LIV Golf Greenbrier Fantasy Preview
LIV Golf returns to the United States with only two regular-season tournaments remaining until the Team Championship in Dallas. Plenty of action unfolded during the European leg tour; following Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia's win on home soil in Andalucia, Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm rode the momentum of his top-10 finish at The Open to a victory at LIV Golf UK by JCB, defeating teammate Tyrrell Hatton, Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith and Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann by one stroke. Thanks to Rahm and Hatton's efforts at JCB Golf and Country Club, Legion XIII won its league-leading fourth team trophy to solidify its spot in the top-two of the team standings with Crushers GC. And Rahm competed against 59 other golfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, with the 29-year-old Spaniard coming up just short of earning the first medal of his young career.
Rahm was one of seven LIV Golf representatives in the field at Le Golf National. He was joined by Niemann (Chile), Fireballs GC's Abraham Ancer (Spain), David Puig (Mexico), Torque GC's Mito Pereira (Chile), Carlos Ortiz (Mexico) and Cleeks GC's Adrian Meronk (Poland). Niemann was in early contention following the first round, but it was Rahm who appeared to be on the cusp of winning the gold medal. Beginning the final round Sunday as the co-leader with Xander Schauffele, Rahm carded six birdies over the first 10 holes to take a four-shot lead. Unfortunately, Rahm's hopes of Olympic glory folded over the last eight holes of the tournament, when he was 5-over with four bogeys and a double bogey to fall out of medal contention and a tie for fifth place. Rounding out the final results were Niemann (T9), Ortiz (T26), Ancer (T35), Puig (T40), Pereira (T45) and Meronk (T49).
With the Olympics in the rearview, Rahm and the rest of the league will turn their attention to Greenbrier, which will host a LIV Golf tournament for a second straight year. The Old White course at The Greenbrier Resort hosted professional events from 2010 to 2019, three of which were won by current LIV Golf players (Iron Heads GC's Danny Lee, Iron Heads GC Captain Kevin Na in 2015 and 2018, respectively, and Niemann in 2019). In last year's LIV Golf tournament, Bryson DeChambeau dominated with a 21-under score across the final two rounds to defeat Pereira by six strokes, while Torque GC captured the team event by three strokes over Crushers GC.
The Old White course will remain a par-70 course, but it measures slightly longer than last year at 7,299 yards, with the par-4 second and 10th holes lengthening by 39 and 28 yards, respectively. All but four players in last year's 48-man field finished below par, with 22 players finishing 10-under or better. Those who convert their approach play with masterful putting should be the ones who reign supreme at Greenbrier.
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Here are my picks for the penultimate regular-season LIV Golf tournament of the year at Greenbrier.
Captains (3)
Jon Rahm - Legion XIII
It was a disappointing finish to the Olympics for Rahm, but the Spaniard noted after the tournament that his stretch of play from the second round to the back nine of the final round was "probably about as good as I've played since early last year." After finishing in the top 10 of every LIV Golf tournament this season (outside of Houston, which he had to withdraw from due to an infection in his left foot), Rahm finally shook the monkey off his back with a one-stroke victory in the UK, highlighted by his bogey-free, 8-under 63 in the first round. He leads the league in GIR (73.84%) and ranks in the top 10 in birdies per round, driving distance, scrambling and putting average.
Bryson DeChambeau - Crushers GC
DeChambeau got off to a slow start at LIV Golf UK with a 2-over 73 in the first round, but he bounced back with scores of 65-67 over the final two rounds to finish T11 for the tournament. Greenbrier was the first of two LIV Golf victories for DeChambeau in 2023, and he'll look to defend his title against an expanded field. He leads the league in driving distance (319.7 yards), but he has also demonstrated elite touch as he ranks ninth in both putts per hole (1.57) and GIR (70.54%) and 10th in scrambling (65.14%).
Joaquin Niemann - Torque GC
The LIV Golf individual season standings leader has finished T3 or better in three of the last six LIV Golf tournaments, and he has finished in the top 10 in all but two events this year (Las Vegas and Houston). Niemann joined Rahm as the only two LIV Golf representatives at the Olympic Games to finish in the top 10. Niemann's 162 birdies leads the LIV Golf league, and he also ranks second in driving distance (317.9 yards), fourth in GIR (72.22%) and sixth in putts per hole (1.55).
Also consider: Cameron Smith - Ripper GC (he has finished in the top 10 in four of the last five LIV Golf tournaments, leads the league in putts per hole (1.51) and ranks fourth and 12th in birdies per round and scrambling, respectively).
Non-Captains (5)
Richard Bland - Cleeks GC
The Englishman has been a form of consistency this season, earning points in all but one LIV Golf tournament this season. He's finished T14 over the last three events, and the two-time senior major champion has risen into the Lock Zone in the individual season standings. Bland ranks second in GIR (72.73%) and 12th in driving accuracy (62.55%). He finished tied with David Puig and Matthew Wolff for third at LIV Golf Greenbrier in 2023.
