On a day of familiar winners but high drama, Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII exerted their dominance Sunday at LIV Golf UK by JCB, continuing the winning form that keeps them atop the season-long standings.
Niemann won for a record fifth time this season, shooting a 3-under 68 to finish at 17 under and hold off a spectacular back-nine challenge from RangeGoats GC Captain Bubba Watson.
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Legion XIII won its second consecutive and fourth team title of the year, this time led by its youngest player, 21-year-old Caleb Surratt, who earned the first podium finish of his LIV Golf career.
With the three-shot victory, Niemann extended his lead in the individual points race to 37.64 points over Rahm and now can clinch the Individual Championship at next month’s LIV Golf Chicago on Aug. 8-10.
Niemann becomes the first player to win five times in a season; the 26-year-old from Chile now has seven LIV Golf wins, most of any individual player.
“If I play my best game, I know I can win,” Niemann said. “I think that’s the only thing that kind of matters for me, is to find that A-game more often.”
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After entering the final round with a six-shot advantage, Niemann admittedly didn’t have his A-game on Sunday, but his steady play allowed him to build his advantage to eight shots with 10 holes to play.
That’s when Watson, the 46-year-old from Florida, produced the best six-hole stretch in LIV Golf history.
It started with a birdie at the par-3 ninth when his tee shot landed inside 3 feet. He then eagled the par-5 10th with a brilliant driver off the deck on his second shot that finished inside 6 feet. He followed with birdies at the 11th and 12th hole, then used another driver off the deck at the par-5 13th to set up another eagle from 21 feet. He finished the amazing stretch with a birdie at the par-3 14th from 12 feet.
“It’s almost like you black out,” Watson said. “When that stretch happens, you’re just kind of unconscious, right? One of those moments, an hour-long stretch, that was unbelievable. … That was crazy. Throwing in the eagles with two drivers off the deck was pretty special, pretty spectacular.”
Watson’s 8-under stretch allowed him to move within two shots of the lead going into the par-4 15th. That’s when Niemann responded with a terrific approach shot from 140 yards off a difficult lie in the rough, followed by a 5-foot birdie putt that stemmed the tide and gave him some much-needed breathing room.
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“I never thought he was in the picture,” Niemann said of Watson. “(Then] he started making those moves, started making a big charge, and I was in a way feeling a little bit more uncomfortable with my lead. … Was able to hit a great shot on 15. That put me back into my place.”
Watson ultimately shot 65 to finish solo second at 14 under, while Surratt also shot 65 to finish another stroke back, the best individual results for each player since joining LIV Golf.
Surratt’s play was especially important on the team side, as it sparked Legion XIII to produce another final-round rally with a cumulative 14-under total on Sunday to win by eight strokes over Torque, with Rahm also shooting 65 to tie for fifth. Not only was it Surratt’s first-ever top 10 finish on LIV Golf, it was the first time he had led his team in scoring after a tournament.
“It means a lot,” Surratt said. “Shows me a lot. It’s very hard to be at the top of the leaderboard out here, especially for the first time … To be able to do it on a day where I knew it was going to be really, really hard means a lot to myself.”
Said Rahm: “Getting his first top 10 and finishing third is a big deal, a big week.”
Legion XIII has now won two consecutive tournaments, and their lead is 46.66 points over Crushers GC. Rahm’s team has the opportunity to guarantee itself the top seed in the Team Championship with a good result in Chicago.
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As for Niemann, he’s close to wrapping up the most successful regular season by any player in LIV Golf’s young history. Only Rahm or Bryson DeChambeau can catch him for the championship now.
“Obviously I want to win the season,” Niemann said. “I think there is a lot of golf to play yet. Jon, we know how good of a player he is, also Bryson.
“There is not much I can think about other than worry about what I’m doing, how I can improve and get better and play my best golf for the next two weeks. I feel like that’s all I’m worrying about it right now.”
