(Photo credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images)

LIV Golf team Smash GC is establishing Oklahoma as its home market and officially rebranding as OKGC, the league announced Tuesday.

It is the first time since the Saudi-backed league launched in 2022 that a franchise has been directly aligned with a U.S. market.

OKGC captain Talor Gooch, an Oklahoma native who played collegiately at Oklahoma State, and his crew will debut their new identity at LIV Golf Virginia on May 7.

'This is incredibly meaningful to me. Oklahoma is where I grew up and where I learned how to compete,' Gooch said. 'To now represent this state through OKGC and bring that identity with us around the world is something I'm really proud of. We're building a team that people can connect with, one that reflects the pride, resilience and mindset of Oklahoma everywhere we go.'

Gooch, the 2023 LIV Golf individual champion, is joined on the squad by Jason Kokrak, Harold Varner III and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell

OKGC currently ranks eighth in the LIV Golf standings out of 13 teams. Varner is the highest-ranked individual on the team at No. 21.

The team's new logo includes a bison and the number 46, representing Oklahoma's entry into the union as the 46th state

'This is an important step in the continued evolution of our team model, and a milestone moment as we establish our first team aligned with a U.S. market,' said Katie O'Reilly, EVP and head of team business operations at LIV Golf. 'We've always believed in the power of team identity, and we're now seeing our teams develop stronger, more authentic connections across the globe.

'We've seen that momentum build in markets like Australia, the UK, South Africa and Korea, and OKGC represents the next step in bringing that approach to the United States. Oklahoma gives us an incredibly strong foundation having been a market we've had success in before (LIV Golf Tulsa 2023), and with Talor Gooch leading the team, there is an authentic connection to the market.'

--Field Level Media