‘Emotional’ Dean Burmester immediately reacts after beating Jon Rahm and Jose Ballester in a playoff to win LIV Chicago

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Dean Burmester won the latest LIV Golf event in Chicago after winning a playoff hole at Bolingbrook Golf Club.

Burmester finished on nine under par after three rounds, alongside Spanish duo Jon Rahm and Jose Ballester.

He then birdied the extra hole to achieve his second LIV Golf victory, after winning the tournament in Miami last year.

Burmester was understandably “emotional” when speaking to the media after his impressive performance this weekend.

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Dean Burmester reacts to LIV Golf Chicago victory

Burmester admitted that his victory at LIV Golf Chicago felt even more rewarding because he had been struggling in his personal life recently.

He also shared that he took inspiration from his wife, who completed an ultra-marathon in the final round at Bolingbrook.

“This has been emotional,” Burmester said. “Since kind of before Virginia, I’ve been going through a bit of a rough time, personal stuff, and I’ve just been grinding and trying to get better.

“I think about my kids and my wife back home, and I’m just trying to do the best I can for them. My wife finished an ultra marathon the week of West Virginia.

“That Sunday, I was on my phone watching her, and that truly gave me an inspiration to kind of… if she can do that, she can run 90 whatever kilometers in a day, nine and a half hours or whatever it was, then I can do anything.

“Yeah, for me, that was where it’s at. Then, after three bogeys in a row to start, I was like, fudge, I don’t know where I’m going. The head was nowhere.

“But I just kept at it, and Jason, my caddie, was just phenomenal. He was just like, ‘We never give up. We’re not going to give up. We’ve been through too much crap to give up.’ That’s what we did.

“Then I had a chance in regulation. Obviously hit a good putt, lagged it, just to protect my lead, and then to hit that out of the rough and get the right bounce and then roll it in… I watched Jon’s go left. I knew I had the right line, and to roll it in in front of everybody that’s here is amazing.”

Jon Rahm’s wait for another LIV Golf win continues

Jon Rahm’s consistency in the 2025 season has been remarkable. His T11 in Dallas is the only time he has not finished in the top 10.

However, Rahm has failed to convert any of his strong performances into wins this year, with this week being the closest he has come.

The 30-year-old had finished runner-up twice before, in Riyadh and Andalucia, but this was his only playoff defeat.

The good news is that Joaquin Niemann only just made the top 20 in Chicago, so Rahm has narrowed his deficit in the season standings.