The LIV Golf second season is almost at an end and only three men are left standing in the Individual title race.

Cam Smith leads the way on 170 points but has Talor Gooch breathing down his neck on 162. The third player still in with a chance of claiming the $18 million bonus that comes with the crown is Bryson DeChambeau — that big-hitting American who has rediscovered his mojo.

The Californian has now won twice this season and shot a stunning 58 at LIV Golf Greenbrier in August.

“I am very lucky to be here,” DeChambeau said at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on Wednesday ahead of the Individual final event in Saudi Arabia. “It was a a lot of hard work. If you would have told me I’d be here even two months ago, I’d certainly have taken it. Very excited to be here, honoured, and it’s going to be a solid week, I think.”

Not that it will be a simple task reining in Smith and Gooch, as the pair have six LIV wins between them. And then there is that Saudi weather to contend with.

“A lot of heat,” added DeChambeau. “Got to take care of the caddies, take care of yourself, make sure you’ve got enough in you, and it’s really about who can come out here and perform the best under the most extreme heat they’ve probably played in, and if you can do that, you’ll be fine.

“But you have to respect the field. This field is incredibly talented. You have 48 of the best players in the world, and man, it’s always a grind out here. I think that’s a testament to how good these guys have played and how consistent they’ve played throughout the year. It shows how good they are. Three wins, two wins, all the top 10s he’s had, I didn’t get off to that great of a start, but kept picking away at it, and surely we’re here now with a chance to claim that title, which is great, but it’s going to be tough to get to these guys.

“Sure, I’m playing well, but again, you’ve got to be set up for success each and every week, and heat is a big factor. This golf course sets up really nice for me, but you can still wedge your way around it out here and make some nice putts, and that changes things.

“You’ve always got to be careful and just work as hard as you possibly can because these guys are incredibly good out here.”

Ahead of the Team Championships in Miami next week, DeChambeau’s Crushers are currently second in the standings. And he is ready to go one better.

“That would mean the world,” he said. “That’s what we’ve all fought for. I’m excited for the team come Miami. We lost to the Stingers, and it was a big sting — no pun intended or pun intended I guess — but we want to change that narrative this next week.

With the Individual title comes that $18 million bonus. And it is something DeChambeau would put to good use.

“My goal in the game of golf is to grow the game of golf as much as I can,” he said. “There’s 100 million golfers right now. I think that should be a lot more moving forward.

“One of the initiatives that I have is building some junior academies across the country, and we’ve got a few that are in the works. Should be operational next year.

“We had to do some things, so it’s not going to be functional by the end of this year, but next year we’ll have it. That’s going to be pretty special to see children’s lives changed because of it.

“Having kids under the age of 12 be able to play golf and hit golf balls for free, that’s something that is not really known nowadays. There was the First Tee programme when I was growing up and it was $5 for a round of golf and it was amazing to have that, but getting to a place where these kids have access, more kids have access to the game of golf is something that would change people’s lives forever, and that’s where that’s going to go.”

Main image: LIV Golf