The most exultant Jon Rahm reappeared last night, after becoming the champion of LIV Golf in 2024, also conquering his second title of the season in Chicago. Congratulated by his playing partners, Sergio García and Brooks Koepka, doused in champagne by his team players, the Legion XIII, and enjoying a great sporting and personal moment, the man from Barrika even had time for humour when asked about the famous tour champion’s ring.
“The ring? Right now it doesn’t fit me. It’s too big for my little finger and too small for the other fingers. But it’s all good. I have sausage fingers. We were trying to do the QR code thing that Ben told me, but there are too many jewels that bother the camera,” he confessed in the press room just after receiving the trophy on the podium.
“It’s a very special prize. I’ve had a ring before for winning Pac-12 Championships and it was fantastic. For some reason, thinking about the ring instead of a trophy, in a strange way, makes it a bit more valuable, maybe because I associate it with football and basketball and United States events. I feel that Americanized at this point. I don’t know, it’s special. I feel that, in a strange sense, you are part of a select group that gets to have a champion’s ring, something that is not possible in other sports. In itself, I think it’s being able to carry what it represents. I think seeing first-hand right after finishing what this means is very special,” he added.
Achieving it was not easy and the Spaniard had to face a high-tension Sunday, with Sergio stalking him in the fight for the tournament victory and Niemann pushing hard to overtake him in the general: “It was definitely a stressful day, true, but that pressure is a privilege that only two of us had today. That’s why I said yesterday that I wanted to focus on winning the tournament, because I knew that if I won the tournament, there would be no doubt that I would also be the individual champion.”
“You want to leave with a victory. I thought it would be great to get the second victory, and it’s amazing to achieve it in my first season. So I focused on that. It’s not easy when Joaco starts birdie, par, birdie. In the first two holes today I struggled to get the par, without really being in position, neither in the first shot nor in the second, but I got a great drive on the 3rd, made birdie, a great par on the 4th, and I got going,” explained Rahm.
“I felt very comfortable all day, and once the conditions got a bit complicated, because towards the last nine the wind picked up and the course got tough, I think it ended up playing in my favour because it made the birdies more difficult. I was hitting the ball so well that I felt I could make pars and even give myself birdie opportunities. If I had to reproach myself for something on the day it would be not having holed that putt for birdie on the 14th. I did the hardest part, getting to the green in two. After the first putt, missing from a metre hurt me, but luckily I made the putt for birdie on the 17th, which made me feel much better than I think I would have felt making the 14th,” he detailed.
Although he was focused on his game, Jon admitted that he had been very aware all day of the scores: All day. All day. Normally you hear cheers and you know what’s going on, so when I didn’t hear anything crazy, I knew that obviously nothing was happening, which helps. It was nice not to hear anything ahead and keep playing good golf. At one point I also had to worry about Tyrrell with the start he had, and Sergio was playing very well. It could have been a very different day if Sergio hadn’t missed a couple of putts. But it’s not an easy course. It’s very difficult to hit close and very difficult to make those putts”.
For the man from Barrika, it was undoubtedly an unforgettable Sunday: There are many things that make this day very special for me, playing with Sergio and Brooks. The last time we played together was on Sunday at Valderrama, Sergio won. The last time I played with Brooks, he beat me. It was definitely a pairing that motivated me a lot to hope to give my best, and I’m glad I did”.
“I know that Joaco, obviously, played very well in front of us, and I would say that, not only who finished first and second this week, but having the top three places for the individual season ranking being three Hispanic players, two from Spain, one from Chile, I think that is also very important and the impact it can have culturally for Latin America and Spain. I think it’s another aspect of what we’re proud of,” Rahm explained.
The man from Barrika had time to review how his season has been: “It’s been… I wouldn’t say a bumpy road, but definitely windy. I made the decision to join LIV Golf, fully trusting that I could have an impact and deal with the emotions of that decision, the impact of the media, good and bad, and then go out to the season trying to win, trying to get a united team. And then get those winning moments and start the year very well. On the 17th tee at Mayakoba, tied for the lead, and absolutely ruined in the last two holes, and that was my start to the LIV Golf season. But keep fighting, keep putting myself in position, having chances to win, was great, although there was a before and after between Singapore and Houston when I changed the driver shaft for something that worked a bit better with my current swing speed and made me not compensate so much. I felt better, a more natural swing, easier for me to hit the fade, and that’s when I saw the big difference. From Nashville onwards, my level of golf was a bit higher, more comfortable, where I didn’t feel like I had to try so hard. At that point it was when I felt that the victory was almost at that point only a matter of time and getting it at JCB was amazing”.
