SUGAR GROVE, Ill. If fans are looking for a team that might surprise this week in Chicago, the HyFlyers Golf Club has all the ingredients: good form, nice memories from a season ago and a captain who loves the big stage.
LIV Golf returns after a five-week break and the glorious grounds of Rich Harvest Farms will once again serve as host of LIV Golf Chicago. The HyFlyers GC comes in with an aggressive mindset sitting ninth in the team standings, but it’s not out of the question for them to make a nice move with another great week.
The HyFlyers GC has found something of late. The team finished in the top five of the past two events, which included a fourth-place finish at Greenbrier and a fifth-place finish at Bedminster. Captain Phil Mickelson found an extra gear and is coming off a 10th-place finish at Bedminster, which was his best result of the season.
Speaking of Mickelson, he had one of the best weeks of his LIV career last season at the inaugural event in Chicago. His Sunday 66 was his lowest round since joining LIV Golf at that time and he tied for eighth, good enough for his first top-10 finish. And it helped boost the HyFlyers GC into a tie for third on the team leaderboard.
As for this season, teammates Cameron Tringale and Brendan Steele have led the way and are 16th and 18th, respectively, in the individual standings. Mickelson slots in at No. 38 and James Piot lands at No. 47.
Tringale has been the most impressive team member this season and his 68.7 scoring average is tied for the third-best mark of all LIV players. He had a recent stretch of three consecutive top-9 finishes but is coming off a 21st-place finish at Bedminster.
Steele has been solid and arguably the anchor. He opened the season with two top-five finishes before faltering a bit, but he finished in the top 13 in the past two LIV events. He is also tied for fourth in GIR (73.06%), tied for sixth in most eagles (seven) and eighth in driving distance (310.3 yards).
If the HyFlyers GC can get Piot to play the way he has recently, it could prove to be a successful week. Piot has only two top-25 finishes this season, but they came in the past two events.