LIV Q-school breaks the crazy rules to benefit pro players in decisive moments

If you're trying to identify the next big thing in 2015, Ollie Schniederjans will definitely be on your shortlist.

Until he wasn't anymore.

All of which helps explain why the Schniederjans are golfing halfway around the world this week, seeking to find a new home at LIV Golf, where the purse is $25 million and only seven players earned less than $2 million last season.

Schniederjans will be joined by 92 other hopefuls at the LIV golf promotion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, only one of whom (the winner of the 72-hole event) will qualify for the 2025 LIV season (although the top 10 players are included and receive full immunity from the Asian Tour’s 2025 International Series). we say yes Because after Friday's second round at Riyadh Golf Club, the field was reduced to 20 golfers, who will play 36 holes on Saturday to determine the winner.

Cutting the field down to a round number usually requires extensions, and this event is no exception. On Friday, six players, including Schneiderjan, were tied for 20th at 3 under through 36 holes, meaning a sudden-death playoff was needed to decide which of them would win. players can advance.

A playoff of 1-for-6 quickly turned into 2 when Schneiderjans and M.J. Maguire were the only players to birdie the first playoff hole, the 396-yard par-4 18th. Goal 1, it was always like that when Schneiderjans and Maguire had a rematch. On his third go-around on the hole (the fourth includes regulation), Maguire found the fairway, but Schneiderjans did not; after carrying water, his ball dropped about 30 meters to the right of the green. yards of sandy wasteland. His lie looked sinister – his balls resting against the stiff leather collar on the other side of the sand – and it was Pretty wicked, especially considering the intensity of the close range shots Schneiderjans faced.

Bad break? No, quite the opposite actually, as Schneiderjans is about to get free relief from an unusual rule.

With LIV enacting a local rule this week to prevent players from getting injured when faced with inconsistent hits like this one, Schneiderjans was allowed to identify his nearest relief point – in this case, the light-colored long Grass external waste zone – and land the ball within the length of the club at that location.

“The shot is short enough that he can't really hurt himself, but you can't take that into consideration when designing local rules,” LIV Golf analyst Jerry Foltz said on the broadcast.

LIV's on-site reporter Su-Ann Heng called the ruling “a huge breakthrough,” later adding, “Jordan is also watching this closely.”

Schneiderjans' breakout got even better, as his ball rolled out of the relief zone twice during his toss, meaning he was able to put the ball in a perfect spot.

“Every once in a while, the rules work in your favor,” Foltz said.

Heng said: “But if you were Jordan, I believe you would be a little disappointed.”

Schneedjans didn't catch his attack as cleanly as he'd hoped, leaving himself about 10 feet away from birdie. Maguire's try in the middle of the fairway was nothing to disappoint either, as the ball went 20 feet past the hole from where he failed to score three. Then it was Schneiderjans' turn: hole the putt and advance to Saturday's 36-hole final, or miss out and play the fourth playoff hole. When Schneiderjans' ball rolled toward the cup, there was no doubt. Bingo.

When asked about the verdict after the round, Schneiderjans said: “I thought I was going to get relief, but I wasn't in that position all week. It was obviously a great break.

Of course, there's still a lot of work to be done for Schneiderjans. 36 holes and 19 players still hamper his chances of proving himself in the high-stakes showdown at LIV 2025.

“I've been through a lot,” he said Friday night as dusk fell at Riyadh Golf Club. “I want to play against the best players in the world again. I think I'm fully fit. I just want to prove myself again and get this opportunity.

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