Jon Rahm made history this Sunday by securing his second champion’s ring in LIV Golf. The golfer from Barrika, despite losing the playoff of the Indianapolis tournament to Juan Sebastián Muñoz, managed to recover the little more than 12-point deficit he had this week in the overall circuit standings against Joaquín Niemann to deservedly win the Order of Merit.
Interestingly, the Spanish champion won the individual overall standings of the Saudi tour without winning any tournament all year. His consistency, almost always finishing in the top 10 in each event, allowed him to surpass the Chilean golfer, who couldn’t capitalise on his five partial victories and will have to ‘settle’ for a prize of 12 million, compared to the 18 that Jon takes home.
The Basque golfer, after celebrating with milk on the podium (as is tradition in the Indianapolis 500 races), went to the press room to analyse a season he hopes to cap off next week in the team final, in Match Play format, where the Legion XIII he captains also leads the standings. A 2025 he will try to culminate later with the Ryder.
“I know I’m supposed to be happy, it’s a great moment. But I don’t feel quite right after ending the year losing two playoffs,” Jon admitted, always ambitious. “Being able to win the season without having won any tournament… I know that in time I’ll be proud of it. Although one could argue that Joaquín, with five victories, deserved this title more,” said the man from Barrika.
“Today I did exactly what I needed: go out on the course and sign a round of 60 strokes”
Rahm also referred to the tremendous round of 60 strokes this Sunday that allowed him to achieve his goal: “Today I did exactly what I needed: go out on the course and sign a round of 60 strokes. It was one of those rare rounds where I only made one mistake, the bogey on 14. But when I got to 20 under par, I knew I needed a few more birdies because Sebastián was coming from behind and wasn’t letting up.”
Regarding his consistency and that competitive mindset that allowed him to reach the final tournament with a chance to win the Order of Merit, Rahm said: “It’s always been in my DNA to fight to the end in every tournament. I’ve said it many times: finishing 32nd is better than 33rd. With that mindset, I’ve been able to have many good Sundays and end up scoring key points.”
“It’s always been in my DNA to fight to the end in every tournament. That’s how I’ve been able to score key points”
With everything at stake, it seems inevitable that the Basque champion was very focused on the results. But given the enormous number of possible combinations, he focused on his game: “I had no idea how I was doing in points and didn’t want to know. My goal was to win the tournament, and I knew that if I didn’t, I’d have to wait.” In the end, with 226.16 points, he won by less than three in the overall standings.
To the winner of the Order of Merit, the LIV Golf organisation awards a champion’s ring, in true NBA style. “Last year’s is kept in a safe place. I never had it adjusted, so it only fits my pinky,” Rahm admitted with a laugh. “This year’s fits well, I can actually wear it,” he added.
“Last year’s ring only fits my pinky, this year’s fits well and I can wear it”
Rahm was close to making a clean sweep and also winning the Indianapolis tournament. Bad luck prevented it after his approach shot in the playoff bounced off the flagstick. Shortly before, he had hit a sensational iron to at least secure the playoff: “Both shots were incredible, but the one on 18 in regulation was better. I had to hit a ‘draw’ with a wedge, a shot I don’t usually make.”
The man from Barrika left Indianapolis delighted with the atmosphere: “The crowd can greatly enhance a tournament, and here they did. The atmosphere throughout the week was incredible. ‘Loud’, lively people who understood what they were watching. It was a lot of fun playing here.” And now, Rahm has to fight for the team title: “Our goal is to win it all. We played well all season, now we just have to finish it off, although in match play anything can happen.”
