Rahm adds to his legend and that of the Saudi golf circuit

To his individual victory for the second consecutive year, Spain's Jon Rahm added the team title, leading his Legion XIII to overall victory over Californian Bryson De Chambeau's Crushers in the final held in Michigan. It was a victory after forcing a playoff at the end of the regulation round with both teams tied at -20, twenty strokes below par for the course.

The Basque golfer's double victory not only adds to his own legend, but also raises the profile of LIV Golf, the circuit created by Saudi Arabia in 2022 through its Public Investment Fund to break the traditional and relentless hegemony of the North American PGA.

The new format introduced by the Saudis on their circuit has taken high-level golf to places that did not have many opportunities to see it live, such as Riyadh, Singapore and Mexico, while also establishing courses such as Valderrama in Spain and now announcing the addition of South Africa for the 2026 edition.

The Saudis bet precisely on Rahm in 2023 to become the standard-bearer for their gigantic project, in exchange for an astronomical signing fee of $550 million over five years. They did so at a good time, as the golfer from Barrika had just won the famous green jacket awarded to the winners of the Masters Tournament in Augusta. One of the PGA's leading figures was off to a flying start, but he has not since recorded the string of victories with which he was expected to sweep the new circuit, which is littered with stars such as Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Bruce Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed, all of whom hold major Grand Slam titles.

However, despite his periods of doubt, Rahm never dropped out of the top spots in the rankings. This year, he won the LIV Golf individual title without winning any of the tournaments played, but nevertheless managed to overtake Chile's Joaquín Niemann, who had claimed five victories, thanks to his consistency at the top of the rankings.

Legion XIII's team victory on the final day of the championship also shows the strength of the squad captained by Rahm himself, who is supported by England's Tyrrell Hatton, the very young American Caleb Surrat (keep an eye on this man, destined to be one of the greats of the sport) and Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin.

In the not inconsiderable financial chapter, Jon Rahm will add his share of the $14 million won by his team to the $18 million he earned for his individual victory, with $8.4 million going to the team as a whole and $1.4 million to each of the four members of the winning team.

With the Saudi circuit season now over, his exploits will be on display in the coming months. Rahm will once again be the main attraction at the Spanish Open, to be held at the Club de Campo in Madrid, and will undoubtedly be one of the pillars of the European team, which will face the United States at the end of September in the Ryder Cup, to be played at Bethpage in Farmingdale, New York.