[PHOTO: David Cannon]
This Sunday, in the suburbs of Chicago, the LIV Golf League is set to crown an individual season-long winner, with Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann contending for the honour. It’s also set to send a handful of players packing when its individual season draws to a close. Among the notables that are on the bubble include Harold Varner III, Pat Perez [pictured] and Branden Grace.
LIV Golf Chicago, at Bolingbrook Golf Club, is the 2024 individual finale and the 13th leg of its 54-hole, $US25 million circuit. LIV’s team championship will be held next week in Dallas.
As part of its season-long individual race, LIV has developed a promotion-relegation system. The league rewards the top 24 on its individual standings after Chicago with full status for next season if they are not already contracted to the league for 2025. Those who finish between 25th and 48th, and who are at the end of their LIV contracts, will be placed in the “Open Zone”. They become free agents who can be traded, released or re-signed.
Below that is the “Drop Zone”. After Sunday’s third and final round (Monday morning in Australia), players ranked worse than 48th will be sent packing. Drop zoners can play their way back to LIV for 2025 via a 72-hole qualifying school later this year.
While some big names are in, or near, the Drop Zone, they have immunity. LIV’s 15 captains and co-captains, across 13 teams, can’t be relegated. That group includes Phil Mickelson of the HyFlyers (44th), Majesticks co-captain Henrik Stenson (41st), Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer (38th) and RangeGoats leader Bubba Watson, the one captain currently in the “Drop Zone” at 52nd.
There are other exemptions from relegation, including those with wildcard status. Anthony Kim (56th) is a wildcard, as are Hudson Swafford (55th) and Laurie Canter (51st).
Arguably the highest-profile player on the outside looking in is Grace. He’s a two-time PGA Tour winner and the owner of the first 62 in a men’s major (2017 Open Championship). The South African member of the Stinger GC team sits 50th on LIV’s standings and will need at least an outright 15th-place finish to have a chance to move into the top 48. Grace has not finished better than T-15 on LIV this year.
“As golfers, we all have our ups and downs; it helps being part of a team like this and having these guys,” Grace said in June. “I’ve had some late brain sessions with them on the range trying to help me out and giving me some advice. It’s just one little feeling that you need to get back, and that’s the feeling that gets you from finishing in 45th position to winning again.”
Grace is joined in the Drop Zone by Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent (49th), who needs at least a 20th-place finish, while Finland’s Kalle Samooja (53rd) is chasing at least outright 14th and Kieran Vincent, younger brother of Scott, (54th) who needs at least outright 13th.
Just inside the Open Zone stand Varner (47th) and Perez (48th), both vulnerable to falling into the Drop Zone with a poor finish in Chicago and movement from those below them in the standings.
LIV Golf Individual Standings 2024
OPEN ZONE
44: Phil Mickelson 11.93 (exempt captain)
45: Jinichiro Kozuma 9.60
46: Ian Poulter 9.22 (exempt captain)
47: Harold Varner III 8.25
48: Pat Perez 7.76
DROP ZONE
49: Scott Vincent 5.90
50: Branden Grace 4.42
51: Laurie Canter 4.30 (reserve)
52: Bubba Watson 3.66 (exempt captain)
53: Kalle Samooja 3.40
54: Kieran Vincent 2.47
