LIV Golf Chicago: Koepka leads by four; Niemann, Rahm in tight race for Individual Championship

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. – Brooks Koepka has won the regular-season finale in each of LIV Golf’s first two seasons. The Smash GC captain now is in great shape to chase a third consecutive fantastic finish this weekend at LIV Golf Chicago – and it could very well earn him the final podium spot in the season-long Individual Championship.

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Koepka shot an 8-under 62 to grab a four-shot advantage after Friday’s first round on a challenging Bolingbrook Golf Club course with firm conditions and tricky winds. Koepka posted the only bogey-free round of the day, and his four-shot lead is just one shy of the LIV Golf record for biggest lead after the opening round.

“A good player gets hot and they can shoot 62 pretty easy,” said Koepka. “There’s a bunch of guys out here than can do that. When it’s your day, it’s your day.”

Crushers GC’s Paul Casey shot a 66 and is in solo second, with teammate Anirban Lahiri another stroke back in third. Their captain, Bryson DeChambeau, is tied for fourth after shooting a 68. Those three contributed the counting scores for the Crushers, who have a four-shot lead on the team leaderboard.

Koepka entered this week with plenty of momentum, having won last month’s LIV Golf Greenbrier for his second victory of the year and record fifth of his LIV Golf career. That win put him in position to make a run at the bonus-earning third place in the season-long points race that will be finalized upon the completion of LIV Golf Chicago. 

Third place is currently occupied by Tyrrell Hatton, but Koepka can overtake the Legion XIII star with a win, provided Hatton finishes below third. Hatton left the door open after an opening 3-over 73 dropped him into a tie for 38th.

A year ago in the regular-season finale in Jeddah, Koepka successfully defended his tournament title by beating Talor Gooch in a playoff. In the process, he finished third in the Individual Championship. Koepka wasn’t aware of his position throughout last year’s tournament, but he’s fully aware of what’s at stake this week. Even if he doesn’t win, there are scenarios in which he could move up with a second- or third-place finish. 

His focus, though, is on the tournament trophy.

“I basically have to win to even have a chance,” he said, “so that’s what I’ve got to go do.”

The one thing Koepka can’t do, however, is win the Individual Championship. That battle is between Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm and Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann, the top two players in points. No other players can catch them for first or second.

Rahm and Niemann played in the same group Friday, with Niemann shooting a 2-under 68 to Rahm’s 69. With the margins so slim, that difference of a single shot leaves Niemann projected to overtake Rahm for No. 1. The two players will be grouped again in Saturday’s second round.

“Look, there's a lot of golf to play,” Niemann said. “It's a good start, yes, but there's still a nice long weekend to come, so looking forward to that.”

Rahm will win the title as long as he ties or finishes ahead of Niemann on the final leaderboard Sunday. “We’ve got two more days,” Rahm said. “Hopefully we’ll keep it going and get a little better every day.”

Still, that may not be enough to catch Koepka for the tournament title. The five-time major winner is in his best form of the season, and it showed on a day when others struggled. He led the field in scrambling, converting all six chances, and his putter was red-hot, particularly in his last six holes when he made five birdies. He called it the best putting day he’s had “in a long time.”

“It was a bit of an odd day,” Koepka said. “The first seven, eight holes, I hit it absolutely terrible. I know what it feels like to be Cameron Smith. I think I made every putt I looked at, so it was nice to be like him for a day.”

And if Koepka continues to imitate LIV Golf’s best putter?

“Good luck,” said Casey. “Just give him the trophy now.”

TEAM COUNTING SCORES

Standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round of the team competition at LIV Golf Chicago. The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title. 

1. CRUSHERS GC -9 (Casey 66, Lahiri 67, DeChambeau 68)

T2. 4ACES GC -5 (Johnson 68, Reed 68, Varner III 69)

T2. SMASH GC -5 (Koepka 62, Gooch 71, McDowell 72)

4. MAJESTICKS GC -3 (Poulter 68, Stenson 68, Westwood 71)

5. FIREBALLS GC -2 (Ancer 69, Garcia 69, Chacarra 70)

6. STINGER GC E (Oosthuizen 69, Burmester 70, Grace 71)

T7. RANGEGOATS GC +1 (Pieters 69, Uihlein 69, Watson 73)

T7. TORQUE GC +1 (Niemann 68, Ortiz 71, Muñoz 72)

T7. CLEEKS GC +1 (Kaymer 69, Meronk 71, Samooja 71)

10. RIPPER GC +2 (Herbert 68, Jones 71, Smith 73)

11. IRON HEADS GC +4 (Kozuma 71, Vincent 71, Na 72)

12. LEGION XIII +7 (Rahm 69, Hatton 73, Vincent 75)

13. HYFLYERS GC +10 (Ogletree 72, Steele 73, Tringale 75)