The LIV Golf series is preparing for its fifth event this week with Open champion Cameron Smith preparing to make his second appearance on the Saudi-backed series after a debut in Boston.
The Aussie switched from the PGA Tour alongside Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III, Cameron Tringale, Marc Leishman and Anirban Lahiri, with the field shaping out ahead of the 2023 season too, despite rumours of more players primed to make the switch in the coming weeks or months.
The top of the field is now more compelling than in any of the previous events, as Smith battles it out with Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau and Lee Westwood.
The team event has been dominated by Four Aces and Johnson, Reed and co. will likely remain favourites again despite the latest reshuffle.
Here is how to watch the Chicago event as LIV Golf returns:
Here’s everything you need to know about golf’s newest tour.
What is LIV Golf?
Reports of a new breakaway league first emerged in 2019 but gathered pace last year as two-time Open champion Greg Norman became the face of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series as its chief executive.
With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund financing the series, there is a clear link to the Saudi Arabia government, whose record on human rights has been criticised by groups such as Amnesty International.
But what for a long time was considered to be a bargaining threat to the traditional PGA and DP World Tours and nothing more, took shape as the LIV Golf Series, which also features new competition rules and what tournament organisers say is an “exciting” new format.
Is it on TV?
LIV Golf has yet to be picked up by a major broadcaster in the UK.
However, the action is live streamed for free on the LIV Golf YouTube channel and Facebook page.
What are the rules?
LIV Golf Series events will be played over three days and 54 holes, rather than the traditional four-day events with 72 holes. There won’t be a cut, either, so the 48 players who start the week will play all three rounds.
There will also be individual and team competitions within the same event. The individual competition will be won by the player who shoots the lowest score over 54 holes, as normal.
The team competition, however, will be made up of 12 teams of four players, with team captains selecting the teams using a ‘snake draft’ ahead of each event. Teams will also have their own unique names and logos.
In terms of scoring, the best two individual scores will count towards the team’s overall total across the opening two rounds, with the best three scores combining on the third and final round. The team with the lowest overall score at the end of the third round will be the winner.
How will the season work and where is the next event?
Chicago will be the fifth of seven ‘regular’ events this year with the team championship forming the final event of the season at Doral in Miami in October.
The team championship will see all 12 teams seeded and a four-day knockout tournament will be played using match play scoring to determine the winner, with a championship match taking place on the final day.
An individual champion will also be crowned using points accumulated over the seven ‘regular season’ events.
- LIV Golf London, Centurion Club - June 9-11
- LIV Golf Portland, Pumpkin Ridge - June 30 - July 2
- LIV Golf Bedminster, Trump National - July 29-31
- LIV Golf Boston, Greater Boston - September 2-4
- LIV Golf Chicago, Rich Harvest Farms - September 16-18
- LIV Golf Bangkok, Stonehill - October 7-9
- LIV Golf Jeddah, Royal Greens - October 14-16
- LIV Golf Miami, Trump National Doral - October 27-30
When is the Chicago event?
The 54-hole tournament will begin on Friday 16 September and run through to Sunday 18 September. The first round starts at 1pm ET (6pm BST) at Rich Harvest Farms, Sugar Grove, Illinois.
Who is playing?
The biggest names initially included Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel and Kevin Na. However, after its first event, LIV Golf added major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed to its ranks, before tempting 2016 Open champion Henrik Stenson across ahead of Bedminster - at which point the Swede was stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy. Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann were the headline names from the final round of recruitment for this season and make their second appearances in Chicago.
Full player list for Chicago event
| MEX | Abraham Ancer | AUS | Jediah Morgan |
| ENG | Richard Bland | USA | Kevin Na |
| ENG | Laurie Canter | CHL | Joaquin Niemann |
| ENG | Paul Casey | RSA | Shaun Norris |
| ESP | Eugenio Chacarra | RSA | Louis Oosthuizen |
| USA | Bryson DeChambeau | AUS | Wade Ormsby |
| ESP | Sergio Garcia | MEX | Carlos Ortiz |
| USA | Talor Gooch | USA | Pat Perez |
| RSA | Branden Grace | USA | Turk Pettit |
| ENG | Sam Horsfield | USA | James Piot |
| USA | Charles Howell III | ENG | Ian Poulter |
| USA | Dustin Johnson | ESP | David Puig |
| AUS | Matt Jones | USA | Patrick Reed |
| THA | Sadom Kaewkanjana | RSA | Charl Schwartzel |
| GER | Martin Kaymer | AUS | Cameron Smith |
| THA | Phachara Khongwatmai | SWE | Henrik Stenson |
| USA | Sihwan Kim | USA | Hudson Swafford |
| USA | Brooks Koepka | USA | Cameron Tringale |
| USA | Chase Koepka | USA | Peter Uihlein |
| USA | Jason Kokrak | USA | Harold Varner III |
| IND | Anirban Lahiri | ZIM | Scott Vincent |
| AUS | Marc Leishman | ENG | Lee Westwood |
| NIR | Graeme McDowell | AUT | Bernd Wiesberger |
| USA | Phil Mickelson | USA | Matthew Wolff |
What are the teams?
- 4 Aces GC - Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Talor Gooch
- Hy Flyers GC - Phil Mickelson, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Tringale
- Punch GC - Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Wade Ormsby,
- Cleeks GC - Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Laurie Canter, Richard Bland
- Iron Heads GC - Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Phachara Khongwatmai, Sihwan Kim
- Smash GC - Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Peter Uihlein, Chase Koepka
- Crushers GC - Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri,
- Majesticks GC - Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield
- Stinger GC - Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Shaun Norris
- Fireballs GC - Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra
- Niblicks GC - Bubba Watson (non-playing captain), Harold Varner III, Hudson Swafford, James Piot, Turk Pettit
- Torque GC - Joaquin Niemann, Scott Vincent, David Puig, Jediah Morgan
How much is the prize money?
Each regular season event will have a prize fund of $25m - every player in the field receives a cut, with a guaranteed $4m for first and $120,000 for last place. Of the $25m, $5m will be split between the top three teams.
The top three players in the overall individual championship will receive a split of $30m, with the overall champion taking $18m, the runner-up receiving $8m and third place getting $4m.
The season-ending team championship has a prize fund of $50m, with the winning team splitting $16m and the team who finishes last receiving $1m. Each player receives a 25 per cent cut.
By comparison, the winner of the PGA Championship, one of golf’s four majors, receives $3m out of a total prize fund of $15m.
Individual prize money
- $4,000,000
- $2,125,000
- $1,500,000
- $1,050,000
- $975,000
- $800,000
- $675,000
- $625,000
- $580,000
- $560,000
- $540,000
- $450,000
- $360,000
- $270,000
- $250,000
- $240,000
- $232,000
- $226,000
- $220,000
- $200,000
- $180,000
- $172,000
- $170,000
- $168,000
- $166,000
- $164,000
- $162,000
- $160,000
- $158,000
- $156,000
- $154,000
- $152,000
- $150,000
- $148,000
- $146,000
- $144,000
- $142,000
- $140,000
- $138,000
- $136,000
- $134,000
- $132,000
- $130,000
- $128,000
- $126,000
- $124,000
- $122,000
- $120,000
Team prize money
- $3,000,00
- $1,500,000
- $500,000
