LIV Golf's third season is nearing its climax and Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm appear to be locked in a two-horse race for the Individual Championship.
But there are six men who remain in the running for the $18 million prize as the penultimate event of the campaign tees off on Friday at The Greenbrier's Old White course in West Virginia. They are not the only men with plenty to play for heading into the last two individual events of the year, with the finale being played at Bolingbrook Golf Club near Chicago from Sep. 13-15.
The likes of Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson have huge sums of money at stake, while the likes of Pat Perez and Harold Varner III face a battle to keep their places on the breakaway league for next season. Here is the state of play with two events to go...
READ MORE: Lee Westwood hit back at Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods and savaged PGA Tour star after LIV move
READ MORE: Phil Mickelson has earned huge sum on LIV Golf and can make millions more when he retires
Title contenders
Niemann holds a healthy lead atop the standings after a stellar season. He won the opener at Mayakoba and repeated the trick at the third event of the season in Jeddah. The Chilean's consistency since has been impressive, finishing outside the top 10 just once in eight events.
Niemann is 24.23 points clear of second-placed Rahm, who has also been remarkably consistent, finishing in the top 10 of every event he has completed – the Spaniard withdrew in Houston due to a foot injury – culminating in his first LIV win in England last month.
Rahm is Niemann's fiercest competitor, with a realistic shot of overtaking him in the race for the title. For the rest, it is a long shot, but they are still in the hunt. Rahm's Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton is in third place, 45.91 points adrift of the lead.
Follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sport and entertainment stories.
A trio of major champions in Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen and Cam Smith also have a chance. But 2017 Masters champion Garcia, 2010 Open winner Oosthuizen and 2022 Open champ Smith would need an improbable sequence of events to fall into place for them to lift the title in Chicago, likely needing not only to win both remaining events but also for their rivals to falter.
A win is worth 40 points, with second and third taking 30 and 24 respectively, with the points on offer decreasing incrementally down to 24th place. Here is how the standings look ahead of play at The Greenbrier...
- Joaquin Niemann - 189.40
- Jon Rahm - 165.17
- Tyrrell Hatton - 143.49
- Sergio Garcia - 124.49
- Louis Oosthuizen - 118.10
- Cam Smith - 116.66
Chasing a bonus
The top six are not the only players with plenty on the line over the final two events of the season. The top three players in the standings each receive a massive bonus at the end of the campaign.
An eye-watering $8m goes to the champion, with second and third taking $8m and $4m respectively. In addition to the top six, Dean Burmester, Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Brooks Koepka, Talor Gooch, Carlos Ortiz, Dustin Johnson, Abraham Ancer, Adrian Meronk and Matthew Wolff all have a chance of finishing in one of the bonus-paying places if things go their way over the final two events.
At risk of Relegation
Competition is fierce at the bottom end of the table, too, with players who finish in 49th place and below who do not have the perk of team captaincy – which guards against relegation – set to lose their place in the league.
Pat Perez and Harold Varner are the biggest names at risk of relegation, with the 4Aces stars enduring a brutal campaign. Perez and Varner are hovering precariously in 47th and 48th, and they will need some big performances at The Greenbrier and Bolingbrook to ensure their place in the league for next season.
Scott Vincent, Kalle Samooja, Branden Grace, Kieran Vincent, Hudson Swafford and Anthony Kim are the players in the drop zone who do not have the safety net of captaincy to rely on. Bubba Watson is also in the drop zone, but his position in charge of the Range Goats means he cannot be relegated.
The battle to beat the drop is sure to be particularly volatile, with one top-10 finish for any player likely to be enough to lift them to safety. Here is how the bottom end of the standings looks...
46. Jinichiro Kozuma - 8.40
47. Harold Varner III - 8.25
48. Pat Perez - 7.76
----------------------------------------
49. Scott Vincent - 5.90
50. Laurie Canter* - 4.30
51. Bubba Watson (c) - 3.66
52. Kalle Samooja - 3.40
53. Branden Grace - 3.22
54. Kieran Vincent - 2.47
55. Hudson Swafford - 0
56. Anthony Kim - 0
* Canter played the first two events of the season as a wildcard and is no longer a member of LIV Golf
Most Popular
Comments / 0