– Joaco Niemann (-17) has closed his seventh wonder in LIV Golf this Sunday. From start to finish. Victory by a landslide in the United Kingdom. It’s his fifth win of the season and the seventh of his career in the Saudi league. The first after turning his team upside down, frustrated to no end by his performance in the Majors, especially by those two consecutive missed cuts in the US Open and the Open Championship. The rope broke on the weakest, and usual, side, caddie and coach dismissed. With the first, Gary Matthews, he had been since 2020. With the second, Edo Miquel, since he turned professional in 2018. His new caddie, Diego Salinas, a Chilean professional friend of Niemann and a professional on the country’s circuit, arrives with a loaf under his arm.
– Niemann’s performance this Sunday was practically a military walk. There were only a few minutes when Bubba Watson barely unsettled him. It was after a colossal streak by the left-handed bomber of eight under par between holes 8 and 14, including two eagles. The shot of the week was his second on the 10th, par 5, with the driver from the fairway to leave it a metre for eagle. Impressive. He got within two strokes. It seemed the tournament was opening up, but Niemann’s reaction, who was seen relaxed at times with up to eight strokes advantage, was sensational. He birdied the 15th from the rough, which, combined with a bogey by Bubba on the 16th, ended up sealing the tournament. Finally, a three-stroke advantage for the Chilean (finished with a bogey on the 18th) that reinforces his position as Number One in the LIV ranking and increases his chances of taking the 18 million dollar bonus reserved for the champion.
– Jon Rahm (-10) has regained the old and beautiful routine of finishing all LIV tournaments in the top 10. In Great Britain, two good rounds were enough for him, four under par on Saturday and today a magnificent six under par, to finish fifth, although at no point did he have a chance to fight for the victory. He demonstrates once again that he never lets himself go and that every day he goes out on the golf course trying to make as few as possible. That said, he cannot be happy with his lack of victory and, especially, with the fact that it’s been a while since he really reached the 18th hole with a chance to win the tournament. At least, he has the consolation of having won the team classification, supported mainly by the great role of Caleb Surratt (-13), third alone.
– Josele Ballester (-9) deserves a special mention. The golfer from Castellón shot six under this Sunday, three out of three in rounds under par, and finished in seventh position. It’s his best result in LIV Golf, his first top 10. A relief in every sense and an important and necessary boost for his confidence. Now it can be said that Josele is landing in the professional world. It all started with his last great round at Valderrama. Even if it’s just symbolic, he moves out of the relegation spots in the LIV ranking. Another emotional boost.
– As for the other two Spaniards, David Puig (-6) and Sergio García (-5) have managed to finish in the points zone. Puig shot two under par today and finished in 18th place and Sergio delivered his best card of the week, three under, and finished 21st.
– The big disappointment of the week was Dustin Johnson (+9). He closed the classification with rounds of +3, +3 and +3.
