Players near the bottom of the LIV Golf season standings are in danger of finding themselves relegated out of the league following the LIV Golf Chicago event, which begins Friday. At the end of the event at Bolingbrook Golf Club in Bolingbrook, Ill., players ranked 49th or lower could be dropped from the LIV roster. And some team captains find themselves in jeopardy. HyFlyers captain Phil Mickelson is in 44th place in the standings. Majesticks GC co-captains Henrik Stenson (41st place) and Ian Poulter (46th), as well as two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson (RangeGoats GC, 52nd), are all in the lower end of the 58 places in the standings. Standings are determined by the points a player accrues at each event. Only players finishing in the top 24 of an event earn points. LIV Golf officials confirmed this week that captains, for the first time, could face relegation — or maybe not. Sports Illustrated reported that a “business case” can be argued for any player to retain eligibility, no matter where he finishes in the standings. Bryson DeChambeau, captain of Crushers GC, stands in ninth place — one of 24 players in the “lock zone” who are guaranteed a return. He said he’s seen a different attitude among some players as they face their futures. “I’ve personally seen it, yeah,” DeChambeau said. “It’s definitely different, which is good. It means something. That’s the more important piece. This means something for a lot of people this week. … For others it’s their life. It’s do or die.” His Crushers teammate, Anirban Lahiri, agreed. “It’s always like that. You get to the end of the season — it’s not just this week, I think you could feel it in Greenbrier, too,” he said. “As the events start counting down, you’re like, I’ve got three more events, I’ve got two more events. This is the last opportunity for a lot of guys. Hopefully you’re seeing slightly more challenging situations. “But again, that’s the beauty of pro golf. You need to have that, and it exists. That tells you just how competitive it is. It tells you just how you have to work your butt off to essentially make sure that you’re relevant and you’re making a difference and you’re around. It’s not that easy.” Players who finish Nos. 25 through 48 in the standings with expiring contracts will become free agents. They can re-sign with their team or join another. The list of players currently in places 49 and below — and in danger of relegation — includes Watson, Scott Vincent, Branden Grace, Kalle Samooja and Kieran Vincent. Two of the players, Hudson Swafford and Anthony Kim, are wild-card players and could re-sign as free agents, per Sports Illustrated. Relegated players can earn their way back to the league through a promotions event or the International Series Order of Merit, open to players on the Asian Tour. Two players will be facing a different kind of pressure in Chicago. Jon Rahm of Spain and Joaquin Niemann of Chile will duke it out for the season points title, with an $18 million bonus going to the champion. “This was the goal, to have a chance to win and hopefully win,” Rahm said. “Joaquin has played fantastic all year, so just being in this position means I’ve done pretty well myself
Bubba Watson among players facing relegation after LIV Chicago.
