Jon Rahm has tasted success in his first regular LIV Golf season after winning the Individual Championship.
Rahm shot 11 under to win LIV Golf Chicago by three shots, finishing ahead of Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia in second.
Torque GC Captain Niemann needed to finish ahead of the Spaniard to clinch the title, but Rahm never gave his opponent an opening.
Rahm was shocked by the fairways in Chicago, but he clearly managed to overcome that issue, having carded just one bogey at Bolingbrook.
The Spaniard’s consistency in his first season since departing the PGA Tour helped him come out on top, with top 10 finishes in all events he finished.
Jon Rahm summarises LIV Golf experience after winning Individual Championship
Rahm only failed to clinch such a finish at LIV Golf Houston, where he was forced to withdraw due to a foot infection.
He has now shared his LIV Golf experience so far, with the new individual champion saying in his winning LIV Golf Chicago press conference: “For anybody out there that’s wondering, it is a little bit of a different experience than any other tour out there, but it is a closer experience to pretty much any other sport out there.
“As a captain, I was curious to see how different the dynamics were going to be, of really not being in charge of three players but being who they maybe went to for advice, maybe not so Tyrrell [Hatton] because he’s a fantastic player but Kieran [Vincent] and Caleb [Surratt] being younger and less experienced, showing them the way and just how certain things in professional golf at the highest level works was something I didn’t know how I was going to handle. Turns out I like giving advice. Hopefully it was good advice.
“When it comes to golf, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Being able to go to Adelaide, Hong Kong, Singapore, all those places in Asia and Australia was quite unique and so much fun. I hadn’t played in that part of the world, and to see the crowd, the love they had for us and the support for the game was absolutely heartwarming just to be able to be a part of that. Even in weeks like that, we’re in the U.S., Nashville, Doral, they were all incredible.”
Jon Rahm says LIV Golf gets a ‘bad rap’ after his LIV Golf Chicago win
Along with his trophy and earnings for LIV Golf Chicago, Rahm was also gifted with the Individual Champion Ring.
It includes a hidden ball marker and a QR code of the winning moment, but golf fans are not impressed with the LIV Golf ring.
The new champion is, however, convinced that many people have got the wrong idea about LIV Golf and all that it offers.
“I think this league has gotten quite a bit of a bad rap without people having experienced it,” added Rahm. “They’ve been too quick to judge. I think the vast majority of them would absolutely love spending a day out here.
“Most people that don’t like the music, the second they come, they get over it. It’s part of the atmosphere like in many other sports, and as a player and as a family man, it’s been a fantastic experience for myself and my family the times that they’ve been able to come.
“Can’t wait to get this season finished next week and start thinking about next year and seeing some different destinations.”
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