This week’s LIV Golf Greenbrier is the penultimate tournament of the 2024 regular season, which means all the key LIV Golf races are coming down to the wire. Here are some scenarios and possibilities going into Friday’s first round at The Old White course.
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION
Just six players remain mathematically alive to become the 2024 LIV Golf Individual Champion, which will be finalised at next month’s LIV Golf Chicago:
- Joaquin Niemann, Torque GC captain
- Jon Rahm, Legion XIII captain
- Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII
- Sergio Garcia, Fireballs GC captain
- Louis Oosthuizen, Stinger GC captain
- Cameron Smith, Ripper GC captain
Niemann could wrap up the title if he wins Greenbrier and Rahm finishes no better than third. Niemann won the season opener at Mayakoba and has remained No. 1 all year. Rahm comes off his first LIV Golf win in the UK but picked up just 16 points on Niemann, who tied for second.
Smith has the most daunting task of the top six. He must win the final two regular-season events at Greenbrier and Chicago and have help from others above him.
Bryson DeChambeau. Image supplied
TOP 3
In addition to the six players above, just 10 others have a mathematical chance to earn one of the top three bonus-paying positions: Dean Burmester, Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Brooks Koepka, Talor Gooch, Carlos Ortiz, Dustin Johnson, Abraham Ancer, Adrian Meronk and Matthew Wolff.
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Realistically, the number is limited to probably the top three or four names in that list.
Hatton at No. 3 has a 19-point lead over Garcia at No. 4 and is the only player this season to finish with points in each of his 11 starts. Hatton is playing his best golf of the season, having finished on the podium in the last three tournaments, including his win in Nashville.
Gooch, the 2023 Individual Champion, is 11th in points. He’s still within range of catching Hatton, but it would likely require two wins and an unexpected Hatton stumble and help from others above him. Same thing for Johnson, the 2022 Individual Champion who is currently 13th.
Sam Horsfield. Image supplied
LOCK ZONE
Players in the top 24 in points this season will finish in the Lock Zone and guarantee their spots in the 2025 LIV Golf League.
Going into Greenbrier, Sam Horsfield is on the Lock Zone bubble, ranking 24th with 35.03 points, while Sebastián Muñoz is the highest-ranking Open Zone player, 25th with 34.81 points.
With 40 points going to a tournament winner, every competitor at Greenbrier still has a mathematical shot of finishing in the Lock Zone.
Charl Schwartzel (19th) and Patrick Reed (20th) are over the benchmark 50-point barrier and likely safe. Brendan Steele could also reach 50 points if he finishes at least 20th this week.
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Graeme McDowell is 23rd in points, and his absence this week could prove vital in the race for the last few spots.
Peter Uihlein is 26th and comes off a victory Sunday at the Asian Tour’s International Series England. Uihlein has finished in the Lock Zone in each of the first two LIV Golf seasons, including a bonus-paying third place in 2022.
Charles Howell III is 27th, despite missing the last four starts with a leg injury. He is expected to return to the Crushers GC lineup at Greenbrier.
Andy Ogletree, who earned his LIV Golf spot this season after claiming the 2023 International Series crown, is 31st after his tie for sixth at LIV Golf UK by JCB.
Pat Perez. Image supplied
DROP ZONE
Players 49th or lower in the final individual points standings will finish in the Drop Zone. Going into this week, Pat Perez is on the Open Zone bubble, ranking 48th with 7.76 points, while Scott Vincent is the highest-ranking Drop Zone player, 49th with 5.90 points.
Among the non-captains currently inside the Drop Zone are Scott Vincent, Kalle Samooja, Branden Grace, Kieran Vincent, and the two Wild Card players, Hudson Swafford and Anthony Kim.
None of those six players have finished 14th or better in any tournament this season. While it’s difficult to project the point total needed to avoid relegation, a top-10 leaderboard finish by any of those players at Greenbrier would likely be enough to secure a spot in the Open Zone.
A top-10 finish in any tournament this season is a good benchmark for players hoping to avoid relegation. Mito Pereira (43rd in points) finished 8th in Adelaide, while Jinichiro Kozuma (46th in points) finished T9 that same week. Meanwhile, 4Aces teammates Harold Varner III (47th) and Perez (48th) do not have a top-10 finish.
Paul Casey. Image supplied
TEAM SEEDINGS
Crushers, Legion XIII, Ripper and Torque are the only teams with a chance at the No. 1 overall seed. Crushers could wrap up the top seed at Greenbrier.
Those four teams, along with Stinger, Fireballs, Smash and Cleeks, still have a chance to earn a top-3 seed going into Greenbrier. But a Ripper win, combined with a Torque finish of fifth or lower and a Stinger finish of third or lower, would wrap up top 3 seeds for Crushers, Legion XIII and Ripper.
RangeGoats, 4Aces, Majesticks, HyFlyers and Iron Heads are mathematically eliminated from challenging for a top-3 seed. That means they will be among the 10 teams that must play in the Day 1 Quarterfinals at the season-ending Team Championship in Dallas.
Main image: Jon Rahm. Image supplied
