Mito Pereira, who last year squandered a chance to become the first man from Chile to win a major championship and the first PGA Tour rookie to win one in 11 years, has officially joined the LIV Golf League.
Pereira, 27, and Sebastian Munoz, another PGA Tour member, were among four players on the Torque GC roster that was unveiled by LIV Golf on Wednesday. Captain Joaquin Niemann, who is from Chile, and former Arizona State star David Puig also are back.
In May, Pereira had a 1-stroke lead over Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris heading into the 72nd hole of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Needing a par to win, Pereira carded a double bogey after hitting his tee shot into the water. He tied for third; Thomas defeated Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff.
There had been speculation about Pereira, who is ranked 46th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and Munoz joining the LIV Golf League for months. Munoz, who is ranked 96th in the world, had one PGA Tour victory — he defeated Sungjae Im in a playoff to claim the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship. Pereira had six top-10 finishes and no wins in 39 starts on tour.
The LIV Golf League, which begins its second season at Mayakoba in Mexico next week, is unveiling its 48-man roster over the next three days. The 12 teams will consist of four active players and one reserve. The rosters aren’t expected to be as fluid as they were during LIV Golf’s inaugural campaign.
Two other rosters were unveiled on Wednesday. Matthew Wolff is moving from Phil Mickelson‘s HyFlyers GC to Brooks Koepka‘s Smash GC. Koepka’s brother, Chase, and Jason Kokrak round out his team.
Majestics GC, which is captained by Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter, will have the same roster as last year. Lee Westwood and Sam Horsfield also are on the squad.