Questions to Answer as LIV Golf Season Nears End

In a hectic flurry of activity, LIV Golf is in Chicago this week, with Joaquin Niemann going for his sixth win of the year, before they head to Indianapolis next week and then end their season the following week in Michigan. 

It is, of course, no coincidence that the term comes to an end at exactly the same time as the PGA Tour brings the curtain down on its regular season at the Tour Championship at East Lake. Imitation, flattery and all of that.

It has been quite a year for Niemann, who has banked well in excess of $20m and has dominated LIV in precisely the same way that Scottie Scheffler has ruled the roost on the PGA Tour. Remarkably, if Jon Rahm lifts the title in Chicago he could still catch the Chilean and retain his individual title but in reality that is extremely unlikely to happen.

Rahm has yet to finish outside the top 10 in any LIV event in which he has started but, remarkably, he is still looking for his first victory of 2025. 

He is the defending champion in Chicago, where he was crowned individual champion 12 months ago. Rahm may feel he has a point to prove. By all accounts, he is a shoo-in for Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team despite his patchy form. He would dearly love to win again before Donald names his team later this month.

Rahm will be joined at Bethpage Black by fellow LIV golfer Tyrrell Hatton. Nobody will have any qualms about Hatton making the team - he has been remarkably consistent all year and despite only playing in five tournaments finds himself second in the Race to Dubai. He won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the Dubai Desert Classic and finished tied fourth at the US Open and tied 16th at The Open.

But Rahm has looked like a shadow of the golfer he was when he first signed his lucrative LIV contract. He insists that he has become a better player since making the switch, although his results would suggest otherwise.

One of the main criticisms aimed at LIV since day one has been its 54-hole format without a cut. Rahm initially seemed perfectly happy with that but he seems to have had a rethink.

He said: "I think the way I see it, at least right now, there’s a process to hopefully enter those world ranking points and at least get our foot in the door, and then once we’re allowed, we can see what changes can be made to earn as many as possible, keeping the integrity of what LIV Golf is about.

"Examples of that would be, let’s say with whatever we’re doing currently we get 20 points. If you add a fourth round, you go to 25. Is that worth it, is that not worth it. If you add a cut, things like that. Right now with as little players as we have, I don’t see a cut working very well, and with the teams I think it would be a little odd.

"But if the league were to expand and let’s say you go to 15 teams, you have 60 players, now you can actually possibly make something work.

"There’s many possibilities that I can think of. By the way, this is completely hypothetical because I haven’t spoken to anybody about it, but there’s things we could do I think to add more world rankings points if we need it, and I’m sure there’s more that I can’t think of that the folks at OWGR and maybe Scott or the front of the LIV office can probably tell us about to give us a little bit more of strength of field."

Scheffler is the world’s number one by a country mile. Niemann languishes in 103rd place, which is patently ridiculous. Of course it all comes down to golf’s refusal to award world ranking points for LIV events, something that continues to divide our sport. Niemann is only ranked as high as he is because he received special invitations to play in all four majors and because, unlike many of his colleagues, he is prepared to compete in other tournaments.

You may remember that Phil Mickelson said earlier in the year that Niemann is actually the best golfer on the planet. His results in those four majors prove that to be utter nonsense - tied 29th at The Masters, tied eighth a the US PGA and missed cuts at the US Open and Open Championship. I would remind you that Scheffler won the US PGA and The Open. It is a no-contest.

There are a number of sub-plots as the LIV season nears its climax. There are 54 golfers and those who finish the year at the bottom of the pile face relegation - and that includes a certain Ian Poulter, who has had a miserable run. Poulter remains a decent draw card, however, and there is every chance that he will be re-signed.

Rumours also persist that Brooks Koepka is seriously considering a return to the PGA Tour. 

While LIV rocked golf by offering lucrative contracts to a host of golfers, we have yet to see a high-profile golfer making the return journey. 

Laurie Canter was cut loose and had little choice but to return to the DP World Tour. It has turned out to be the best thing that could ever have happened to him. He is now a winner on his home tour - ahead of the Nexo Championship he was sixth in the Race to Dubai. Eugenio Chacarra, of Spain, had plenty to say about the way he was treated by LIV. Like Canter, he is also now a winner on the DP World Tour and one of its brightest young stars.

But if Koepka were to return to the PGA Tour it would cause huge ripples. He is a five-time major winner and although he has enjoyed success since joining LIV, his recent form has been extremely disappointing. Two years ago he comfortably made America’s Ryder Cup team - this time around he does not feature in any conversations about Bethpage Black.

So no matter what you think of LIV, there are many questions to be answered in the coming couple of weeks.