LIV Golf Chicago Sets New US Attendance Record

LIV Golf has reported that the second round of the final regular event of the League season in Chicago set a new single-day record for a US-based event.

There is certainly a huge amount on the line at the tournament, and the fans came out in force at Bolingbrook Golf Club on Saturday, with over 15,000 in attendance to see how events unfolded.

As well as the usual $25m payout at the tournament, there is also a battle between Jon Rahm and Joaquin Nieman for the Individual Championship title and an $18m bonus payout.

There’s plenty at stake at the other end of the standings, too, where several players – including Range Goats GC captain Bubba Watson – were striving to finish above the Drop Zone and extend their LIV Golf careers.

Aside from the money and careers on the line, another attraction is the other world-class talent in the field, including US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka and 2022 Open winner Cameron Smith.

Another element likely to have contributed to the impressive attendance is the fact that the course, which is actually situated around 30 miles from downtown Chicago in the village of Bolingbrook, has never hosted an event with anything like the profile of the LIV Golf tournament.

Previously, the municipal course’s biggest event since opening in 1992 was arguably the Bolingbrook Golf Club Invitational, which was held three years ago as one of eight events on the Forme Tour. Mac Meissner won the tournament, while it had an overall purse of just $115,000, putting the LIV Golf event on another level entirely from what it has hosted in the past.

Regardless of the specific reasons for so many fans descending on Bolingbrook, it will come as welcome news to LIV Golf officials as the drive to turn the League into a mainstay of men's elite golf continues.

During the second round, Rahm moved to the top of the leaderboard following a six-under 64, one shot ahead of Sergio Garcia. Fans were also treated to a hole-in-one from Rahm’s Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton as he remained in contention for finishing third in the Individual Championship for a $4m bonus payout.

The attendance still fell some way short of arguably the most successful LIV Golf events so far, the two held at the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide, Australia, which has sold out on both occasions, with 94,000 attending over the three days of the 2024 edition.