For years, money lists in golf were a simple reflection of dominance—win big, earn big. But 2025 has thrown that formula out the window. On one side, Scottie Scheffler has bulldozed his way through the PGA Tour with five wins and a record-setting haul of over $23 million. On the other hand, Jon Rahm, LIV Golf’s star recruit and self-proclaimed savior of the league, hasn’t won a single event this year—yet his runner-up streak and season-long championship bonus have still put him shoulder to shoulder with Scheffler on the money leaderboard.

The star recruit for LIV golf was called the savior of the league. But the Spaniard, who joined in his prime years, has been struggling to find his first win in 2025. The golfer this season has been placed runner-up four times. That’s tragic for the former World No. 1, but on the brighter side, he has earned close to what the five-time 2025 PGA Tour winner has. 

Talking about that on the Fried Egg Golf podcast, Brendan Porath and PJ Clark discussed the same. Starting off, Porath mentioned the achievement of Scheffler, saying, “Scotty’s at 22-23 million so far, with next week still to come. Bonus.” But soon after the statement, Clark joined in to bring in a witty take on it. He said, “Well, I mean, Scotty’s made $23 million with bonuses, but he’s had to win five times to get there. You could make $18 million in bonuses and not win at all. As we learned today.” Scheffler, with his dominating season, has bagged over $23 million with five wins. However, Rahm, who recorded his second consecutive runner-up finish at the final event and extended his winless streak, made a similar amount. He, with the $2.25 million runner-up prize, got the $18 million bonus for his season-long championship victory. 

Interestingly, he has been crowned the Individual Championship leader for the second time. But the contrasting performance is what left the golf community concerned. In 2024, the golfer won two events and recorded six top-5 finishes. However, in the 2025 season, he recorded seven top-5 finishes, including four runner-up finishes.

Winning the championship title, despite a winless season, ‌left the golf analyst laughing at the Saudi-backed league’s decision. For that, Porath said, “Look, we’ve made fun of the PGA tour’s postseason and points races and season races for as long as they’ve existed. But part of the deal is you got to be critical when‌ stuff is preposterous. And these people bending themselves in pretzels to suggest Rahm had a better season than the five wins of Niemann is what I find most amusing about what’s happening on LIV.” Interestingly, Joaquin Niemann had the best season at LIV Golf as he bagged five victories. But surprisingly, he fell short of 3 points to be the leader at the Individual Championship. Laughing at that, the analyst disapproves of the decision, questioning how the player with the most wins got left behind on the leaderboard. In fact, the Chilean was distressed after the final leaderboard position. 

Earlier at LIV, Talor Gooch and Dustin Johnson ‌also clinched the Individual Championship title, but they showcased dominance with their performance. Gooch in 2023 recorded three wins and two top-5 finishes. Whereas Johnson, with one win and five top-5 finishes, dominated the season for the title. 

Surprisingly, in 2025, the unexpected has happened, which has left the golf world shocked. But for Rahm, it was the final event finish that did wonders. 

Jon Rahm’s surprise Individual Championship lead

LIV Golf follows a unique points system where the winner gets 40 points, while the runner-up earns 30, and it gradually declines with the position. The Chilean professional who clinched five titles in 2025 showcased a mix of results. Apart from his win, awarding him 40 points, the second-best finish was T4 at the LIV Golf Indianapolis. Apart from that, he was not even placed inside the top 10. The golfer, despite his win, struggled with consistency, as he recorded 2 points with his four worst performances. (T33, T33, T23 and T23). 

On the other hand, Rahm became the perfect example of consistency. He out of the 13 events was placed out of the top-10 once, that too at T11. In 2025, he recorded seven top-5 including four runner-up finishes. However, before the Indianapolis event, Rahm was placed second with a 9-point difference. Niemann had the chance to extend the lead, but his T4 finish with just 18 points added as compared to the 30 points of the runner-up Rahm, ended the year-long lead. 

The unfortunate has happened for Niemann, but consistency has played out the key role for Jon Rahm. Did the result shock you, or were you expecting the same? Share with us in the comments below.