JEDDAH: LIV Golf makes its highly anticipated return to Royal Greens Golf & Country Club here from Oct. 13 to 15, when the league’s 2023 regular season will reach its conclusion and set the stage for the Team Championship — and the future for many golfers.

The event marks the 13th tournament of the league’s first full season. There are 13 major winners who will compete in King Abdullah Economic City, including 2023 PGA Championship winner and 2023 US Ryder Cup Team selection Brooks Koepka, 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith, World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson, 2020 US Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau, and two-time major winners Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer.

There will be much to play for amongst those atop the individual standings. Those further down the standings face a battle to secure their future, with players ranked 45 and below in the “Drop Zone” at season’s end facing relegation and losing their LIV Golf status for next year.

Smith currently leads the individual standings with 170 points after wins in London and Bedminster. In-form American Talor Gooch (149), a three-time individual champion this season, is in hot pursuit of the Australian. They are followed by seven contenders including 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah winner Koepka, 4Aces GC captain Johnson and Crushers GC captain DeChambeau, who shot a sensational 58 at LIV Golf Greenbrier earlier this year.

Those who finish in the top 24 in the overall standings will lock-in their position in the LIV Golf League for next season. Players finishing in the “Open Zone,” positions 25 to 44, however, may face trade or release by their respective teams. Meanwhile, those finishing in positions 45 and below sitting in the “Drop Zone” will be relegated and automatically qualify for the league’s promotional tournament, where they will have the opportunity to earn their spot back for the 2024 season.

Aside from the individual race, each player in the 48-man field has good reason to make their scores count, as the final team standings following LIV Golf Jeddah will determine seeds one to 12 for the LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami the following week, with the top four teams receiving first-round byes.

Through 11 events, 4Aces GC — featuring Johnson, Reed, Peter Uihlein and Pat Perez — sit atop the team standings with 172 points after wins in Adelaide and London. Torque GC, featuring Chilean stars Joaquin Niemann and Mito Pereira, Colombian Sebastian Munoz, and Spanish rookie David Puig, trail closely behind with 163 total points following wins in Orlando, D.C., Andalucia and Greenbrier.

The all-South African Stinger GC featuring major champions Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Dean Burmester, currently sit in third place with 156 points. DeChambeau’s Crushers GC (146 points), including Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri, hold a three-point edge in fourth place over RangeGoats GC (143 points). They boast five top-three finishes this season thanks to standout performances by Gooch, Harold Varner III, Thomas Pieters, and captain Watson.

CHICAGO: Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka says playing for the US in next week’s Ryder Cup will bring the same thrill as battling for top individual titles.

The 33-year-old American, who captured his third PGA Championship in May at Oak Hill, will compete in this week’s LIV Golf Chicago tournament before joining the US squad next week in Italy for the Ryder Cup.

Koepka, who has a history of playing his best at majors, has been preparing for weeks to face holders Europe as the Americans seek their first victory on European soil in 30 years.

He sees the Cup as an equal test to a major in those terms.

“I think it is,” Koepka said Wednesday. “My whole mindset has been to practice for that the last few weeks.

“I think it’s one of the top six, seven, biggest sporting events you can have, so I like it when there’s a little bit more eyeballs, a little bit more pressure.

“It’s obviously different with the whole team thing. Sometimes you don’t play every match so you are just cheerleading from the side, which can be quite fun as well.

“I’ve enjoyed it. It has been great and I’m looking forward to it.”

Koepka was a selection by US captain Zach Johnson after barely missing out on an automatic qualifying spot despite being banned from the PGA Tour after defecting to LIV Golf last year.

Being on the opposite side of the PGA-LIV divide did not give Koepka any problem on a trip two weeks ago to Rome to see the host course before next week’s showdown.

“Good trip,” he said. “Most of the guys were there. Got to see the golf course. It’s pretty difficult, but it will be interesting to see how they set it up.”

When it comes to legacy, Koepka sees the Ryder Cup as much about record. He played on triumphant US sides in 2016 and 2021 and was also on the American squad that lost in France in 2018.

“Everybody remembers their record, or that’s kind of what you’re known by, wins, losses,” he said. “(Ian) Poulter has pretty much made a career on that.”

Koepka isn’t sure that knowing how it feels to lose in Europe will provide extra incentive this time around.

“I’m not sure how many guys have been part of losing teams in Europe. But yeah, it’s definitely a different feeling,” Koepka said. “Losing is no fun but somebody has got to do it. Hopefully it’s not us this year.”

Koepka didn’t approach the Marco Simone course any differently than any other layout he was analyzing ahead of a future event.

“I just treat it like any other course. Just figure out those two days, figure out where I want to put the ball in the fairway. Then it comes pretty easy,” Koepka said.

“Just figure out the wind and the distance that you’re trying to hit it, and you calculate that all in and that’s the club you hit off the tee.

“I’ll worry about it when we get there next week, but more the green complexes, where things will be and stuff like that. Usually when I go scout a golf course, it’s for lines off the tee.”