The LIV Golf League heads from Greenbier to Chicago for LIV Golf Chicago. Jon Rahm leads the markets this week, with the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrell Hatton also near the top of the betting boards.
2024 LIV Golf League
LIV Golf Chicago
Boilingbrook Golf Club
13 – 15 September
It feels like an absolute eternity since our last stop on the LIV Golf Series. Despite all the outrageous financial incentives offered by LIV, it doesn’t really feel like the tour is gaining any real momentum.
Sure, you have meme-worthy moments, such as DeChambeau’s 58 at the Greenbrier. But it all just feels so…insubstantial. In any event, this week marks the final event in the regular season: LIV Golf Chicago.
This week will see the coronation of the 2024 individual champion, which comes down to two men: Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann. There are plenty of other permutations at hand, with players desperately scrambling to finish inside the top 24 (the so-called ‘Lock Zone’).
Players in the ‘Lock Zone’ will be guaranteed a place in next season’s tour. The players who finish between 25 and 48 are said to be in the ‘Open Zone’ (meaning they become free agents who can be acquired by other teams next season).
Those who finish outside of the top 48 will be in the ‘Drop Zone’ and will face potential relegation from the enterprise. So, plenty to play for this week.
Bolingbrook Golf Club
The first two editions were hosted at Rich Harvest Farms, with Cameron Smith winning in 2022 and Bryson claiming the title a year ago. The event has undergone a bit of a facelift this year, moving from Rich Harvest Farms to the charmingly named Bolingbrook Golf Club.
Designed by Arthur Hills, this par-70 layout is a little bit of a mystery. It isn’t long by any means, measuring 7,104 from the tips. The notoriously windy Chicago conditions will reward those who are able to lower their ball trajectories (look at how Cam Smith won in 2022- albeit at a different course).
The course features an imposing 600-yard par-five, but the star of the show must be the par-3 6th. It features an island green that is very reminiscent of the 17th at Sawgrass. Overall, I would be looking for guys with a solid tee-to-green game (and especially those who are able to navigate these windy conditions).
The Contenders
Jon Rahm will go into the week with a minuscule points lead over Chilean Joaquin Niemann. Rahm is the only player in the field who has finished inside the top ten in every event he has participated in this season (he was forced to miss Houston due to a toe injury). Rahm picked up his first win at the recent UK event and almost made it back-to-back wins at the Greenbrier.
Joaquin Niemann got off to a fast start this season, winning two of the first three LIV events. It’s hardly as if he has plummeted since then: he has finished inside the top ten in seven of his last ten starts.
Defending champ Bryson DeChambeau is always likely to contend and I can easily see the US Open champ in contention this week.
Brooks Koepka had a welcome return to form at the Greenbrier and he will be looking to make it back-to-back wins this week. Elsewhere, players such as Branden Grace and Bubba Watson will be desperate to play themselves into the ‘Open Zone’.
Past Winners
2023: Bryson DeChambeau (-13)
2022: Cameron Smith (-13)
To Win Outright:
Jon Rahm 11/2 | Bryson DeChambeau 8/1 | Tyrell Hatton 9/1 | Joaquin Niemann 9/1 | Cameron Smith 12/1
Value Bet
Richard Bland – To Win 28/1 | To Place 6/1
I simply have to back Bland in the place markets this week. The 51-year-old Englishman has been enjoying a proper career renaissance in recent times, shining on two entirely different tours.
His recent victory at the U.S. Senior Open Championship made it back-to-back Senior major championships. He has also registered four consecutive top-15 finishes in LIV golf, finishing in a tie for 4th at the recent Greenbrier event.
The Man to Beat – Jon Rahm – To Win 11/2 | To Place 12/10
I just think that Rahm has perfectly timed his individual title charge. He won his first title of the year in the UK and came within a whisker of making it a 2nd at the Greenbrier (going down to Koepka in a playoff).
Rahm has been a bastion of consistency this season and he has also proven to be a brilliant wind player in the past. Rahm finished in a tie for 2nd at last year’s Open Championship and he is a two-time winner of the Irish Open.
These conditions should prove ideal for Rahm as he looks to cap his maiden year on LIV with a monumental individual championship.
