Jon Rahm concluded his first season with LIV Golf by winning his second tournament out of three starts, securing the season-long individual championship.
As the Legion XIII captain, Rahm never finished outside the top-10 in his 12 starts since December.
“I wouldn’t say it exceeded my expectations, but it definitely met what I expected,” said Rahm, who claimed a $22m pay day with his victory at Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago and the overall title.
The 29-year-old Spanish star shot a 4-under 66 on Sunday to hold off Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia by three shots.
Rahm played bogey-free golf for the last 38 holes and had only one bogey all week while shooting 11 under par. This was his second win after also winning in LIV Golf UK in July and coming close to winning in Greenbrier last month, where he lost in a playoff to Brooks Koepka.
The duel between Rahm and Niemann for the Individual Championship was just one of several contests to be decided in this week’s regular-season finale.
Final seeds for Dallas were determined, with Crushers GC, Legion XIII, and Ripper GC earning the three byes for next Friday’s quarter-finals.
“PRESSURE IS A PRIVILEGE”
With Rahm and Niemann finishing first and second in the individual standings, Garcia surpassed Tyrrell Hatton for the final bonus-earning spot on the podium by just one point.
Rahm entered the final day holding a three-stroke lead over Niemann, who needed to finish ahead of Rahm on the leaderboard to win the championship.
Niemann started strong with birdies on two of his first three holes, applying early pressure, but Rahm remained steady. He made three birdies in his first 10 holes and then saved crucial pars on holes 11 and 12 to prevent Niemann from gaining ground.
A three-putt par on the par-5 14th was Rahm’s only misstep, but he responded with a birdie on 17 to secure victory and eliminate any chances of a late Niemann comeback. The fact that the season’s top three players finished at the top of the Chicago leaderboard was a fitting conclusion.
“You can’t really script it that much better?” Rahm said. “It was definitely a stressful day, but that pressure is a privilege.”
Niemann remarked, “I knew I had to do something great, and I feel like I did. I played amazing golf. But I feel like to beat someone like Jon Rahm, you’ve got to do things better.”
“It’s a different feeling,” Rahm added. “Just being able to culminate all the good golf all season, and especially doing it by winning individually today I think is what makes it so much more special. Knowing that I had to win and getting it done is something to really be proud of and something to reflect on.”
