LIV Golf Chicago: Rahm and Niemann face off for individual glory in the Windy City

Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann are set to fight for individual glory at LIV Golf Chicago

The final regular event of the 2024 LIV Golf League takes place this week in Chicago with Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann the only players eligible to win the 2024 Individual Championship.

Jon Rahm holds the slenderest of margins (2.97 points) over Joaquin Niemann as LIV Golf’s Individual Championship reaches its climax in Chicago, before next week’s Team Championship finale in Dallas.

The pair are the only players mathematically eligible to take the title with Rahm requiring a first or second-place finish to guarantee him the championship in his debut season, irrespective of what Niemann does.

Despite leading the standings since Jeddah, Niemann’s lead has been chipped away at by Rahm’s consistency with the Spaniard racking up top-10 finishes in every event he has played, including a win in the UK and second-place in Greenbrier.

Elsewhere in the field, players who finish in the Lock Zone (1-24) will secure their spots in the league for 2025, while those who finish in the Open Zone (25-48) will become free agents, being able to either be resigned by their current team or signed by another team. The Drop Zone (49 and below) will see players relegated out of the league.

Last year, Bryson Dechambeau claimed his second win of the 2023 season, securing a one-stroke win over Anirban Lahiri and Marc Leishman, coming just a month after securing the Greenbrier title with a historic final round 58.

Where is LIV Golf Chicago being played?

The first two LIV events held in Chicago were played at Rich Harvest Farms, but the 2024 edition has a new venue – Bolingbrook Golf Club – located 30 miles from Downtown Chicago.

The 7,104-yard course was designed by Steve Forrest and Arthur Hills and features seven lakes, elevated tees, and a 156-yard par 3 to a Sawgrass-esque island green. Players will also have to negotiate a 600-yard par-5 hole, although several of the big hitters could find the green in two.

What is the format of LIV Golf Chicago?

With the addition of a 13th franchise – Rahm’s Legion XIII, the 2024 field rises to 54 players, inclusive of the two wildcard players – Anthony Kim and Hudson Swafford, who compete as unsigned individuals.

The team-assigned players compete in two competitions simultaneously- an individual event and a team event. Each stroke counts in the individual event, whereas in the team event, only the combined scores of the team’s top three players count for rounds 1 & 2, with all four scores counting in the final round of each event.

Each event is played over 54 holes, with no cuts and shotgun starts. For more information, check out our LIV Golf: Everything You Need to Know page.

LIV Golf individual standings after 12 events

How much does the LIV Golf Chicago winner receive?

Like every event in the 2024 season, LIV Golf Chicago has a $25m prize purse – $20m assigned to the individual event and $5m for the team competition – with the winner receiving $4m while $50,000 will be won by those finishing towards the bottom of the leaderboard.

Only the top three teams will receive prize money in each event. The winners will earn their team $3 million, with $1.5 million and $500k earned by the second and third-placed teams respectively.

Read our full guide to ‘How much every LIV player has been paid’.

LIV Golf Chicago: Tee Times

Shotgun Starts (all times EDT)

Friday, September 13: CW App & LIV Golf+ App, 12.15

Saturday, September 14: CW App & LIV Golf+ App, 12.15

Sunday, September15: CW App & LIV Golf+ App, 12.05

Shotgun Starts (all times BST)

Friday, September 13: LIV Golf YouTube, 18.15

Saturday, September 14: LIV Golf YouTube, 18.15

Sunday, September 15: LIV Golf YouTube, 18.15

LIV Golf Chicago: How to watch

US viewers can catch all the action on the CW App & LIV Golf+ App.

UK viewers can watch the action for free on the LIV Golf YouTube channel.

About the Author

Ross Kilvington – Contributing Golf News Writer

Ross Kilvington is a freelance writer from Scotland who currently writes previews for Today’s Golfer, covering events on the DP World, PGA, and LPGA tours along with the LIV Golf Series.

Ross holds a passionate interest in golf and tries to play as often as possible, although having two daughters under the age of 6 means his quest to break 80 will have to wait a little longer.

Despite first picking up a club aged 11, highlights are few and far between on the golf course.

An Eagle on the par-4 16th at Kinghorn is one that stands out (it doesn’t matter that it was only 290 yards).