You get the feeling this was the kind of leaderboard organizers of LIV Golf envisioned from the beginning.
As the 2025 LIV campaign is winding to a close, some of the top names originally lured to the now-four-year-old circuit put on a show at Bolingbrook Golf Club near Chicago as Dustin Johnson — remember him? — and Sergio Garcia each sit atop the leaderboard after shooting rounds of 67.
And the big names just keep coming as you scan down the board: Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm are among a group that sits just one stroke behind the leaders.
For Johnson, who finished the most recent LIV Golf UK event in dead last at 9 over, this wasn’t a matter of major strides, but simple tweaks.
“I feel like I’m always close, and it only takes a couple shots here or there where my game just clicks back and I start playing good again,” he said. “Got off to a little bit of a shaky start today but then started hitting some quality shots and rolled in a couple putts and kind of turned it around and finished off with a nice solid day today.
“To be honest, even in the UK, I did not play nearly as bad as my score. I know my score was horrible, but I actually hit a lot of good shots. I felt like every time I hit a good shot it was a foot off from being really good and ends up in a bad spot. Obviously those greens and that golf course is pretty tricky. Just scored horribly.”
While Johnson has struggled, finishing outside the top 25 in six of 11 starts in the 48-team league, the same can’t be said for Mickelson, who is in position to post his best LIV season finish. On Friday, Mickelson was 5 under heading into the final two holes of the day and was atop the leaderboard. He made a pair of bogeys coming home, but he’s still in a great spot as the weekend approaches.
“I really want to finish the year off right. I’ve played well this year, played consistent, and have had almost, with one or two exceptions, I’ve been in the top 24 each week, so I’ve played consistent,” he said. “At 55, I think that’s a cool accomplishment, and I would love to finish this year off right, move back up the list, and have two more solid finishes before we go to the Team Championship.
“That’s more of just a personal goal of mine that I think to play against competition like this, Rahm and Bryson and Brooks and DJ and Cam Smith and Joaco and these guys, and to be able to hang, I think that would mean a lot to me.”
