Fantasy Preview and Picks for LIV Golf Chicago

Only three weeks remain in the 2025 LIV Golf season, but there are just two tournaments left for players to earn points for themselves and their squads before the Team Championship in Michigan.

At this point last year, the top of the standings was a firm two-horse race between Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm. While the two captains are at the top of the table once again (with Bryson DeChambeau a distant third), the gap between the two isn’t so close. That gap widened at LIV Golf UK, when Niemann dominated the field from start to finish to capture his fifth trophy of the year and seventh of his career. He sits comfortably at the top of the individual standings, and he would mathematically secure the 2025 LIV Golf Individual Championship were he to score 2.37 more points than Rahm. The Legion XIII captain has yet to win individually this season despite five top-5 finishes and two podium appearances, but Rahm’s team is coming off back-to-back team wins and sit comfortably at the top of the standings ahead of Crushers GC.

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The race at the top of the table seems straightforward, but most of the field will be looking to climb the standings to lock their spot for the 2026 season and, more importantly, avoid relegation. The biggest movers up the standings were RangeGoats GC Captain Bubba Watson and Legion XIII's Caleb Surratt, who finished second and third, respectively, at LIV Golf UK, which has Watson comfortably in the Lock Zone at 13th and Surratt knocking on the door at 32nd. As a reminder, players who finish the regular season in the Drop Zone (49th or worse) are relegated out of the League and can earn their way back through the December qualifying event.

Currently at the top is Wild Card Chieh-Po Lee, whose 4.66 points all came from his T12 finish in Hong Kong in March. A good finish is all it takes to avoid relegation; newcomer Josele Ballester, for instance, finished T7 at JCB Golf and Country Club, which catapulted him up to 42nd in the standings with 12.28 points. Notable players lingering in the Drop Zone include Majesticks GC Co-Captain Ian Poulter and Torque GC’s Mito Pereira. Anthony Kim and Frederik Kjettrup are the only two full-time League players who have yet to accrue points.

Bolingbrook Golf Course is the location of the penultimate regular-season tournament of 2025. Chicago has hosted a LIV Golf tournament in every season since the league’s inception in 2022, with Rich Harvest Farms serving as the venue before Bolingbrook took over last year. It was the final event of the 2024 season and showcased plenty of drama, with Rahm winning the tournament to capture his second win of the season along with the Individual Championship, with Niemann finishing runner-up and Sergio Garcia rising up to third after a T2 finish. Those looking to earn points will need to have strong approach games to set themselves up for birdie opportunities. Check out Mike McAllister's First Look at LIV Golf Chicago for more information about the course and key storylines.

With the 2025 season winding down, here are my picks for LIV Golf Chicago.

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INDIVIDUALS

GROUP 1

Joaquin Niemann - Captain, Torque GC

It’s been a feast or famine season for the Torque GC captain. While he’s won five LIV Golf tournaments, Joaquin Niemann has earned just 6.80 points across the other six tournaments with just one top-15 finish. Even so, the dominance of his wins makes it difficult for anyone to surpass Niemann, especially when he has or is close to the clubhouse lead entering Championship Sunday. He leads the league in birdies made, second in GIR and driving distance and top-20 in driving accuracy, scrambling opportunities and putts per hole this season.

Jon Rahm - Captain, Legion XIII

Jon Rahm will have a second opportunity to defend a tournament this season, and his performance this weekend will be a major factor in his attempt to win the Individual Championship in each of his first two seasons of the year. While the chances are slim, there is a path for him to take the top spot of the standings from Niemann with a big performance at Bolingbrook. Rahm enters Chicago as the league leader in GIR and ranks second, fourth and seventh in birdies made, scrambling opportunities and driving distance, respectively.

Honorable mentions: Talor Gooch (Smash GC - first appearance in Group 1 this season on the heels of a victory in Andalucia and solo fourth in the United Kingdom), Sergio Garcia (Captain, Fireballs GC - has gone T10-T21 over the last two LIV Golf tournaments, finished T2 in Chicago in 2024 to secure his spot at third in the individual standings).