“Among all that, the personal situation with Kelley‘s problems and the pregnancy, is something that has made it from practically April not easy at all. Being away in Europe for a month while she was dealing with that and away from family was not easy, and now to see the end where we are… I can almost, almost feel what it’s going to be like to hold our little girl in my arms after the second victory and with the championship. I feel like it’s too good to be true after the year we’ve had. I’m looking forward to getting home in that sense and being able to give them a hug today,” the Spaniard insisted.
For Jon, this first year in LIV Golf has been a great experience: “For anyone who’s wondering, it’s a bit different experience than any other tour, but it’s more like any other sport. As a captain, I was curious to see how different the dynamics would be, of really not being in charge of three players, but being the one they might ask for advice. Tyrrell maybe not because he’s a fantastic player, but Kieran and Caleb being younger and with less experience yes, showing them the way and how certain things work in professional golf at the highest level. It was something I didn’t know how I was going to handle. Turns out I like giving advice. I hope they’re good advice. As for golf, I’ve enjoyed it a lot. Being able to go to Adelaide, Hong Kong, Singapore, all those places in Asia and Australia was something unique and very fun. I hadn’t played in that part of the world, and seeing the public, the affection they had for us and the support for the game was absolutely comforting. Even in weeks like that, in the United States, Nashville, Doral, all were amazing. I think this league has had a lot… quite a bad reputation without people having experienced it. They’ve rushed too much to judge. I think the vast majority of them would love to spend a day here. Most people who don’t like music, as soon as they come they get over it. It’s part of the atmosphere, like in many other sports, and as a player and as a family man, it’s been a fantastic experience for me and for my family the times they’ve been able to come. I’m looking forward to finishing this season next week and starting to think about next year and getting to know other destinations”.
For the man from Barrika, the season is not over yet. He has a chance to win the team championship this week in Dallas. Although before, he has his mind on a little break: “It’s great to be able to have that rest date to go home. We don’t play until Saturday, so we can afford to go home on Monday and fly on Tuesday afternoon. I think having that little break, being able to take the kids to school tomorrow morning, pick them up and be with them is going to be a good before and after between this and next week, and maybe I can even celebrate a bit with some friends and just enjoy what I’ve achieved this week. It would be a good way to focus the mind on what we have to achieve next week”.
About what it means for him to win the season title in LIV Golf, he said: “It’s a different achievement because it’s not just one week. You really can’t compare anything with the majors in the sport we live in, but being able to win the race for the whole season in two of the three major leagues and having almost done it on the PGA Tour, too, is a different feeling. Being able to culminate all the good golf of the whole season, and especially doing it by winning individually today I think is what makes it much more special, knowing that I had to win and achieving it is something to be really proud of and something to reflect on”.
“When I get to a point like this, I always think about the amount of work that a lot of people have had to do for me to get to this position and how grateful I am to everyone who is part of my team. It all starts with my wife, because without her support it wouldn’t be the same. But from Jeff, our team director, and my personal manager, swing coach Jeff, my coach Spencer, my physio Harry, who is on the road, and then the one I see at home, Jimmy, friends like Sunil, mental coaches like Brett McCabe and Joseba who I see in Spain, it’s a great team just to help me perform at the level I want. Someone I haven’t mentioned many times who I work with physically, Andy Galpin, talks to Andy Galpin, who I’ve seen a big change in how my body responds since I started working with him. Andy, thanks. I don’t even know if he’ll see this. But I’m very happy to have such a good group of people around me. It’s very special to be able to have this moment and to be able to share it with them in the future,” he said.
Finally, Jon referred to his decision to challenge the DP World Tour penalties, which will allow him to play in the Open de España and seek a place in the Ryder of 2025: “We sent the email I think it was at 5:00 in the morning on Thursday. I think when I left here, I was 99.8% sure that I was going to appeal. I think I had the decision almost made, but you kept waiting until the end after hearing that there were certain meetings in New York where maybe things would change or not”.
“But basically it came down to two things: first, with the personal situation we have at home, I don’t know if it would have been the best for Kelley and for me and our family to have to go through the stress of not playing in Spain and possibly jeopardizing the Ryder Cup; and second, the fact that I’ve always loved being able to go and play in Spain and give something back to the country that has given me so much. It would have been a mistake not to be in the Open de España. With the hope that things are going to improve in the future, also, it basically became quite clear that I wanted to appeal, meet my requirements as a member of the European Tour, and hopefully be able to qualify or be considered for next year’s Ryder Cup“, he concluded.