Tyrrell Hatton - Legion XIII
Hatton was one stroke short of capturing his second LIV Golf trophy of the season, but his three-putt on the par-4 18th hole in the final round dropped him out of his co-lead with Rahm. Still, Hatton remains the only player this season to accrue points in every single LIV Golf tournament, and he has finished third or better over the last three tournaments. Hatton ranks second this season in putts per hole (1.53), fifth in scrambling (68.75%) and 10th in GIR (70.37%).
Marc Leishman - Ripper GC
Leishman scored a 2-under 69 in the first round at LIV Golf UK, but he was forced to withdraw after being rushed to the hospital, where he underwent an appendectomy. Prior to the UK, Leishman had finished T18 or better in four of the previous five LIV Golf tournaments, and with three weeks off, the Australian should be ready to go for Greenbrier. He ranks second this season in scrambling (69.66%) and seventh in putts per hole (1.56).
Abraham Ancer - Fireballs GC
Ancer was on a five-tournament streak of T12 finishes or better earlier in the season, highlighted by his victory in Hong Kong. He hasn't finished better than T16 over the last four LIV Golf tournaments, and he's coming off a disappointing outing at the Olympics. However, Ancer leads the league in driving accuracy (68.18%) and ranks ninth and 12th in putts per hole (1.57) and GIR (70.2%), respectively, which should translate well to the Old White Course. He rose to a T18 finish at Greenbrier last year thanks to his 10-under score over the final two rounds.
Paul Casey - Crushers GC
Casey has finished in the top 10 in three of the last four LIV Golf tournaments, and his finish of fifth on home soil marked his best performance since his T2 performance in Hong Kong. The knock on his game this season has been his putting, which ranks 38th at 1.61 putts per hole, but he has finished sixth, 19th and 21st in that category over the last three LIV Golf tournaments. For the rest of the year, Casey ranks second in GIR (73.06%), fifth in driving accuracy (64.72%) and seventh in scrambling (66.88%).
Others to consider: Patrick Reed, 4Aces GC (ranks third this season in scrambling (69.57%) and fifth in putts per hole (1.54), Dean Burmester, Stinger GC (has accrued points in all but two tournaments this season, ranks sixth in driving distance (313.6 yards), ninth in scrambling (66.1%) and top-15 in GIR and putting average).
Teams (2)
Legion XIII (Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt, Kieran Vincent)
Normally, you're only as strong as your weakest link. But when it comes to Legion XIII, as long as you've got Rahm and Hatton, you're bound to be in contention in every tournament. They won their league-leading fourth team trophy at LIV Golf UK, and they now trail Crushers GC for the top of the LIV Golf team season standings by just 15.5 points. Legion XIII leads the league in birdies, ranks second in putting average and driving distance and third in GIR.
Ripper GC (Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones)
The all-Australian foursome stumbled a bit following their back-to-back victories in Adelaide and Singapore, but they have finished T4-2nd over the last two tournaments. They've been in contention in each of those tournaments, including Andalucia, but poor bouts of play in the final round have held them back from climbing up the standings. They lead the league in putting average and rank third and fifth in scrambling and birdies, respectively.
Others to consider: Fireballs GC (rank T3 and third in putting and driving accuracy, respectively), 4Aces GC (rank T3 in putting and fourth in scrambling).
Sleepers (4)
Peter Uihlein - RangeGoats GC
Uihlein started strong at LIV Golf UK with a 7-under score over the first two rounds, and his T14 finish at LIV Golf UK was his second top-15 finish of the LIV Golf season. He finished the tournament third in driving distance (302.3 yards), sixth in putts per hole (1.52) and ninth in scrambling (66.67%).
Charl Schwartzel - Stinger GC
Schwartzel finished strong at LIV Golf UK with a 7-under score over the final two rounds, and he ranked seventh in scrambling (70.59%) and 10th in both putts per hole (1.54) and driving accuracy (69.05%). The South African will be looking for redemption at Greenbrier after he was forced to withdraw in the final round of last year's tournament after breaking the big toe on his right foot.
David Puig - Fireballs GC
Puig had a disappointing Olympics but did finish T3 at LIV Golf Greenbrier last year. He ranks seventh this season in driving distance (313.5 yards) and ninth in putts per hole (1.57).
Mito Pereira - Torque GC
Pereira entered the final round of last year's tournament in Greenbrier one stroke back of DeChambeau, and while the former scored a 7-under 63 on Championship Sunday, it was outdone by the spectacular 12-under 58 by the Crushers GC captain. Pereira will be out for revenge this time around, and at 43rd in the individual season standings, the Chilean will need all the points he can get.
Prediction
We have yet to have a successful defense of a 2023 LIV Golf trophy, with Cameron Smith's T2 at LIV Golf UK being the closest to it. However, back on American soil, Bryson DeChambeau will be the one to pull it off at Greenbrier, with Hatton, Casey, Smith and Rahm rounding out the top five. Rahm and Hatton will lead Legion XIII to their fifth win of the season, with Crushers GC and Ripper GC filling out the podium.
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