Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann are neck and neck in the race for the LIV Golf season title, following Rahm’s first victory on the breakaway circuit this past Sunday. And Rahm has shown his class by talking up his LIV rival this week.
However, a late rally from Niemann saw him share second place at Staffordshire’s JCB Golf and Country Club, minimising the impact as ex-world No. 1 Rahm attempts to chase him down in the rankings.
Besides the hefty $4 million prize for winning, Rahm pocketed 40 points. Yet, Niemann’s five birdies in his last 10 holes resulted in a six-under-par 65 tournament finish, earning him 24 points and safeguarding his lead in the Individual Championship.
With only two events left in the season The Greenbrier from Aug. 16-18 and the Individual Championship finale in Chicago from Sep. 13-15 Niemann holds a 24.23-point lead over two-time major champion Rahm. The former world No. 15 kicked off the year with victories in Mexico and Saudi Arabia, and has since placed in the top 10 in seven of the eight subsequent events, inching closer to the season title.
Rahm, who has finished in the top 10 in all 10 LIV events he has participated in this season, aims to spice up the title race with another strong performance after Sunday’s win, but he couldn’t help but commend his title competitor.
“He still had a fantastic Sunday and finished tied for second, so I didn’t really catch up as much as I would have liked. He has two wins and an incredible season so far,” Rahm said.
“He’s a fantastic player. Clearly, last year he didn’t have the year he thought he could have had, could have been better, and at some point in the post-season figured something out because he finished the year by winning overseas and then continued that great momentum into Golf, winning early on a couple of times.
“Not only that, the weeks he’s not winning he’s pretty much always up here. He’s a great competitor, a great golfer, somebody who has all the tools to keep putting himself in a great position and giving himself chances.
“Hopefully, I can keep doing my job and do it well and keep putting myself in a good position, hopefully get more wins, and maybe we have a nice little show there going on the last day in Chicago for the individual title. Whoever gets it done so far, it’s been an incredible year for either one.”
The final two individual events of the season will also decide matters at the bottom of the standings, with Bubba Watson, Pat Perez and Harold Varner the big names at risk of relegation from the league.
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