The LIV Golf Tour heads to its spiritual home of Saudi Arabia for the third staging of LIV Jeddah. Will Brooks Koepka win the event for the third time or will Jon Rahm claim his first LIV title? Damien Kayat previews.
2024 LIV Tour – LIV Jeddah
Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, King Abdullah Economic City
Saudi Arabia
1-3 March
LIV’s bold decision to stage the LIV Vegas event on the same weekend as the Superbowl seemed to pay off last time out, with Dustin Johnson birdieing three of the last six holes to register a dramatic one-shot victory over Peter Uihlein and Talor Gooch.
The laconic Johnson was the perfect fit for Vegas- in more ways than one- as he became the first LIV player to win in each of the three seasons thus far. Fellow American Brooks Koepka will be aiming to make his own little bit of LIV history this week, looking to become the first player to win three consecutive instalments of a LIV event.
LIV Jeddah
It’s little surprise that LIV Jeddah has been around since the emergence of this Saudi-backed rebel league. The fairly straightforward Royal Greens Golf and Country Club has hosted the previous two renewals of this event.
Eagle-eyed observers will also notice this is the course that has hosted the Saudi International for the past five seasons.
Royal Greens Golf and Country Club
As I noted earlier, Royal Greens Golf and Country Club is by no means a mystery to anyone who has followed the PGA Tour’s expansion into Asia over the past few years. Designed by Dave Sampson, Royal Greens is a beautifully maintained course that is decorated by a kaleidoscope of beautiful fauna.
It isn’t an overly long par 70 at just a smidge over 7,000 yards (which makes it a bit of an outlier on this tour). The course’s biggest defence is the gusting wind that bellows in from the Red Sea. Players will need to negotiate the changing winds as the course continually changes direction.
The key to success around Royal Greens has always been strong iron play. The crosswinds and mammoth, undulating putting surfaces mean that you really have to be accurate with your irons if you wish to give yourself birdie chances. Also, look for players with strong lag-putting (these monster greens will lead to some gargantuan putts).
The Contenders
Jon Rahm has enjoyed a really seamless start to life on the LIV Tour, finishing T3 in Mayakoba and T8 in Vegas. There are a few negatives in backing Rahm this week. He faded in contention in both of those LIV events and he has also never played Royal Greens.
DJ has an exceptional record at Royal Greens and he will be feeling extremely confident following his exploits in Vegas. Koepka will obviously be looking for a historic threepeat this week while the likes of Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch look to continue their excellent recent form.
I was pleased to see Matthew Wolff contend in Vegas though I don’t think this course really plays into his strengths.
Past Winners
2023: Brooks Koepka (-14) *playoff
2022: Brooks Koepka (-12) *playoff
To Win Outright:
Jon Rahm 5/1 | Dustin Johnson 10/1 | Joaquin Niemann 11/1 | Brooks Koepka 11/1 | Talor Gooch 12/1
Value Bet
Sebastian Munoz- To Win 45/1 | To Place 19/2
Colombian Sebastian Munoz has enjoyed a pretty steady start to his 2024 LIV campaign, picking up a T9 in Mayakoba before a T13 finish in Sin City. He has a series of excellent finishes on LIV last year, picking up three fourth-place finishes and a runner-up showing in Orlando. Sure, he did finish an underwhelming T40 in Jeddah last time around. But his form seems to be surging and I wouldn’t mind taking him on in the place markets.
The Man to Beat- Joaquin Niemann- To Win 11/1 | To Place 24/10
I was tempted to go for DJ again after his performance in Vegas (especially given his exemplary record in the Saudi International). But I’m opting for Joaquin Niemann instead. The Chilean got the 2024 LIV Tour off to an electrifying start, shooting a 59 en route to claiming victory in Mayakoba. It was just the continuation of brilliant form that saw him win back-to-back titles in Australia. Niemann finished T9 here last year and he is fresh off a solo 3rd in Oman. The real reason I have selected him this week is that no player on tour has currently hit more greens in regulation than the Chilean (albeit from a pretty small sample size).
