursday was no exception.

Lucas Glover had nine birdies in his round of 6-under 66, leaving him tied with Villegas and J.J. Spaun, who managed to get around the TPC Sawgrass without a bogey.

Max McGreevy, who tied the tournament record for the highest score two years ago with an 89, had a chance to join them. He was at 5 under and faced a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole when play was suspended by darkness.

Rory McIlroy made four birdies from tee shots that found the rough or the pine straw, including the 18th hole when he punched a shot off the pine straw and out of the trees to 7 feet, putting him in the group at 67.

“You’re just hoping for a backswing and a gap, and I had both of those,” McIlroy said. “Just trying to chip-and-run a 5-iron up around the front of the green and make 4 and get out of there. It was a bonus to get it up on the green and hole the putt was a lovely way to finish.”

Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler figures he left a few shots out there — two birdie chances were in the 8-foot range — but was satisfied enough with a 69.

Villegas was on the verge of losing his card two years ago when he connected with Jose Luis Campra, a respected Argentine professional who caddies on the side. He currently is looping for Sebastian Munoz on LIV, which is in Singapore this week.

“It was 9 a.m. here, it was 9 p.m. there,” Villegas said. “We worked for a couple hours. He’s a very, very hard worker. Very few guys give more golf lessons than Jose Campra, and he’s always available for me. So it’s great.”

It was a small tweak on the downswing, and Villegas took that to the dangerous Stadium Course and promptly made five birdies on the back nine to start his round. There were a few mistakes, typical for most players.

That’s what this course does. Slight misses can turn into big numbers.

Chandler Phillips experienced both. He set a Players Championship record with three eagles. He also had four birdies, an astonishing performance wiped out by a triple bogey on the par-3 eighth hole that started with a tee shot into a palmetto bush.

Justin Lower had the best par of all. He was one of 10 players to hit their tee shots into the water on the island green at the par-3 17th. He was the only player to walk away with par, going to the drop zone and holing his wedge.

Max Greyserman wasn’t so fortunate. He put two in the water and had to make a 12-foot putt for his quadruple bogey.

Glover isn’t sure what to make of his record at the TPC Sawgrass, 10 times missing the cut with only two top 10s. But there was no big secret on this day. He hit it where he was aiming and made putts, with birdies on his final four holes.

It stood out amid some surprising scores on a gorgeous day. Justin Thomas hit four tee shots into the water and had to birdie the last two holes for a 78. Viktor Hovland had three double bogeys in his round of 80.

Jordan Spieth had an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey in his opening six holes. He played far boring golf — which he prefers — with seven pars, a birdie and a bogey on the back nine and it added to a 70.

“That’s the thing about this place,” Glover said. “There’s always some really good scores and always some really bad scores. The margins are razor thin here, akin to say Augusta or Bay Hill. You get off just a little, you can make big numbers in a hurry.

“I happened to have a bunch of good numbers today and a bunch of good yardages and was able to be aggressive and I putted great.”

Glover was not immune. He was too aggressive on the par-5 11th with a wedge and wound up in a pot-shaped bunker for bogey. He dropped another shot on the next hole.

But it was the finish that set him apart — an approach to 5 feet on the 15th, a chip to tap-in range on the par-5 16th, an 18-foot birdie putt on the island green par-3 17th and a shot that caught the slope and fed down to 8 feet for birdie on the 18th.

The 45-year-old former US Open champion is having a late resurgence in his career, particularly impressive from having overcome the putting yips about a decade ago. He never gave up the grind and finally cashed in by winning the Wyndham Championship and the opening FedEx Cup playoff event in consecutive weeks in 2023.

“Just don’t want to be done at 45, honestly,” Glover said. “I deep down believe I can still compete out here at 45 and I don’t want to stop anytime soon.”

McGreevy was among five players who didn’t finish before darkness. He was to resume at 8 a.m., and then everyone gets to do it all over again.