The battle between Joaquín Niemann and Jon Rahm for the individual title on LIV Golf is going to go to the final event once again after the Spaniard forced his way into a playoff in Chicago on Sunday.
Jon Rahm is still awaiting his first victory of the season after LIV Golf Chicago. The two-time major champion has maintained his consistency on LIV Golf, but getting across the line has proved to be difficult for the 30-year-old.
Rahm was denied in a playoff on Sunday at Bolingbrook. The Legion XIII captain cut a frustrated figure for much of the final day, with a number of his approaches leaving him with only half chances on the greens.
But when it mattered, Rahm was able to make a birdie on the 18th hole to get himself in a playoff with Dean Burmester and Josele Ballester.
Pat Perez predicts whether Jon Rahm or Joaquín Niemann will win the individual title on LIV Golf this season
And while it was Burmester who won on the first additional hole, Rahm has closed the gap to Joaquin Niemann at the top of the season standings. The Chilean finished tied for 17th.
Niemann has had a phenomenal year, having won five times. However, speaking on the Post-Round Show, Pat Perez admitted that he could see history repeating itself after Rahm managed to catch Niemann at the final hurdle last year.
“Sadly enough, I think Jon’s going to do it again and it could be without winning. I just can’t believe we could even talk about a guy that’s won five times that doesn’t have it sewn up yet. It’s unreal,” he said.
Jerry Foltz replied: “It’s unreal to me how good he is, because he mis-clubbed so many times this week and he finds himself in a playoff. That’s how good he is, that’s how much talent he has. If he won, he would have been leading the individual standings by less than a point. But by finishing tied for second, he is 12.25 points behind Joaco which is a little bit of breathing room for Joaco. But Joaco has to play well next week.”
“He really does, there’s no other way around it. You know Rahm’s going to play well,” Perez added.
“It doesn’t matter where the guy tees it up, it doesn’t matter how he starts or what’s going on in the middle, he’s going to be there at the end. I’ll tell you, if I was Joaco, I’d be a little nervous right now. He is going to be devastated beyond belief if the same thing happens to him again.”
The results at LIV Golf Indianapolis which will guarantee Joaquín Niemann the individual title
A win in Indianapolis may not be enough for Rahm to catch Niemann. There are 40 points awarded to the winner of each event. And clearly, a victory would be a huge boost to Rahm’s hopes.
But a solo second place would see Niemann receive 30 points and just about ensure that the Torque captain gets the job done.
As Perez notes, it is incredible that the five victories may not be enough to secure Niemann the title. Perhaps it is something for LIV to look at before 2026 if Rahm does win the individual title for the year without adding to his tally of victories throughout the entire season.
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