Valderrama is where Jon Rahm’s parents fell in love with golf, which made him pick up a club. Now, decades later, the former world No. 1 was in the same field with four runner-up finishes in 2026, looking for his first win there. But he lost to his teammate by two shots, and when asked how much it hurt, Rahm was direct about it.

“As far as second places go, finishing second in Spain stings just a little bit more,” Rahm told the media on June 7, 2026. “It’s two years in a row where I’m going on this stretch with a chance and come up a little bit short. So it hurts a little bit more. It’s such an iconic golf course in Spanish history that I would definitely like to etch my name to it. Every morning my parents go to the members cafeteria, and I’ve met them for a little bit and I get reminded, they have pictures of the champions, and like we want your picture up there. To know that I have a chance and now I’m going to have to wait a little bit longer, it hurts.”

Part of why this hurts so much is where it comes from. His parents started watching golf after the 1997 Ryder Cup, which was held at Valderrama. Then his father introduced Jon Rahm and his brother to the game. Notably, before the tournament, the golfer made it clear it would be ‘very special’ to join the winners list.

The numbers reveal where Rahm’s week unraveled. Rahm opened with a +2 in Round 1, which haunted him all week. He closed with -4, -3, and -4 to finish at -9 across 275 shots, hitting 50% of fairways and reaching 65.28% of greens in regulation. 8 bogeys offset his 15 birdies and an eagle.

Meanwhile, Hatton, who started Round 1 at -4, never relinquished control and finished at -11 across 273 shots. His scrambling (72.41%) proved decisive, while Rahm managed only 68% from trouble.

Rahm admitted he had mixed feelings about Valderrama early on. He got frustrated because he could not hit the driver on every hole and did not know how to manage it. But once he figured it out, his appreciation for the place kept growing. As he put it, very few golf courses match the atmosphere Valderrama creates. But the course itself was unforgiving.

In fact, golf commentator Ernie (@BroncosOutside) put the week’s difficulty in numbers after the final round. On his X, he pointed out that only 15 out of 57 golfers finished under par, describing it as a course that demands great shot-making and produces a leaderboard that looks like a Major.

Tyrrell Hatton, who is Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII teammate, won the $30M event. And despite the personal disappointment, Rahm acknowledged Hatton’s win warmly, noting that Hatton had just become a father.

The runner-up finish here also fits into a broader 2026 pattern for Rahm. So far this year he has come second at LIV South Africa, LIV Adelaide, and the PGA Championship. The Valderrama chapter remains unfinished.

Even then, the team’s result softened the blow somewhat.

Legion XIII’s strong showing lifts them

Legion XIII finished the tournament at -7, good for first place on the team leaderboard. They are now ahead of 4Aces GC and Torque GC. The win took them to second in the overall 2026 season standings with 118 points, behind league leaders 4 Aces GC with 140 points.

First in the individual season standings is Jon Rahm, with Hatton fourth. Together, they powered Legion XIII’s team performance through all four rounds, with the side recovering from a shaky +2 opening round to finish strong.

To win the team leaderboard here was no mean feat. In LIV Golf, team points build over the course of the season, and making up ground on 4Aces GC is important. With a few events remaining, Legion XIII are now 22 points behind the leaders.

For Jon Rahm, the team trophy offered some comfort after falling short individually. But given how much a personal win at Valderrama means to him, the team results and the season standings will only keep him motivated heading into the next event.