LIV Golf Chicago: Team Power Rankings

The final event before the Team Championship in Dallas sees the LIV Golf League return to Chicago for the third straight year. After the first two editions were held at Rich Harvest Farms, the 2024 edition will be held at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Cameron Smith won LIV Golf Chicago in 2022 by three strokes and Bryson DeChambeau was at the top step of the podium there last year.

Crushers GC is hoping to go back-to-back in the Team Championship, but has seen their lead shrink to just 2.5 points over Legion XIII after another podium in the last event at LIV Golf Greenbrier. Ripper GC sits third in the standings with their fifth podium of the season at Greenbrier.

PLAY LIV GOLF FANTASY NOW: Now that you read what the experts have to say, it is time to submit your own picks. Set your lineup by the shotgun start (1pm EST on Sept. 13) for your chance at winning great prizes.

Here are the Team Power Rankings for the 13th event of the LIV Golf League season.

1. Ripper GC. Ripper GC takes over the top spot in this week’s standings following their runner-up finish in West Virginia for their fourth top-2 finish over the last seven events. Marc Leishman returned after missing the UK event due to appendix surgery and was in excellent form with a T4 finish. Cam Smith has posted four consecutive top-10s and is sixth in the individual standings. Prediction: Leishman, Smith, Herbert, Jones

2. Smash GC. Coming off their second victory of the season is Smash GC, as an impressive final round led them to a three-shot win while also being 11 strokes better than third place. It was also the second time this year that Brooks Koepka came out on top, while teammate Jason Kokrak was just one shot back to take third. Prediction: Gooch, Koepka, Kokrak, McDowell

3. Torque GC. Torque GC makes a four-spot jump in the standings after bouncing back from their worst performance of the year to post their 10th top-5 finish across 12 events. Joaquin Niemann lost his hold on the top spot in the individual standings but is still in second place. Sebastian Munoz finished T6 at Greenbrier for his best finish of the year and is now inside the Lock Zone with one week left. Prediction: Niemann, Munoz, Ortiz Pereira

4. Fireballs GC. It continues to be a strong second half of the season for the Fireballs, who have finished no worse than T5 in six of the last six events. What a year it has been for Sergio Garcia, whose three top-2 finishes have him fourth in the standings. David Puig is also in good form and needs to climb just one spot to get into the Lock Zone. Surprisingly, Eugenio Chacarra hasn’t finished better than T10 thus far. Prediction: Garcia, Ancer, Chacarra, Puig

5. Crushers GC. Crushers GC may lead the overall standings, but they take the biggest plunge in this week’s Power Rankings down to fourth after finishing eighth in West Virginia. They are the defending LIV Chicago champions, although this year it’s at a different venue. Charles Howell III made his return after missing four events with a stress fracture in his tibia and finished T37. Bryson DeChambeau leads the group at ninth in the individual standings but is still looking for his first LIV win of the year. Prediction: DeChambeau, Casey, Lahiri, Howell III

6. Legion XIII. Considering Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton sit first and third in the standings, respectively, you could make the case that Legion XIII should be higher than sixth here. With that said, if either one of them has an off week, Caleb Surratt (39th) and Kieran Vincent (54th) don’t tend to contribute consistently enough to instill much confidence. Nevertheless, the expansion team is an impressive second in the team standings. Prediction: Rahm, Hatton, Surratt, Vincent

7. RangeGoats GC. The RangeGoats have bounced back from three poor performances this summer to finish in a share for seventh and fifth since to give themselves momentum heading into Chicago. Matthew Wolff sits comfortably in the Lock Zone while captain Bubba Watson’s best finish is T15. The group has a pair of podium finishes, so the potential is there. Prediction: Uihlein, Wolff, Pieters, Watson

8. Stinger GC. Sitting right in the middle of the team standings in seventh place is Stinger GC with their four podium finishes this year. Louis Oosthuizen’s stellar year continues as he heads into the final event on the heels of three straight top-10s. Dean Burmester is also in the top-10 of the individual standings, although he’s cooled off slightly during the second half of the year. Prediction: Oosthuizen, Burmester, Schwartzel, Grace

9. 4Aces GC. The 4Aces finished in 10th place once again last time out as Patrick Reed was the lone player to finish in the top half of the standings at Greenbrier. Dustin Johnson sits a solid 14th overall, but he hasn’t posted a top-10 since Singapore in early May. Pat Perez is in the Open Zone as of now, but a poor week could see him bumped down into the Drop Zone. Prediction: Reed, Johnson, Varner III, Perez

10. Iron Heads GC. Sitting in last place in the season-long team standings we find the Iron Heads, but they come in 10th in the rankings with finishes of seventh and eighth in two of their last three events. It’s a big week for Scott Vincent, who is one spot away from getting out of the Drop Zone and has played better the last four tournaments. The team has found success on weeks where Danny Lee plays well, but those have been few and far between. Prediction: Vincent, Na, Kozuma, Lee

11. HyFlyers GC. The Phil Mickelson-led HyFlyers are one of only three teams without a top-2 finish this year, so it’s no surprise to see them near the bottom of the rankings. On a positive note, Brendan Steele is in the Lock Zone, albeit just barely, and Cameron Tringale has played well the last two events. Andy Ogletree has two top-10s this year, one of which led to the team’s lone podium showing. Prediction: Steele, Tringale, Ogletree, Mickelson

12. Cleeks GC. The Cleeks had a lot of momentum going midway through the year but have come back down to earth having finished 11th and 12th the last two tournaments. Kalle Samooja and Martin Kaymer have been the main culprits, failing to finish in the top-30 in either of those events. Richard Bland continues to steady the ship with four consecutive top-15s. Prediction: Bland, Meronk, Samooja, Kaymer

13. Majesticks GC. The Majesticks just can’t seem to get themselves out of the cellar, as they’ve finished dead last five times this year including in back-to-back tournaments. Sam Horsfield missed the Greenbrier event with a foot injury, leaving his status uncertain for Chicago. The quartet doesn’t have anyone in the top-25 of the individual standings. Prediction: Stenson, Horsfield, Poulter, Westwood

PLAY LIV GOLF FANTASY NOW: Now that you read what the experts have to say, it is time to submit your own picks. Set your lineup by the shotgun start (1pm EST on Sept. 13) for your chance at winning great prizes.