Chicago (AFP) – Spain’s Jon Rahm captured his second consecutive LIV Golf season crown on Sunday, shooting an 11-under par 60 before losing a playoff to Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz at LIV Golf Indianapolis. Munoz birdied the first playoff hole to beat Rahm for the Indy title after both finished on 22-under 191 through all 54 holes at Chatham Hills in the Saudi-backed series’ last individual event of the year.
“First time I’ve ever beat him, so really proud of that and happy I got to go home with the trophy,” Munoz said. But Rahm’s result, a second playoff loss in as many weeks, was enough to edge Chile’s Joaquin Niemann in the season points chase for the second year in a row, delivering heartbreak on the campaign’s last day as he did in 2024.
Related news
“Still slightly bittersweet,” Rahm said. “I know I’m supposed to be happy. It’s a great moment. But it just doesn’t feel great to finish the year losing two playoffs. I’m sure over time I’ll get over that and I really appreciate what I’ve done this year.”
Rahm won the season title without winning any LIV event while Niemann took titles this year in Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico City, Virginia, and Britain. “It sucks,” Niemann said. “I started playing my best golf on the back nine, which I’m proud of, but at the end of the day, the putts didn’t drop, and it wasn’t enough. It’s kind of hard to swallow.”
Rahm, a Masters and US Open champion, wasn’t overjoyed about a season crown without a win all year. “To be able to win the season without actually winning a tournament, I know eventually I’ll be proud of that. Right now it’s slightly more something I’m going to suffer over a little bit more, and it may never be replicated,” Rahm said. “You need a lot of coincidences to go on exactly with the year Joaquín had. He’s won five times. He has played incredible golf. One could argue he was probably the more deserving guy to win this. But we have the points system we have and somehow, I don’t know how, I managed to pull through and get it done.”
Rahm captured $18 million for claiming the season crown with Niemann taking $8 million for his runner-up season finish after sharing fourth at Indy on 196 with a closing 66. Munoz, who battled two-time major winner Dustin Johnson for the lead most of the day, birdied the 17th and 18th holes in regulation and the 18th again in the playoff to win his first title since the 2019 PGA Tour Sanderson Farms Championship.
“We came today to try and take care of business,” Munoz said. “Of course Jon shot 10-under so you go from one legend to another one. It was pretty cool. Awesome experience. Making birdie two times in a row (at 18), it’s undescribable.” Munoz battled for the victory after firing a 59 on Friday, only the third sub-60 round in LIV history. “I feel really proud of myself,” he said. “It has been a long time coming, six years since my last win, and it’s awesome right now.”
A severe overnight storm toppled trees and swamped fairways, delaying the shotgun start by 55 minutes, with players using lift, clean and place rules on the rain-softened course.
– Englishmen avoid drop – England’s Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter avoided being dumped from LIV for 2026, finishing in the season’s top 48 in points to escape the relegation zone. Westwood birdied four of his first five holes while Poulter birdied four of his last five to avoid the drop, each finishing on 201. Sweden’s Henrik Stenson was dropped, however, after missing a birdie putt at the 18th that would have seen him avoid relegation at Poulter’s expense.
Niemann’s Torque won the Indy team title, its first triumph since 2023, but Rahm’s Legion XIII holds the top seeding for next week’s LIV Team Championship.
© 2024 AFP
