LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami: Day 1 scores and semifinal matchups

The 2022 LIV Golf Team Championship got off to an exciting start on Friday (October 28). The event got underway at the Trump National Doral in Miami with the bottom eight teams from the regular-season standings.

Day 1 saw some shocks and surprises as both singles and foursomes took place in the new format final.

Hy Flyers' Phil Mickelson and Punch GC's Cameron Smith’s matchup became the highlight of Day 1. With both teams looking for a spot in the semi-finals, the quarter-final clash between the two was entertaining from the tee-off. The battle between the former PGA Tour champions ended in heartbreak for Mickelson.

LIV Golf Team Championship Day 1 scores

Australian Cameron Smith emerged victorious after defeating Phil Mickelson in what was an exciting faceoff. The win added spice to the event as it was an upset victory over the higher-seeded Hy Flyers. Meanwhile, the clash between Harold Varner III and Brooks Koepka also stood out despite finishing in a short amount of time.

Four-time major champion Koepka, who won the LIV Golf Jeddah event, crumbled in front of Varner as he claimed a commanding 4 and 3 victory with seven birdies.

Koepka's Smash GC found their way to the semi-finals as Peter Uihlein knocked off James Piot 5 and 3 in another clash. Ian Poulter's Majesticks and the Martin Kaymer-less Cleeks GC are the other teams who joined the semi-finals.

Here are the scores from the quarter-finals of the LIV Golf Team Championship:

Smash GC (5): 2 | Niblicks (12): 1

• Niblicks- Harold Varner III over Brooks Koepka - 4 and 3
• Smash- Peter Uihlein over James Piot - 5 and 3
• Smash- Jason Kokrak/Chase Koepka over Hudson Swafford/Turk Petit - 2 and 1

Majesticks (6): 3 | Irons Heads (9): 0

• Majesticks- Ian Poulter over Kevin Na - 4 and 2
• Majesticks- Lee Westwood over Sihwan Kim - 4 and 3
• Majesticks- Sam Horsfield/Henrik Stenson over Sadom Kaewkanjana/Phacara Khongwatmai - 4 and 2

Cleeks (10): 2 | Torque (7): 1

• Torque- Joaquin Niemann over Shergo Al Kurdi - 5 and 3
• Cleeks- Laurie Canter over Jediah Morgan - 1 UP
• Cleeks- Graeme McDowell/Richard Bland over Adrian Otaegui/Scott Vincent - 2 UP

Punch (11): 2 | Hy Flyers (8): 1

• Punch- Cameron Smith over Phil Mickelson - 1 UP
• Punch- Marc Leishman over Matthew Wolff - 4 and 2
• Hy Flyers- Bernd Wiesberger/Cameron Tringale over Matt Jones/Wade Ormsby - 3 and 2

LIV Golf Team Championship semi-finals preview

Following a successful Day 1, the LIV Golf Team Championship now enters the semi-finals on Day 2. As the event proceeds to its business end, the top-seeded teams, including 4 Aces, Crushers, Fireballs and Stinger GC, will make their way to the field.

The top four teams making their LIV Golf Team Championship debuts will face off with the winners of Day 1 and play for promotion to Sunday's event.

Here are the semi-final matchups for the LIV Golf Team Championship:

MATCHUPS	SINGLES	SINGLES	FOURSOMES
4 Aces (1) vs Cleeks (10)	Dustin Johnson vs Shergo Al Kurdi	Patrick Reed vs Laurie Canter	Pat Perez/Talor Gooch vs Graeme McDowell/Richard Bland
Crushers (2) vs Stinger (4)	Bryson DeChambeau vs Louis Oosthuizen	Paul Casey vs Branden Grace	Charles Howell III/Anirban Lahiri vs Charl Schwartzel/Hennie Du Plessis
Fireballs (3) vs Punch (11)	Sergio Garcia vs Cameron Smith	Carlos Ortiz vs Marc Leishman	Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra/Abraham Ancer vs Matt Jones/Wade Ormsby
Smash (5) vs Majesticks (6)	Brooks Koepka vs Ian Poulter	Peter Uihlein vs Lee Westwood	Jason Kokrak/Chase Koepka vs Henrik Stenson/Sam Horsfield

According to Draft Kings, 4 Aces, captained by Dustin Johnson, are the favorites to win the team championship. Meanwhile, Crushers, captained by Bryson DeChambeau, are considered their closest competition for the $50 million prize.