GROUP 2

Paul Casey - Crushers GC

Paul Casey was in the mix at LIV Golf UK after going 7-under through the first two rounds before fading to a T11 finish after scoring an even-par 71 on Championship Sunday. Still, the Englishman is rounding into form late in the season, and he has the stats to put him in contention for a strong performance in Chicago (T3 in driving accuracy and fifth in GIR).

Tom McKibbin - Legion XIII

Tom McKibbin went through a rough patch with finishes of T34 or worse in three straight LIV tournaments, but the Northern Irishman has turned things around to go T5-T4-T11 in the last three LIV Golf tournaments, which has raised him to 15th in the individual season standings. McKibbin ranks sixth in scrambling opportunities and driving distance, seventh in GIR and T20 in driving accuracy, and an improved performance on the putting green (T44 in putts per hole) would put him in contention for his first LIV Golf win.

Honorable mentions: Adrian Meronk (Cleeks GC - coming off a T7 finish, his best performance since winning in Riyadh in early February), Bubba Watson (Captain, RangeGoats GC - made the final round of LIV Golf UK more interesting with a memorable six-hole stretch that propelled him to a solo second finish)

GROUP 3

Martin Kaymer - Captain, Cleeks Golf Club

Martin Kaymer struggled on the LIV Golf tour for two and a half seasons, but the two-time major winner has turned things around as of late. He’s coming off a T11 finish at LIV Golf UK and has accrued points in three of the last four LIV tournaments to lift him to 35th in the individual standings. Though he ranks middle-of-the-pack in GIR, he finished T16 in that category at JCB Golf and Country Club two weeks ago.

Caleb Surratt - Legion XIII

The 21-year-old Caleb Surratt has earned points in just four LIV Golf tournaments this year. However, his potential for how good he can become was on full display at LIV Golf UK, when he used a 6-under final round to surge to solo third, his first LIV podium finish. Surratt ended the tournament T3 in GIR and T6 in driving accuracy, and he will enter Chicago as the best putter in the league while also ranking in the top-10 in birdies made and driving distance.

Honorable mentions: Lucas Herbert (Ripper GC - his recent string of performances had him drop to Group 3 for the first time this season, but he is one of the best scramblers and putters in the league and finished T6 in Chicago last year), Harold Varner III (4Aces GC - finished outside the top-24 at LIV Golf UK for just the second time this season but ranks third in GIR and T12 in driving accuracy).

GROUP 4

Henrik Stenson - Co-Captain, Majesticks GC

Henrik Stenson has earned points in just two of 11 LIV Golf tournaments this season. However, he enters this as the league leader in driving accuracy and is 11th in GIR. What’s more, Stenson has had plenty of success at Bolingbrook, where he has finished sixth in back-to-back years.

Josele Ballester - Fireballs GC

Following his T23 performance in front of a home crowd in Andalucia, Josele Ballester followed that up by finishing T7 in the UK, the first top-10 finish of his young LIV Golf career. His performance at JCB earned him 12 points and has him comfortably above the Drop Zone.

Honorable mentions: Ian Poulter (co-captain, Majesticks GC - time is running out for the Englishman to escape out of the Drop Zone, but he did finish solo fifth in Chicago last year, which should be enough to avoid relegation), Andy Ogletree (HyFlyers GC - coming off a T18 finish at LIV Golf UK to rise up to 48th in the individual standings, the last spot in the Open Zone).

TEAMS

Legion XIII (Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Caleb Surratt)

It’s a lot easier to win a team trophy when your entire squad earns points, and LIV Golf UK was no exception. It’s usually Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton who lead the charge, but it was the youngster’s turn to shine as Surratt finished solo third and McKibben finished T11. Legion XIII now sit at 218.66 points and are the odds-on favorites to enter the Team Championship in Michigan as the top seed. They lead the league in birdies made, GIR and driving distance and rank T2 in putts per hole.

Crushers GC (Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III)

The Crushers sit at a distant second in the team standings behind Legion XIII, but they enter Bolingbrook as the defending champions. The team usually goes as DeChambeau goes, but Anirban Lahiri (T6) and Casey (T13) did well at LIV Golf Chicago last year, and the team is in a good spot to make up ground in the standings.

Honorable mentions: Torque GC (finished second at LIV Golf UK for their fourth podium finish of the year and are third in birdies made), 4Aces GC (finished a disappointing 11th at JCB, but they enter Chicago third in GIR).