LIV Golf Chicago 2024 Preview, Picks & Analysis

LIV Golf’s penultimate event of the 2024 season takes place at Bolingbrook Golf Club, Chicago this week, with Jon Rahm looking for his second success.

The Spaniard, who signed for big money at the end of last year, had several near-misses since his defection and finally broke his duck when he won at the JCB Club in Staffordshire. It continued a remarkable run - he has yet to finish outside the top 10 this season, a run of form that sees him leading the individual standings.

He came within a whisker of adding a second successive title at the Greenbrier, losing out to Brooks Koepka in a playoff.

After his wonderful 2023 season on the PGA Tour, the Spaniard must surely have cast an envious eye on Scottie Scheffler’s mind-boggling year, during which he won seven times on the PGA Tour and also claimed the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

There has been much speculation about Rahm’s future in recent weeks, with the rumour mill hinting that he is growing increasingly frustrated with his lot. Personally, I believe any and all stories of this nature can be dismissed. Quite apart from anything else, if Rahm did decide that he wants to return to the PGA Tour he would find himself having to pay back a vast amount of money to LIV.

Bryson DeChambeau has, of course, kept the flag flying for LIV in 2024. He lost out in a thrilling finish at the US PGA Championship when Xander Schauffele pipped his fellow American. DeChambeau showed a great deal of class, waiting beside the 18th green to embrace Schauffele and congratulate him, even though he later admitted that he was absolutely gutted to miss out.

But he put all of that behind him at the very next major, the US Open. He looked to have blown it but, of course, he had reckoned without Rory McIlroy missing short putts at the 16th and 18th. DeChambeau still had to get up and down from the sand on the 72nd hole and produced a bunker shot for the ages to win the third major of the year.

In an ideal world, DeChambeau, Koepka and Rahm will be going head to head this week, making birdies for fun. At the end of the month LIV’s season reaches its climax with its Team Finals. As hard as they tried to promote this as the future of golf, it has failed to capture the imagination. How could it ever compete with the likes of the Solheim Cup, which is being staged this week, or the Ryder Cup?

There will once again be vast sums of money on offer in Chicago, where victory will ensure that nobody can catch Rahm at the top of the individual standings.

However, Joaquin Niemann will have other ideas. He has won twice on the LIV Tour this year and is snapping at Rahm’s heels at the top of the rankings. I am a big fan of Niemann. Unlike many of his colleagues, he continues to take every opportunity to claim world ranking points that come his way.

I remain utterly bemused by Talor Gooch’s refusal to do the same thing. As good as he is - and he is very good - it says much for his ambition, or lack of it, that he steadfastly refused to attempt to qualify for either the US Open or The Open Championship.

The Course:

Designed by Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest, Bolingbrook Golf Club, located just 30 miles from downtown Chicago, features a 156-yard island green on its signature 15th hole. The 7,104-yard layout offers rolling fairways and elevated greens, winding around seven different lakes. 

Form Guide:

It is difficult to look beyond Jon Rahm, who has now got himself back into the winners’ circle.

To Win:

Jon Rahm. On a roll now

Each Way:

Brooks Koepka. Back to his best

Each Way:

Joaquin Niemann. Wonderful golfer

Five to Follow:

Jon Rahm. Out to prove a point

Brooks Koepka. Glorious ball striker

Joaquin Niemann. Fabulous short game

Bryson DeChambeau. Never a dull moment

Tyrrell Hatton. Hard to ignore