Exclusive; LIV Golf begins Year 3 with a 59, a late penalty, new blood, a long playoff and a stage all to itself
Six words captured the heart of LIV Golf’s Mayakoba champion, Joaquin Niemann.
“But I’m not in any majors,” the Chilean star said of his first individual win at LIV Golf. In the fourth outing held at the Mayakoba El Camaleon course on the 18th, Niemann beat former Masters champion Sergio Garcia to take home $4 million.
First, Nieman was a bit wrong. He won the DP World Tour’s Australian Open in December to qualify for the Open Championship and secure one of three spots in the 152nd edition of the oldest major in golf history. He could also enter the PGA Championship with a world ranking. But Niemann felt he beat a strong field of 54 players on a tough golf course. This was LIV Golf’s biggest dilemma. The league has no official World Golf Ranking points and likely won’t anytime soon. Niemann, who has won two PGA Tour titles, is ranked 66th in the world.
“I hope [LIV eventually makes it to the majors],” Niemann said. “I finished.” I want to beat the pros, but I have to compete.
Partner Niemann LIV Golf must continue the event to earn OWGR points until the Asian Tour Golf split is resolved. This week, the PGA Tour signed an agreement with Strategic Sports Group to form a business entity, but the participation of Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Investment Fund, which finances LIV, has yet to be decided. This was the purpose of the June 6 Basic Agreement. PIF hopes to send top players like LIV Niemann and 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch to the majors only after they join the PGA Tour.
To date, LIV has redoubled its mission to make its products more attractive and deepen the sector. Ahead of its third season opening this week, LIV has signed Masters champion Jon Rahm, his European Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hutton, Poland’s Adrian Meronc and Australia’s Lucas Herbert. result? Compare LIV’s two visits to Mayacoba Resort in Playa del Carmen. In his first appearance last year, Charles Howell III won the opener of his second campaign in the league. That same week on the PGA Tour, Chris Kirk ended an eight-year drought with a shock win over Journeyman Eric Cole at the Honda Classic. Fans have pointed out on social media that LIV is less attractive than PGA Tour events, which have struggled to attract stars for years.
This week, LIV made some big moves. Of course, there was still stubbornness. The players rode their bikes from their hotel rooms to the golf course. Before the first round there were illnesses that affected some players, teams and coaches. Nieman, who opened the tournament with a 12-under 59, received a retroactive two-stroke penalty Sunday morning after being eliminated in the second round. But the last day was watching TV for golf fans.
Rahm, Garcia and Niemann, 25, have two holes to play. Midway through the second Sunday, PGA Champion Brooks Koepka and fellow major winners Cam Smith and Dustin Johnson joined Hutton within four shots.
Additionally, the stage was set for Sunday’s LIV extravaganza after severe weather on the Monterey Peninsula forced the PGA Tour to postpone the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. Niemann was informed that the number of bullets from four had been reduced to two. That left Rahm two points behind and forced him to shoot a 70 in the final round. The reigning Masters champion had a thrilling match with his idol, compatriot and former Ryder Cup teammate Garcia and made three birdies starting at the 13th hole.
Garcia previously won the fifth and 15th holes of his round. Garcia shot a 66 to move the clubhouse to 12 under par. Niemann came close to finishing 18th in the playoff with Garcia. But Ram fell backwards. He bogeyed 17 times. On the 18th hole, he fattened up his fairway bunker shot and knocked down the birdie needed to advance to the playoff. Ram made another bogey and finished tied for third at 10 under par. Beyond that, one thing was clear. Fears that Rahm’s $600 million signing bonus would dampen his enthusiasm were allayed in an interview in Green.
“I need five minutes after that bad finish,” said an angry Rahm. “It’s a tough pill to swallow because we played well all week.”
The 11-time PGA Tour winner, who made his PGA Tour debut as an amateur at Mayakoba in 2014, assessed his first week of competition.
“Very hard; you can see this atmosphere,” he said. “The music is a little bit different. I would say the team aspect is also different. But there are things we can use as positives and things we can pick up as individuals.”
Ram’s team assembled. In his professional debut, former University of Tennessee star Caleb Surratt birdied the final five holes to tie for 13th and win $350,000. He also helped XIII Legion beat a $5 million team.
“This team came together on Monday and we came in and made an impact. I think everybody knows we’re a force to be reckoned with,” Rahm said. Impact is a perfect word for Rahm, who at 29 appears to be having his best golf yet. LIV definitely got its money’s worth. Depending on how you watch it, you’ll either have one reason to watch it or another reason to watch it.
