The third LIV Golf season is well into the second half, with only three of the 14 events to play after LIV Golf United Kingdom.
While the season-closing Team Championship will determine which of the 13 teams is crowned champion, there is also an individual table, with $18m on offer to the winner.
Last year, Talor Gooch finished top of the standings to claim the prize after an incredible season that included three individual wins. While he’s not in the running to repeat that this year, with 40 points on offer for each event winner, there are still five players in with a realistic chance.
Joaquin Niemann
Joaquin Niemann is leading the individual standings
The Torque GC captain put a marker down early for his intentions in the 2024 season after he won the opener LIV Golf Mayakoba despite at one point being hit with a two-shot penalty. That victory, where he defeated Sergio Garcia in a thrilling playoff as the sun went down, set him on his way and two events later he had another win, this time in Jeddah.
Further impressive performances have followed, including six top-10s, to leave him out in front by over 40 points on 165.40.
Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm's consistency has placed him in contention for glory
The Spaniard became arguably the highest-profile signing in LIV Golf’s history when he joined in December given the news came off the back of an incredible season that had included spells as World No.1 and victory at The Masters.
Rahm has perhaps not quite shown his best form on the circuit so far in a more subdued season, but before the UK event, he had still racked up top-10 finishes in every event had had completed.
A maiden LIV Golf then finally came in its United Kingdom even, and he could yet follow in the footsteps of Gooch and 2022 winner Dustin Johnson by overtaking Niemann for the title.
Sergio Garcia
Sergio Garcia claimed his maiden LIV Golf win at Valderrama
Rahm’s compatriot - who also won The Masters, in 2017 - is breathing down his neck in the standings after by far his best season with the circuit.
Following the disappointment of his playoff defeat to Niemann in the opening event of the season, the Fireballs GC captain came close to victory again in Miami before again losing in extra holes, this time to Stinger GC’s Dean Burmester.
A finish of fifth followed in Houston before he claimed his maiden LIV Golf title in his homeland at Valderrama for its Andalucia event.
That leaves Garcia on 123.24 points, less than two behind Rahm and still eyeing the chance of the $18m prize.
Tyrrell Hatton
Tyrrell Hatton has made swift progress in the second half of the season
Like Legion XIII teammate Rahm, the Englishman has been playing in his debut season with LIV Golf and, after a relatively slow start, he has begun moving through the gears just at the right time.
Hatton finished eighth in his maiden appearance at El Camaleon Golf Club but followed that with three successive finishes outside the top 10 before a T4 in Miami. Another impressive performance, this time resulting in fifth, followed at LIV Golf Singapore, before he claimed his first title on the circuit in the inaugural Nashville tournament.
In his next LIV Golf outing, he finished third in Andalucia, leaving him on 119.49 points, giving him a fighting chance of honors as the season begins to draw towards a close.
Louis Oosthuizen
Louis Oosthuizen has yet to win this season, but his overall form has been impressive
The only other player to have reached triple figures so far this season is Stinger GC captain Louis Oosthuizen, despite being hampered by withdrawal – along with Rahm - from LIV Golf Houston.
A T8 at Mayakoba was a solid start, and he built on that impressively with runner-up finishes in Jeddah and Adelaide. Further top-10 finishes came in Miami and Adalucia, which sees him on 106.10 points for the season so far.
While the 59.30-point gap to Niemann is sizeable, Oosthuizen has shown throughout the season that he can compete with anyone on the circuit, and it would be unwise to write off his chances with plenty of points left to play for.
