LIV Golf Chicago Preview: Smash GC looks to play in sync and sing ‘Bye Bye Bye'
Team: Smash Golf Club
Previous event team finish: 1st
Season-long team standings: 4th
Top finisher from previous event: Brooks Koepka, 1st
Fun stat: The overall stellar play from Smash GC has the team near the top of several statistical categories, including Fairways Hit (62%, 2nd), Eagles Made (18, T1) and Greens in Regulation (71.2%, 3rd)
Preview
It can be argued that no team has more to play for this week at LIV Golf Chicago than Smash Golf Club. After all, the team is just one spot away from earning a bye and a better chance at winning a 2024 championship title.
Smash GC enters the regular season finale No. 4 in the season-long team standings. The goal this week at Bolingbrook Golf Club is to get into the top three, which will earn a bye at the Team Championship in Dallas. The remaining 10 teams that don’t earn one of the three byes will play in the Day 1 quarterfinals.
"Obviously we’re going to try and play as hard as we can this week," Graeme McDowell said. "There's a decent gap between us and third, and then you have to rely on guys in front of you not playing well. So there's obviously a lot of moving parts. If we play well and we take care of business and win here, we have a chance to maybe slip into that third spot, which has an obvious benefit of skipping the first match in Dallas on the Friday."
Smash GC couldn’t be any hotter entering Chicago. The team captured a victory at LIV Golf Greenbrier last month while Captain Brooks Koepka defeated Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm in a thrilling playoff that captured the sports world’s attention. In short, the team should be firing on all cylinders at the most pressure-filled event of the season thus far.
There’s more on the line this week than earning a bye, however. Players across the LIV Golf League will be attempting to secure their playing status for 2025. Fortunately for Smash GC, its players are in good shape overall.
Koepka and Talor Gooch are firmly in the Lock Zone at No. 7 and No. 10, respectively, while Jason Kokrak made a major move at Greenbrier with a T3 finish, taking him all the way up to No. 22 in the standings and in the Lock Zone as well. Only the top 24 players in the season-long standings following Chicago will finish in the Lock Zone and secure their spots in the League for 2025.
Expect Koepka, Gooch and Kokrak to be pulling hard for teammate McDowell, who sits No. 27 in the standings and in the Open Zone. McDowell will need a solid week to move up a few spots and into the Lock Zone to secure his spot.
"When I look at the difference between 24 and 27, there’s actually a big points differential there," McDowell said. "So, it’s an all or nothing week for me. But also, it’s not really all or nothing, because I have to do my best to help the team as well. It's never nothing on LIV, which I think is the beauty of it. You’ve always got to play well and try and help the team out. I just feel fresh, and I feel fortunate to be back out here. I feel motivated. I just want to play hard these two weeks and help Smash the best I can."
The venue where the team will try to achieve its goals is not an overly long course but has a history of challenging the world’s top players with a mix of natural elements and skillfully crafted greens. Bolingbrook GC was designed by famed architect Arthur Hills and partner Steve Forrest and is just 30 miles from downtown Chicago. The signature hole is the par-3 15th (which is at No. 6 this week since the front and back nines are flipped) and features an island green and creates plenty of late-round drama.
Bolingbrook GC is officially 7,104 yards in length and has rolling fairways and elevated greens, which will play into the hands of the League’s best ball-strikers, many of whom play for Smash GC. Players will also have to navigate seven different lakes, contributing to the possibility of big scores and a constantly changing leaderboard.
And after it’s all said and done, Smash GC will hope to wave bye-bye to Chicago after earning a bye of its own.