LIV Golf Chicago set for more than a few season-ending battles

Practice time at Bolingbrook Golf Club near Chicago. Image courtesy livgolf.com.

By Rahul Banerji

LIV Golf Chicago is the last chance saloon on at least three counts as it decides the individual championship, the fate of those facing elimination and the seedings for next week’s team championship.

Jon Rahm and Joaquin Neimann are locked at the top of the standings and separated by less than three points in the season-long race, 195.17 points for Rahm to Neimann’s 192.20 points, a difference of 2.97 points.

Seven players face relegation out of the league – Zimbabwean brothers Scott (Iron Heads) and Keiran (Legion XIII) Vincent, Stinger’s Branden Grace, RangeGoats GC captain Bubba Watson, Cleeks’ Kalle Samooja, besides wild cards Hudson Swafford and Anthony Kim. 

And finally, Bolingbrook Golf Club will set the stage for the Dallas Team Championship with the top three in the final standings after Chicago earning first-round byes at the Maridoe Golf Club in Texas.

For Indian fans, there is double reason to celebrate with Anirban Lahiri (at 18^th) almost secure in the Lock Zone comprising the top 24 who have guaranteed team places for the 2025 season and with his Crushers GC team currently atop the league table.

Whatever the outcome at Chicago over the next three days therefore, Lahiri goes into his third LIV season knowing he has a secure spot whether or not it continues to be with Bryson DeChambeau’s squad.

Narrow lead

The Crushers lead Rahm’s Legion XIII by a mere half point and both are sure of a first round bye in the elimination format at Dallas. Crushers are the defending team champions while the expansion Legion XIII have racked up four titles this season.

In the individual race, the bottom seven players in the mid-pack Open Zone remain mathematically vulnerable to falling into the Drop Zone.

They include Majesticks GC co-captains Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter, Torque’s Mito Pereira, HyFlyers captain Phil Mickelson, Iron Heads’ Jinichiro Kozuma, and Harold Varner III and Pat Perez of the 4Aces.

Perez is currently on the Open Zone bubble at 48th, with 7.76 points. Scott Vincent, at no. 49, has 5.90 points.

In the championship race, Rahm has positioned himself for a top finish in his first season with LIV Golf with one win, and top-10 finishes in every start including three in the top-3.

For his part, Torque captain Niemann won in Mayakoba and Jeddah and led the league’s season-long standings until the conclusion of LIV Golf Greenbrier. Either he or Rahm can win the 2024 individual race and are they are guaranteed to finish on the top two steps of the podium.

Rahm will win if he finishes ahead or equal to Niemann in the top 15 at Chicago. If Niemann finishes 16th or 17th, Rahm must finish inside the top 24 who receive points. If Niemann finishes 18th or worse, Rahm is guaranteed the title.

Easy math

For Niemann to claim the title, the equation is simple in that he must finish with three more points than Rahm. But he also knows it will beno easy task

“He’s been playing great lately, so he’s probably going to keep doing the same,” Niemann said of Rahm. “I’ve got to try to bring my ‘A’ game.”

Rahm too is ready for Niemann to be at the top of the leaderboard in Chicago. “I’m probably going to need to win,” said Rahm. “He’s going to be up there. I’m going to need another good week.”

In the race for the final spot on the podium, five players are still mathematically in the equation.

Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton is currently third, eight points ahead of Fireballs captain Sergio Garcia, 143.49 points to 135.49.

Stinger GC’s Louis Oosthuizen (129.10 points), Ripper GC’s Cameron Smith (127.66) and Smash GC’s Brooks Koepka (126.73) – also have a chance to catch Hatton.

The stocky Englishman is guaranteed third place with a top-three finish in Chicago, as long as Garcia doesn’t win. If Garcia wins, he will leapfrog Hatton. 

Garcia must therefore finish at least 11th or better to have any possibility of catching Hatton. Oosthuizen and Smith must finish at least fifth or better, while Koepka must finish at least fourth.

Their fates would then rest on Hatton’s final leaderboard spot.

Slots guaranteed

The top 15 players on the current points standings are guaranteed to finish in the top 24 Lock Zone and earn a spot in the 2025 LIV Golf League.

Players just outside the top 15 include Lahiri, reigning DP World Tour Player of the Year and LIV rookie Adrian Meronk (16th) and two-time senior major winner Richard Bland (19th), both of Cleeks GC.

All three are likely to remain in the top 24 along with 4Aces GC’s Patrick Reed (20th) barring an unlikely finish which requires a number of ties. 

Players currently ranked between 21st and 24th – Stinger’s Charl Schwartzel, Smash’s Jason Kokrak, Torque’s Sebastián Muñoz and HyFlyers GC’s Brendan Steele – all need a top-10 finish to reach guaranteed status.

In the team race, only the Rippers, Smash and Torque have a chance to claim the final available bye for Dallas. Ripper (151 points) are also within striking distance of top billing but need victory at Chicago for that to follow wins at Adelaide and Singapore.

“We’ve spoken a bunch over the last three weeks about getting that third bye for Dallas, and it’s something that we’re all thinking about,” Smith was quoted as saying in Chicago.

Below the top three, Fireballs GC, Stinger GC, Cleeks GC, RangeGoats GC, 4Aces GC, Majesticks GC, HyFlyers GC and Iron Heads GC are all out of the running for byes and must compete in the quarter-finals at Dallas.

Also read: Riyadh to host LIV Golf 2025 season-opener as new venue