Jon Rahm won again at LIV Golf Hong Kong and did so with an expected, emphatic admission. He didn’t speak of euphoria, overflowing happiness or even an outburst of joy. He spoke, above all, of relief. Of release. Of a burden that finally disappears. “I’ve taken a huge weight off my shoulders”, summed up the man from Barrika after claiming his third individual win in LIV and the 23rd of his professional career
Rahm had been playing at a high level for a long time, at least in LIV Golf, accumulating under‑par rounds, chances to win and solid feelings, but victory had eluded him. That wait, although it did not in any way tarnish his performance, had ended up becoming a burden. That’s why this time he didn’t feel exactly the same as on other occasions. “It was a huge relief. It’s the only way to describe it”, he explained. “I’ve been very euphoric with other wins in the past. This one just feels like I’ve taken a huge weight off my shoulders”
It’s not an ordinary feeling coming from Jon. In fact, he himself placed this triumph in a very specific category within his career. He compared it to some of the most symbolic and emotionally intense victories of his trajectory, mainly because they also brought relief at the time. He mentioned his first win at Torrey Pines in 2017, his first Open de España and, of course, the U.S. Open of 2021, that major he won at Torrey Pines which made him the first Spaniard to win that tournament. Of all of them, only the major beats it in terms of feeling. “The relief of getting your first major is something you can’t top”, he noted. Even so, he made clear that this win in Hong Kong “might just take the biscuit” when it comes to the sense of having closed a wound that had been open for too long
Rahm insisted he never stopped believing. He knew he was playing well enough to win again and that it was a matter of time. But knowing and living it are different things. “I’ve been playing some really, really good golf, and I just had to keep being patient and believe it would happen”, he explained. That patience was precisely one of the keys of the week and, above all, of Sunday
He also acknowledged he learned a lot from what happened in Adelaide, where he was left with the feeling he hadn’t quite managed the lead on the final round. There he felt too tense, too aware of the fact he’d gone a long time without winning. This time he didn’t want to repeat the same mistake. A rule was imposed from the tee of the 1st: absolute commitment. “Every step I took today was going to be with 100 per cent commitment”, he assured. The aim was simple to explain, though sometimes very hard to execute in competition: pick a shot and play it without doubts, without half measures, without thinking about the mistake. And he did it
That is probably one of the main takeaways from his win in Hong Kong. Rahm didn’t win just because he played well, which he did, but because he managed to shut the door on recent ghosts. He didn’t let the need to win dictate his decisions. It also helped, it must be said, that he didn’t feel enormous pressure from his group‑mates
After the victory, Jon went through other matters from the week
Hong Kong, one of the best stops on the calendar
“Well, I didn’t realise how fun this course and this city were. In my opinion there are very few combinations of golf course and host city, entertainment value, that can rival this week. It is without doubt one of the best cities in the world”
“And as a golf course, for a course that started in 1889, it’s amazing. It’s a lot of fun. It has everything: long, difficult holes, others short and reachable, tee shots with driver, tee shots with irons. There are countless different strategies, big greens, small greens, wind, no wind. It’s a very fun course to play, and I’ve enjoyed it every time, and I honestly hope we come here for a very long time”
What he learned in Adelaide
“I was just too tense, too aware that I hadn’t won in a long time. Although I had, I think, a four‑shot lead on the 5th and gave myself birdie opportunities, I was too conservative and perhaps not as committed as I should have been to each shot”
“I told myself on arrival at the tee of the 1st that, whatever happened, every step I took today was going to be with 100 per cent commitment. The shot I decided on, I was going to play with full commitment, and if I made a mistake, I made a mistake, but it wasn’t going to be because I wasn’t committed to the decision”
The difference between winning individually or with the team
“That’s the interesting thing about LIV, isn’t it? Even if I didn’t win individually, I didn’t feel like I’d lost last year. As you said, four team wins, the Team Championship, the Ryder Cup. I finished the year thinking a lot had been achieved”
“It’s a lot of fun when you can be on that podium and celebrate with your teammates as well. But, as a competitor and as a person, I wanted to achieve this, and it feels different”
The run of under‑par rounds (21 rounds)
“Truth is, it’s not something I think about. It’s just about trying to win. I’ve been playing really, really good golf and the results show it. Whether I won or not is another thing, but I’ve been doing the work and seeing the results”
“I would have accepted a few over‑par rounds in exchange for a few more wins”
How he savours a win in the current schedule
“Well, I’ll certainly enjoy it tonight. But for most people flying today, today is already the start of next week. That’s the beauty and perhaps also the downside of golf”
“I’ll enjoy it, but as I said before, I think it was more a feeling of relief than euphoria. It’s a weight I take off my shoulders, and I can go on for the rest of the season knowing I already have the win”
Finally, Rahm had words of recognition for his teammates and for all the people who helped get through a very complicated week because of the situation in Dubai. He summed up that what mattered, above golf, was getting them to safety and finding a solution, and he singled out the work of his circle and of those who made the trip to Hong Kong possible
