And 539 days later, Jon Rahm has won again. The Basque golfer has conquered the LIV in Hong Kong this Sunday and has thus ended the longest drought of his career, those 77 weeks, almost 18 months, without celebrating an individual title since he raised his arms on September 15, 2024 at the Saudi League event in Chicago. Rahm has dominated the Asian tournament with an iron fist to win with -23, three strokes ahead of Thomas Detry (Sergio García and David Puig have been eighth). Curiously, the Belgian was one of the seven players who arrived on time for the championship thanks to the fact that the Spaniard chartered a private flight so they could travel from Dubai, where they were trapped in the middle of the war.
A gesture of liberation accompanied the last putt by Rahm. “Very, very relieved,” he said. And it was no wonder. The victory had been a long time coming between the end of last season (in Chicago and Indianapolis) and the beginning of this one (Riyadh and Adelaide). At the third stop of the course at LIV, Rahm called bingo with a display of game control. The Spaniard, champion of the Saudi League in the two previous campaigns, since his landing in the groundbreaking circuit, also now commands with astonishing regularity. There are 21 consecutive rounds under par in the competition and a cumulative -66 in the three tournaments in 2026. This is how he has secured the 23rd victory of his record and will enter the top 40 in the world rankings now that LIV scores for the ranking.
While waiting for his performance in the big ones, the great measuring stick, LIV is too small for Rahm. It will be precisely the Augusta Masters, from April 9 to 12, the stage that will measure the performance of the Spanish golfer. Before that, he will play two more Saudi League tournaments in the next two weeks, in Singapore and South Africa, the opportunity to further sharpen his game in the search for his third major. The winner of the 2021 US Open and the 2023 green jacket is looking for a new crown that will restore him to the top of world golf.
The victory returns Rahm to the center of the sports debate in the midst of asking him for certain conditions to sign an agreement and not be fined for playing in LIV. Eight golfers from the Saudi League have accepted a pact that includes paying previous sanctions, withdrawing judicial resources and playing a certain number of DP World Tour tournaments in exchange for not receiving further financial punishments. Rahm does not accept to compete in six events on the European circuit, as requested by the tourinstead of the regulatory minimum of four that he intends. That’s why he says he feels blackmailed even though he broke the rules.
Rahm’s career is played out on the field and in the offices. The Basque is still pending the judicial resolution of an appeal filed against those fines, but precedents such as that of Sergio García move against him. In the air is his membership of the European circuit and therefore his status as an eligible player for the Ryder now that While his future is being decided, with the clubs Rahm continues to do his thing. After four runners-up finishes, he has finally won again. Just when the Augusta Masters looms.
