LIV Golf Chicago Preview: Plenty on the line for 4Aces GC at Bolingbrook GC
Team: 4Aces Golf Club
Previous event team finish: T10
Season-long team standings: 10th
Top finisher from previous event: Patrick Reed, T15
Fun stat: Patrick Reed is third this season in Scrambling at 69.96%. He has recorded scores of par or better 156 times on holes where he has missed the green, the most of any LIV Golf player in 2024.
Preview
4Aces Golf Club has plenty to play for entering LIV Golf Chicago despite a frustrating season that began with high expectations. Two players are just inside the Open Zone and the team is looking to click with only two events remaining.
The importance of this event cannot be overstated for Pat Perez and Harold Varner III. Captain Dustin Johnson has liked the recent grit he’s seen from both of them as they fight to retain their places on the LIV Golf League. Perez shot under-par rounds all three days at Greenbrier and worked his way into the Open Zone at 48th, the last spot before the Drop Zone. Varner III went low on Sunday at Greenbrier to make a jump to 47th and into the Open Zone. A good week would keep those two players in the Open Zone, which would secure a spot on the LIV Golf League in 2025.
Patrick Reed is safely in the Lock Zone and is not in any danger of falling out of it. Reed hasn’t had the year he’s wanted, but the 2018 Masters champion enters each season with incredibly lofty goals. Reed didn’t record great results early in the year, but he has heated up in the second half and posted two top-four finishes in his last five events. His T15 finish at Greenbrier was the best result of any 4Aces GC member, and Reed’s final-round 7-under 63 suggests he’s ready to finish the season strong.
Johnson enters Bolingbrook GC at No. 14 in the season-long standings and safely in the Lock Zone. He’s shown flashes in recent events that would lead one to believe he will contend for a podium in Chicago, and the confidence remains from his individual victory at LIV Golf Las Vegas earlier this season.
Following this week in Chicago, 4Aces GC will be among the 10 teams that will play in the Day 1 quarterfinals at the season-ending Team Championship in Dallas. The team had previously been mathematically eliminated from contention for a top-3 seed and a bye.
As for this week, Bolingbrook Golf Club has a history of challenging the world’s top players with a mix of natural elements and skillfully crafted greens. It 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 and scramblers. Players will also have to navigate seven different lakes, contributing to the possibility of big scores and a constantly changing leaderboard.