The fifth event of the LIV tour gets underway this weekend from Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove IL. That’s about an hour outside of Chicago, and the forecast looks much better than last weekend’s Bears game that was played in a torrential downpour.
Dustin Johnson leads the LIV standings with 94 points following his win in Boston two weekends ago. Branden Grace has dropped to second place after two disappointing tournaments, while Talor Gooch and a surprising Carlos Ortiz are in a tie for third. Three events remain after the weekend in Chicago, off to Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and then finishing up the inaugural season in Miami.
LIV Chicago News and Notes
Johnson not only leads the individual point standings, his 4 Aces GC team is also in first place as they look for their fourth straight victory at Chicago. Johnson, Gooch, Pat Perez, and Patrick Reed have each picked up an extra $2.25 million over the last three tournaments due to their team wins.
LIV Chicago has a tough act to follow as not only did Johnson win at Boston in the first-ever playoff, but Matthew Wolff became the first player to hit a hole-in-one on the 178-yard second hole. Johnson was also the first American to win a LIV tournament after Charl Schwartzel, Grace, and Henrik Stenson had taken home the first three events.
Speaking of Stenson, he’ll return to the field this weekend after being forced out of the Boston event due to a case of vertigo. Stenson won the Bedminster, NJ event in his tour debut.
Something unique about this weekend’s tournament is that it’s the first one on back-to-back for multiple golfers. Over a dozen LIV players made the cut in the DP World Tour BMW PGA Championship last weekend in Surrey, England, and now they have to jump back across the pond to the Windy City.
Is the jetlag going to cause an automatic fade of Gooch, Reed, Lee Westwood, Adrian Otaegu, Sam Horsfield, Abraham Ancer, and 11 others, including Sergio Garcia, who withdrew for health reasons in Surrey before being spotted on the sidelines of the Alabama-Texas college football game?
Few Newcomers This Week
Boston was an interesting LIV tournament because it marked the debut of Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Tringale, Marc Leishman, Harold Varner III, and Anirban Lahiri. Smith was the biggest name, and he was in the hunt early before ended up with a T4 in Boston.
Both Lahiri and Niemann had some surprising success in their LIV debut, each entering into the playoff before a 30-foot Eagle putt from Johnson capped off the tournament. Smith should be in the hunt in Chicago especially after being used to the LIV environment now.
There is no big wave headed to the LIV prior to Chicago, but #9 ranked amateur has announced that he is leaving Arizona State early and will be in the Windy City for this event. There are also rumors that another prominent Arizona State alumni could be pondering switching tours, but those are unconfirmed.
