WESTFIELD, Ind. — Like another Spanish sports hero in Indianapolis this year, Jon Rahm took a swig of milk and dumped the remainder of the bottle over his head for the fans.
If only he really felt like celebrating.
Unlike Alex Palou at the Indianapolis 500, Jon Rahm didn’t realize a dream at LIV Golf Indianapolis, though at the end of the day he had a winner’s ring, a big trophy and an $18 million bonus.
He was a season-long champion, again.
Except he didn’t win a golf tournament, on this Sunday or any other in LIV Golf’s 2025 season.
Rahm stormed to the top of the leaderboard in the final round at the Club at Chatham Hills, shooting 11-over 60 on a course ripe for picking all week. His 22-under total was then matched by Sebastian Munoz (who fired a 59 in the first round), and in the ensuing playoff Munoz birdied the first playoff hole to Rahm’s par.
For the second consecutive week, Rahm was a loser in a playoff. But with Joaquin Niemann, the points leader coming into the individual finale, finishing in a four-way tie for fourth Sunday at 17 under, Rahm was also the season champion for a second straight year.
“Like, I know I'm supposed to be happy,” said Rahm, who won two tournaments in his 2024 title season. “It's a great moment. But it just doesn't feel great to finish the year losing two playoffs.
“To be able to win the season without actually winning a tournament, I know eventually I'll be proud of that. Right now it's slightly more something I'm going to suffer over a little bit more, and it may never be replicated.”
Niemann won five times in 13 events and banked $22,222,381 in official earnings—$8.6 million more than Rahm—yet also left Indianapolis with a bittersweet taste. Ultimately the five wins were offset by a pair of T33s and T23s, plus a T20, T17 and T12, while Rahm was consistently piling up top 10s and near-misses for wins. Rahm’s worst finish was a T11 in Dallas.
“It's kind of hard to swallow,” Niemann said. “But at the end of the day, I think it is what it is. I feel like it's going to put something inside me to kind of work harder and try to be in this situation again next year and make it different.”
Niemann’s Torque GC team won the team competition in record fashion at 64 under, 10 shots ahead of Legion XIII’s 54 under, thanks to Munoz and Niemann and Carlos Ortiz, who also finished T4 at 17 under.
But Niemann left without his individual title and the team’s fourth player, Mito Pereira, left without a job for 2026, having finished in LIV Golf’s “Drop Zone” at 51st in points.
LIV Golf Indianapolis was a smashing success, with sellout crowds and league officials announcing Saturday that a 2026 event is on the books, a sign that this area figures to be an anchor in LIV’s U.S. plans.
There were just a lot of strange feelings on the victory podium Sunday for players, among the champagne and … milk.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jon Rahm Repeats As LIV Golf League Champion, But the Title Is Bittersweet.
