LIV Golf Individual Champion Jon Rahm reveals how a change of driver shaft turned his season around
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Jon Rahm reflects on his triumphant first season on LIV Golf, discusses whether he’ll play in the next Ryder Cup, and reveals how a mid-season driver shaft switch transformed his fortunes.
Spain’s Jon Rahm was crowned 2024 LIV Golf individual champion after his victory at LIV Golf Chicago.
Rahm carded a final-round 66 to finish on 11 under par and beat both compatriot Sergio Garcia and title rival Joaquin Niemann by three shots.
The 29-year-old’s second victory in his past three LIV events secured enough points to claim the season-long race for the $18m (£13.7m) individual prize.
Following his two wins and 12 top-10 finishes, Rahm also took home $16.7m (£12.75m) in individual earnings during his debut year with LIV.
LIV’s season will culminate with the Team Championship finale in Dallas from 20-22 September.
You finished the season first, second, first in order to secure the season-long individual championship. Do you think we can associate your name with the word “clutch”?
Well, I wasn’t clutch at Greenbrier, and I wasn’t clutch a lot during other parts of the season. There’s a lot feeding into making this very special for me, playing with Sergio and Brooks. Last time we played together was Sunday of Valderrama, Sergio won. Last time I played with Brooks, he beat me. It was definitely a pairing that motivated me a lot to hopefully have my best, and I’m glad I did.
How unique is it that the top three at LIV Golf Chicago also ended up being first, second, third in the season-long standings?
You can’t really script it that much better, right? I think it would have been very underwhelming if me and Joaco [Joaquin Niemann] finished 21st and 22nd, so the fact that we both played good and you have that story to tell and it comes down to basically the last few holes, I think it’s also more exciting for whoever wins.
Did you have champagne shot into your nose during the celebration?
Yes.
How does that feel?
Not good. I told Tyrrell not to do it again, and he did it again on the podium. You’ve got to breathe, right? so it was at one point where I thought it was gone, and his bottle kept going, and I tried to breathe and it went right up my nose.
Having won twice, finished top 10 in every tournament, and claimed the season-long title, would you say the season exceeded your expectations?
I accomplished a goal, yeah. I wouldn’t say it exceeded my expectations because I had a few other chances to win, with Greenbrier and Mayakoba being the two closest. But it definitely met what I expected. I could say it will maybe exceed the expectations if we get the win done next Sunday [at the LIV Team Championship].
To us, those top 10s look a lot like singular results. But when you accomplish so many in a row, does it feel different to you than it probably does when we look at it?
It’s very nice early on, but then as the weeks go by, it’s almost a little bit of pressure that adds on to keep it going. I remember in Valderrama on that 3rd hole, I ran my 30-footer six feet by and I was fully aware that that putt was to stay in the top 10. It’s something that matters. I want to finish as high as I can. If at the end of my career they can say, ‘Oh, Jon finished top 10 X amount of times, X percentage of the time’, it’s incredible. I pride myself that throughout most of my pro career I’ve had a top 10 around 50 percent, and it’s an honor to be able to say that.
How do you reflect on how everything has transpired personally for you this season?
I wouldn’t say bumpy road, but definitely windy. Made the decision to join LIV Golf, fully confident that I can make an impact, and you deal with the emotions of that decision, the impact of the media, good and bad, and then going out trying to win, trying to get a team together. Seventeenth tee at Mayakoba, I was tied for the lead, and absolutely ruined it on the last two holes, and that was my start of the LIV Golf season.
But to keep fighting, keep putting myself in position, having chances to win, it was great. But there was a before and after, between Singapore and Houston, when I changed that driver shaft to something that worked a little bit better with my current swing speed and made me not compensate as much. It kind of felt better and easier for me to hit the fade, and that’s when I saw the big difference.
From Nashville on, my level of golf was a little bit higher, more comfortable, where I didn’t feel like I had to try so much. At that point, the win was at that point just a matter of time and getting it done at JCB was incredible.
Being a captain is still so new to you. Has it been challenging balancing the responsibilities?
Maybe early on. The second half of the season I think things took a very nice turn to the better. Things were already going well, and I kind of enjoyed a lot of good golf towards the end. I found myself in a spot where I quite enjoy being the captain and having somebody asking me for advice and kind of leading them in a direction that I think might be best for them. I think when you’re giving advice in any situation, you’re almost reinforcing a lesson within yourself. It’s been a lot of fun.
Now that you’ve had a year out on LIV Golf, what is your perspective on the make-up of the league?
It is a little bit different than any other Tour out there, but it is a closer experience to pretty much any other sport out there. 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.
I think this league has gotten quite a bit of a bad rap without people having experienced it. 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.
I realise this is down the list of priorities at this point, but when you left here on Wednesday after your press conference, the whole Ryder Cup thing and your participation at the Spanish Open seemed a little up in the air to us based on what you said. You’ve since decided to challenge the penalties. Was that a last-minute decision?
We sent the email I think it was at 5:00am (two hours before the deadline] on Thursday morning. I think when I left here, I was about 99.8 percent sure that I was going to appeal. I think I had that decision almost made, but you’re still waiting towards the end. after hearing that there were certain meetings happening in New York, and hoping that maybe things would change or not. It would have just felt wrong to not be at the Spanish Open. With the hopes that things are going to improve in the future, as well, it basically became pretty clear that I wanted to appeal, fulfil my requirements as a European Tour member, and hopefully be able to qualify or be considered for Ryder Cup next year.
About the author
Michael Catling – Features Editor
Michael Catling is an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.
Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with the game’s biggest names, including Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Martin Slumbers and Justin Thomas.
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Jon Rahm credits a new driver shaft with helping him win the LIV Golf Individual Championship.
