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After a three-week break, the LIV Golf season concludes with two season-defining events. The individual champion will be crowned this week in Illinois, while the team champions will be crowned next week in Texas. The individual champion will be either Jon Rahm or Joaquin Niemann. Niemann has won two LIV Golf events this year to Rahm’s one, but it will be the Spaniard’s consistency that means he will be the favourite to lift the title. There are a large number of potential scenarios but, basically, Niemann needs to finish in the top-16 and ahead of Rahm this week. Quite a climax to the season. But there is also plenty more at stake this week. The top-3 teams after this event are seeded and receive a bye next week. And the higher the ranking, the first choice they will have in terms of their opponents in the knockout rounds. It clearly matters to have a higher ranking. The Team Champions in 2022, 4Aces GC, were the #1 ranked team heading into the event; last year’s champions, Crushers GC, were the #2 ranked team heading into the event. And then there is the individual standings beyond the Individual Championship. Anyone finishing 49th or lower will finish in the Drop Zone and will need to retain their LIV Golf playing rights via the LIV Golf Promotions tournament. Seven players are vulnerable to falling into this Zone, while anyone currently in the Drop Zone can secure their playing rights for next season with a finish of 13th or better this week, dependent on the number of ties. And then there is the Open Zone for players finishing 25-48th in the season standings. Their playing rights aren’t guaranteed for next season as they face a potential trade or event release by their team. All this takes place at a new course, Bolingbrook Golf Club, designed by Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest and opened in 2002. Playing as a par-70 this week (two of the par-5s will be played at par-4s), it measures 7,076 yards. Not a particularly long course and its only previous use on Tour was a Canadian Tour event in 2021, won by Mac Meissner at 21-under-par when it played as a par 72. That means that there is no meaningful information on which identify parts of the game will be most tested this week. To date, there has been little in the interviews about the course apart from this from Jon Rahm: “Small greens. Maybe not the longest overall, not the narrowest fairways, so it does seem like approach game is going to be very important this week” and “It could be a week where if your ball-striking is on and your irons are on, you could have a very low one, and the opposite where if you're missing greens it could be a very long week, as well”. No meaningful course form to draw upon, but the above is sufficient for propose some angles for this event. Angles to consider: 1. Ball-striking and the short game should be the most important this week As Rahm’s comments indicate above, there doesn’t appear to be significant penalties off the tee, but it is the small, ‘not flat’ greens that are the most distinctive features of the course. Good approach shots should lead to low scores, while saving par appears to be challenging if the greens are missed. 2. Form matters at this stage of the season There are lots of sub-plots this week, particularly for those close to the Open Zone and Drop Zone thresholds, and with the points on offer for the top-24 places, there will be a lot of players looking at their place on the leaderboard and not merely focusing on the course. That is evident from this event last year when it was the penultimate individual event of the season and there was an Open Zone and Drop Zone for the first time. The winner, Bryson DeChambeau, has finishes of 1st and 2nd in his last four LIV Golf starts. Of the two runners-up, Marc Leishman had finishes of 2nd and 8th in his last four LIV Golf starts, and Anirban Lahiri has finished 2nd in his last LIV Golf start. Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players has been selected. Marc Leishman
Leishman secured his third top-4 finish in his last eight starts at Greenbrier. Given that he had to withdraw from the previous event with appendicitis, it was particularly impressive that he led the field in greens in regulation, alongside finishing 4th. With a top-4 ranking for scrambling in LIV Golf this year as well, this looks a good set up for the Australian. Runner-up in this event last year. Cameron Smith
The second selection is Leishman’s team captain. Ripper GC currently stand 4rd in the Team standings, but are well clear of 4th-placed Smash GC so there shouldn’t be too much pressure on Smith and his players this week, at least in terms of next week’s Team Championship. He is another in good form – top-10 finishes in each of his last four LIV Golf starts and he is looking to avoid a winless season this week, having won at least one LIV Golf event in each of the last two seasons, including this event in 2022. Known for his short game, this course should suit. Cameron Tringale
Finished with a round of 63 last time out to finish 11th and continue the form that saw his finish 6th in the previous LIV Golf event. That 6th place finish was his best finish of the year, so he was never going to be amongst the favourites for this event, but with so many player potentially side-tracked by this event’s sub-plots, this could easily be the event for a first time winner such as Tringale. He is technically within the Open Zone, but at 26th in the rankings, he should be safe from a trade or being dropped given his clear relationship with his captain, Phil Mickelson. Tips 0-3; -6.00pts 1pt e.w. Marc Leishman 28/1 (Boyle Sports 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6) 34th 1pt e.w Cameron Smith 16/1 (Boyle Sports 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6) 52nd 1pt e.w. Cameron Tringale 40/1 (Bet365 1/ 1-2-3-4-5) 34th
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