The Open notes, Rd. 2: Hatton hot entering weekend

The season runs from February to August, with 13 regular season events followed by a Team Championship finale. 

Each event begins with a shotgun start – meaning there will be 18 groups of players spread around the course at each hole, all teeing off at the same time.

Over three days of fast-paced competition there are no cuts, so every player is in the game from the first drive right up to the final putt.

There are 54 players altogether, 52 attached to one of LIV Golf’s 13 teams plus two Wildcards.

The top 24 golfers on the leaderboard after three days will earn points.

The winner takes a 40-point haul, second place gets 30 and third 24. For the remainder it’s a sliding scale of scores down to the 21^st to 24^th places, who earn one point each.

For the team competition, the top eight ranked out of the 13 earn points, with 32 for first place, 24 for the runners up and 16 for third.

Again, there’s a sliding scale of points awarded down to 8^th place which gets one point.

The Individual Championship standings are finalised after the 13^th event of the year, just ahead of the Team Championship’s end-of-season showdown.

It’s a straightforward process where the player with the most points earned through the regular season’s 13 events is crowned champion.

Every place in the final standings is important as it not only allocates prize money, it will also determine each player’s status with the league for the following season.

Players are divided into the Lock Zone (top 24 places), the Open Zone (25-48) and the Drop Zone (49 and below).

In addition to an individual title being awarded at every event, a team title is also up from grabs during the 13 tournaments of the regular season.

During the season, all four players’ scores count in each round for every team, putting added pressure on every player and increasing the drama and volatility on the team leaderboard throughout the three tournament days.

The scores are tallied and after three days, one triumphant team will be celebrated on the podium.

Points are also awarded to determine seeding for the Team Championship finale. The top eight teams earn points: 32 points go to the winning team; 24 points go to the runner-up and 16 points will go to the third-place team.

There is a sliding scale of points awarded down to 8th place, which gets one point.

The regular-season team standings determine the seeding for a winner-takes-all Team Championship finale – the 14^th and final event of the year.

The Team Championship pits teams head-to-head for match play during the first two days of competition.

The quarterfinals on Friday feature the 10 teams seeded 4^th to 13^th – with the top three seeded teams receiving a bye to the second round.

On Saturday, the top three seeded teams join the semifinals with the winners from Friday. With the four winners advancing to Sunday’s final.

All 52 team players will tee off on Sunday in a shotgun start, with every member’s score counting toward his team’s overall total.

The team with the lowest score among the clubs competing in the top tier (No. 1 through No. 4) will be crowned the Team Champions of the LIV Golf League.