Trent Jones track to host LIV Golf Virginia as season resumes post-break

The LIV Golf caravan returns to America for the second and final leg of its 2025 season with the eighth leg to be okayed at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, from Friday. It will be the second tournament on US soil and acquires an edge with season-ending honours, promotions and demotions looming by August.

It has been almost five weeks since the seventh leg — won by Bryson DeChambeau and his Crushers GC — was wrapped up after visits to Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico besides the fifth leg in Florida, and the race for top spot in the rankings is getting ever closer.

Chile superstar and Torque GC captain Joaquin Neimann leads the table on 125.52 points with DeChambeau (105.35) and Jon Rahm (105.16) his closest rivals so far. They will be amongst those too watch out for with just six counting tournaments left before the team championship in Michigan. 

Neimann topped the podium at Adelaide, Singapore and Mexico City but DeChambeau and Rahm are on his heels with the latter yet to break his unbroken streak of top-10 placings at every tournament he has finished in. DeChambeau though too looks increasingly menacing after his Korea win and solid performances at the Masters and the PGA Championship, where he took a share of second place behind Scottie Scheffler.

Rahm and Neimann tied for eighth place at Quake Hollow, making the trio leading contenders for the 2025 individual championship, though the likes of Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia, Lucas Herbert of Ripper GC and Stinger GC’s Dean Burmester, who are fourth, fifth and sixth respectively could pose a threat for the season-ending bonuses too.

Also in play is the race for the top 24 placings at season’s end which guarantees a place in the Lock Zone and a spot for next year. Those finishing in the Open Zone (25th to 48th) are not assured of this security while those ending 49th or worse (the Drop Zone) get relegated and need to earn their places back in the league. 

All of this will be played out over the next six tournaments starting with the Gainesville event on a course Trent Jones called his masterpiece from the 400-plus tracks he designed. The Robert Trent Jones GC has played host to four Presidents Cup tournaments (1994, 1996, 2000, 2005), and each hole promises to be a test of accuracy and ingenuity between Friday and Sunday.