Podium for Rahm at the start of a revamped LIV Golf League

A spectacular start, in which Jon Rahm's final sprint, with four consecutive birdies on the last four holes, earned him a runner-up finish, one stroke behind Australian Elvis Smylie, a rookie touched by the grace of the golf gods.

The so-called Saudi League, or LIV Golf, completed the first of its fourteen stages on five continents in Riyadh, including new and important reforms in format and prizes. The first is that tournaments will be played over four days instead of three, which will benefit those who are best able to maintain their level and withstand the pressure over the 72 holes of each course. This rewards not only quality but also consistency, a quality that is normally the preserve of the best. 

Although LIV Golf has not succeeded, as it intended, in unifying the calendar with the powerful American circuit, it has managed to ensure that the top ten finishers in each tournament score points in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), a stingy concession from the top brass of world golf.

They could well have extended this concession to the top 20 or 25. In any case, this accentuates the competitiveness among the 57 players who will compete each day of the LIV, not only for their own classification but also to climb to the top of the world rankings.

In any case, let the Saudi complaint be noted: "Limiting points to only the top 10 disproportionately harms players who perform consistently at a very high level but end up just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent. No other competitive circuit or league in the history of the OWGR has ever been subject to such a restriction. The game deserves transparency, fans deserve credibility, and players deserve a system that treats them equally," reads the statement from the Saudi leaders.

With these premises aired in the offices, the 57 players classified for the 2026 season competed in the four days of the first championship at the Riyadh Golf Club in the Saudi Arabian capital. The novelty, introduced last season, of playing at night under artificial light was maintained, thus adapting to the weather conditions of a very hot climate.

In addition to the individual competition, the players are grouped into 13 teams, several of which are unofficial national teams. This is the case of the Fireballs, made up entirely of Spaniards Sergio García, David Puig, Josele Ballester, and Luis Masaveu.

Four other teams represent a country: the Americans of the Hyflyers, the English of the Majesticks, the Australians of the Ripper, and the South Africans of the Southern Guards. We should also add the Torque, although in this case it is Ibero-American, as it is made up of Chilean Joaquín Niemann, Mexicans Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz, and Colombian Sebastián Muñoz.

The team competition has become even more attractive than in previous editions, with the prize money per tournament doubling from five to ten million dollars and each and every one of the four cards of each team's players being counted.

This tournament in Riyadh could well have been the first of the year to be won by Jon Rahm, Spanish captain of the Legion XIII team. He played with his usual quality and aggressiveness, finishing with a score of -23. That would have been enough to take the top spot on the podium had he not been up against a rookie, Australian Elvis Smylie, who beat him by a single stroke, -24, after displaying precision, poise, and consistency far beyond his 23 years of age.

Signed by the captain of the Australian team, Cameron Smith, considered the best putter on the circuit, the Rippers also won the team victory, three strokes ahead of the Ibero-Americans of Torque.

Also noteworthy was David Puig's fifth place (-20) in the individual standings, a very impressive result in a high-caliber field, where the other Spaniards also performed remarkably well: Josele Ballester (-12), Sergio García (-11), and Luis Masaveu (-10). These results give a clear idea of the level of this competition.

With the new rules, Rahm and Puig have not only earned a good handful of points in LIV Golf but also in the world rankings, which will make access to the four Grand Slam tournaments, as well as the majors on the American circuit, even more expensive.

Incidentally, spurred on by the Saudi example, the PGA has significantly increased its prize money, which has slowed the exodus of big names and even led to the return of two of them, Koepka and Reed, winners of two majors in 2023 and 2024, respectively, while competing in LIV Golf.

Next stop, with a change of continent: Adelaide, Australia. Spain will also once again host its tournament in Valderrama, from June 4 to 7.