It is time for the third LIV Golf event of the season, as LIV Golf Orlando takes places in Orange County National in Orlando.
There will be many a keen eye on this week’s event, as it is surely the one that holds the highest amount of intrigue so far, as it plays out just one week before the 2023 US Masters.
Can Masters favorites like Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson find form at the right time? Will any of the 18 LIV Golfer in the field next week make an impact on the final leaderboard? Form this week in Orlando may well dictate that, as the best players look for both form and confidence ahead of the biggest event of the year.
Let’s find out whether next week’s major has any impact on our 2023 LIV Golf Orlando selections, or whether we will be looking to other players for this week’s winner.
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LIV Golf Orlando Format
The format will remain the same as it does in all the other events on the LIV Golf League, as each of the 48 players tees it up for 54 holes of strokeplay, which contributes to both an Individual and Team leaderboard.
Even if you are a player out of the running on Sunday, you will still want to shoot the lowest round of the day, so that your team can push forward in the team leaderboard, and potentially win the team event for the week.
Who Has Won on the LIV Golf League This Season?
Charles Howell III won the first event of the season at LIV Golf Mayakoba, and his team Crushers GC also won the Team Event. Howell III winning the event, and Paul Casey (4th) finishing high up on the leaderboard as well, secured this win.
Danny Lee won the second event of the LIV Golf League season, as the New Zealander beat Carlos Ortiz, Louis Oosthuizen, and Brendan Steele in a playoff, to capture his first LIV title, on just his second start.
Team Fireballs, captained by Sergio Garcia won the team event. This win was built on on Carlos Ortiz’s T2 finish and Garcia’s 9th-place effort.
LIV Golf Orlando Course Preview
Crooked Cat is a course that features elevation changes throughout, and the contoured fairways and larger-than-average greens help give it a links course feel.
The wind can get up in Orlando, so whilst we may not see typical conditions you might expect in an Open Championship in England or Scotland, the same sort of creativity may be needed with approach shots, and around the greens in particular.
The Champions Bermuda greens will be a familiar putting surface for most here in Orlando, and those that have putted particularly well on that type of surface over the years on the PGA Tour may well prosper.
This course has most recently been used on the Korn Ferry Tour, back in 2020, but before that, it hosted PGA Tour Q School in 2007.
LIV Golf Orlando Key Stats
- Greens in Regulation – Hitting greens regularly this week in Orlando will be key, especially as there are several different ways to approach this test. As long as you have a clean lie with your second shot, or third, on some par 5’s, hitting greens regularly should be achievable here.
- Putting Average – Making putts is always the order of the day, but a good week with the flat stick looks particularly important here.
- Links Form – This isn’t a quantifiable stat, but form on links courses should stand up well here, based on the description of this week’s Crooked Cat Course, at Orange County National
Has the Crooked Cat Course at Orange County National Been Used on the PGA Tour?
The Crooked Cat Course at Orange County National has not been used in a PGA Tour event, but it did host PGA Tour Q-School in 2007, where both Dustin Johnson and Brendan Steele competed.
Johnson secured his Tour Card with a T14 finish here that year.
That event was too long ago to be a factor, but one player who has played here more recently is Mito Pereira, who played the 2020 Orange County National Championship here in 2020. That event was on the Korn Ferry Tour, and the Chilean finished T38.
LIV Golfers Who Need to Find Form Ahead of Next Week’s US Masters
The following players will be heading to Augusta National for the 2023 US Masters next week and will be desperate to put in a good performance this week in Orlando, so they are sharp for the first major of the season.
- Abraham Ancer
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Sergio Garcia
- Talor Gooch
- Dustin Johnson
- Brooks Koepka
- Jason Kokrak
- Phil Mickelson
- Kevin Na
- Joaquin Niemann
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Mito Peirera
- Thomas Pieters
- Patrick Reed
- Charl Schwartzel
- Cameron Smith
- Harold Varner
- Bubba Watson
LIV Golf Orlando Picks and Predictions: Outright Winner
Louis Oosthuizen +2800 (Bet $100 to collect $2,900) The best odds for this Louis Oosthuizen pick are at Bet365
One player who will be keen to prove his form ahead of next week’s US Masters is Louis Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen is a one-time major winner, at the 2010 Open Championship, and he’s finished runner-up in every major since.
In 2012, the South African was tied with Bubba Watson by the end of regulation play, and the two played two sudden-death holes, before Watson pulled off a miracle shot from the famous pine straw, to get the win.
Oosthuizen has never been as good at Augusta again, but he is incredibly consistent at the US Masters, making the cut in 8 of his 10 starts there since his runner-up finish. Seven of those eight starts saw him finish T29 or better, with a best finish of T12 in 2018.
So why can he win this week? Well firstly, he is coming off a playoff last time out at LIV Golf Tuscon. That effort showed his game is in good enough form to contend on a suitable course, and the Crooked Cat Course could be exactly that! He loves Links Golf, which could be a factor at Orange County National, and given his effort last time out, and his desire to play well in what could be his last Masters, Oosthuizen should be as driven as ever to succeed this week.
Peter Uihlein +3000 (Bet $100 to collect $3100) The best odds for this Peter Uihlein pick are at Bet365
Peter Uihlein has finished 2nd in three of his past five starts on LIV, and he also finished 10th last time out in Tuscon.
Uihlein was faring better at the start of the week in Arizona, ranking 5th after round one, and despite slipping away after a tough Saturday, the in-form American found his way back inside the top 10, after a final round 68.
Uihlein’s team, the 4 Aces are leading the way in the Team Standings, having finished runner-up in both events and now the Orlando resident will be looking to win for the first time on the LIV Tour and reward his team its first win of the season.
Until he shows signs of struggling, Uihlein should be someone kept on your LIV Golf betting radar, as he continues to show form week in and week out.