Jon Rahm didn’t need to win in Indianapolis to be crowned LIV Golf individual champion for the second consecutive year. All he needed was to finish solo second to steal the moment from Joaquin Niemann, despite the Chilean’s five titles this year.
Rahm fired a final-round 60 at The Club at Chatham Hills to finish his round as clubhouse leader. However, Sebastian Muñoz birdied his final two holes to tie the Spaniard in the very last minute and force a playoff.
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Muñoz ended up winning his first LIV Golf tournament and banking the $4 million paycheck. However, the bigger prize went to Rahm, who collected the $18 million bonus reserved for the season’s individual champion.
The two-time major champion was able to edge Niemann by just over one point in the race for the individual title. Rahm’s consistency weighed heavily on him, as he finished in the top 10 in 12 of the season’s 13 tournaments, including four second-place finishes and three other top-five finishes.
The Chilean, on the other hand, won five tournaments but didn’t achieve any other top-10 finishes. Nevertheless, a five-time winner losing the season-long race to an opponent who hasn’t won a single event is something extremely improbable to see on any other major golf tour.
Niemann’s Torque GC won the team title in Indianapolis, their first of the season. The season standings are overwhelmingly led by Rahm’s Legion XIII, but the team title will be decided at the Team Championship, which will be played in Michigan next week.
The LIV season will end there, but Rahm’s golf season probably won’t. The Spaniard hopes to be selected by Luke Donald for the Ryder Cup in September, so he will probably make some starts on the DP World Tour before the selections are announced.
His most likely options appear to be the European Masters, the Irish Open, and the BMW PGA Championship. It’s unlikely he’ll be seen at the French Open, as it’s played just the week before the Ryder Cup.
After the biannual event, Rahm could play a few more events in Europe, especially those that visit his home country. However, his schedule has not yet been announced.
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