The inaugural season of LIV Golf rolls along this week as 48 players travel just outside Chicago, Illinois, to Rich Harvest Farms for the league's fifth event on the calendar. Cameron Smith's 4-under 68 in Round 2 on Saturday allowed to pass Dustin Johnson going into Sunday's third and final round.
Hoping to produce the same fireworks as the Boston event, Johnson headlines a field which features 46 of the same 48 players that played just a couple weeks ago.
David Puig is set to make his professional debut and has replaced Adrian Otaegui in the competition. The former standout at Arizona State was a top-10 player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings who will participate in his third LIV Golf event and first as a professional.
Outside of Puig and Henrik Stenson returning from a bout with vertigo that forced him to withdraw in Boston, the field remains the same. Smith and Boston runners-up Joaquin Niemann and Anirban Lahiri are all set for their second experience with LIV Golf. Despite each enjoying a strong 54 holes in their debuts, the mountain to track down Johnson in the season-long race remains steep.
The two-time major winner sets the pace with 94 points, and is followed by LIV Golf Portland winner Branden Grace with 77 points. In third is Johnson's teammate Talor Gooch with 48 points as the American is coming off a solo fourth-place finish at the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour.
Ascending to No. 35 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Gooch is in the midst of some fantastic form and has done no worse than a ninth-place finish in his four prior LIV Golf showings. Gooch, Johnson, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez will hope to climb to the top of the team podium once again as their squad, 4 Aces, has claimed victory in three consecutive tournaments.
How to watch LIV Golf in Chicago
Event: LIV Golf in Chicago | Sept. 16-18
Start time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Rich Harvest Farms -- Sugar Grove, Illinois
Live stream: LIVGolf.com, Facebook, YouTube
Teams for LIV Golf in Chicago
| Team Name | Captain | Members |
|---|---|---|
4 Aces | Dustin Johnson | Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch, Pat Perez |
Hy Flyers | Phil Mickelson | Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Tringale |
Punch | Cameron Smith | Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Wade Ormsby |
Cleeks | Martin Kaymer | Graeme McDowell, Laurie Canter, Richard Bland |
Iron Heads | Kevin Na | Sadom Kaewkanjana, Phachara Khongwatmai, Sihwan Kim |
Smash | Brooks Koepka | Jason Kokrak, Peter Uihlein, Chase Koepka |
Crushers | Bryson DeChambeau | Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri |
Majesticks | Lee Westwood | Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield |
Stinger | Louis Oosthuizen | Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Shaun Norris |
Fireballs | Sergio Garcia | Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra |
Niblicks | Bubba Watson (non-playing) | Harold Varner III, Hudson Swafford, James Piot, Turk Petit |
Torque | Joaquin Niemann | Scott Vincent, David Puig, Jediah Morgan |
