After his round of 67 strokes for a total of 10 under par in the first two rounds, Jon Rahm is six strokes behind the leader, still with a chance to fight for what would be his third victory in LIV Golf. The man from Barrika has not dropped out of the top 10 in any of the Saudi tour tournaments he has completed (he had to withdraw from one due to injury). And this Saturday, in addition to the individual overall victory, he will try to secure the first place for teams that the Legion XIII is holding with an 11-stroke advantage.
“I am very proud of the team,” he said today after his round. “I don’t know what else to add. Obviously, yesterday was a fantastic start, and today it didn’t take long for the whole team to get going either. I think it also worked very well that Tyrrell and Tom played together and that Caleb was ahead of them and I was in the previous match. We always had the same holes ahead of us, so we could get an idea of what each of us might do,” he insisted.
“As for what I was doing, I was simply motivated when I saw them making birdies behind me and knew I could possibly join them. What to say about them? Caleb definitely likes this golf course, he almost won in December and gave himself a chance this week, getting back up there. It’s no surprise that Tyrrell is playing well. I don’t think that surprises anyone at this point. I’m also very happy to have Tom on the team, who is also playing fantastically,” detailed the man from Barrika.
“Again, as good as this is, I wouldn’t expect the four of us to be in the top seven every week, but as I said yesterday, I think the format of counting all four scores will benefit us in the long run, and so far it has. If we all focus on trying to win individually and give our best to do so, I think we can achieve a strong enough performance to make it difficult to catch us. But we still have to go out there tomorrow and take care of it. Nothing is guaranteed until the last putt drops,” Rahm concluded regarding his team’s situation, leading the team standings in this LIV Golf in Riyadh that opens the 2025 season on the Saudi tour.
The Legion XIII already won last year, a first year on the tour in which it managed to come together to show itself as a solid team: It was very different from what it is now. Tyrrell and I knew each other, obviously, and I knew Caleb a little, I had barely spoken to Kieran before the week started. It was a very different feeling from what we have this week. I think Tyrrell, Caleb, and I have spent a lot of time together. It was very easy to welcome a new player. There are many dynamics involved, for example, in the social aspect of things, to which Tom will adapt very easily.”
“I think winning has much more to do with our individual game. I played fantastic that day, Caleb had a great finish, Tyrrell had the last low round of the day, and Kieran also played well. I think it’s more about comfort towards your own personal game and, to be honest, we had no idea what the process was, when someone won as a team or not. There was an individual playoff. It was quite late. We didn’t really know what to expect. But I think, having done what we did last year and welcoming a new player, if we go out there and have a good strong performance again and win, it could be a way to start what I hope will be a fantastic year,” he confessed.
Regarding his favourite hole on the course, Rahm said: “I haven’t played it during the day, so I couldn’t tell you. But I think the way it looks when you’re on the tee with the atmosphere, the light show and the fountain, and I don’t know if anyone noticed the water… what they did with the fountain on the 18th and having graphics and images that really make it look like a screen, I thought the 18th hole was pretty cool. I might be a bit biased because I hit a great tee shot there today, but I think the 18th hole, just the way everything looks at night, is really cool.”
The four players of the Legion XIII have finished the second round among the top six, something Jon, to finish, values highly: “We have four very talented players, and two of them are young, whom many people may not know. But any of us could have a good round and a good tournament and win any week. I think when we all start playing well and you see your teammates playing well, that can fuel your desire to do well. It definitely motivates me. At one point, when I was at 8 and I see Tyrrell at 12 under par, it motivates me a lot to try to make some birdies and try to catch up with him because, at the same time, we are competitive with each other. I want to beat him as much as he wants to beat me. I think, ultimately, that influences a bit. But what matters is not the coincidence, but that the four of us are having a really good week at the same time. There’s no trick.”
