Joaquin Niemann won five of the thirteen LIV Golf events leading up to the Team Championship in 2025. The Chilean was in spectacular form all year long as he dominated the league. Niemann captured his victories in Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico, Virginia, and the United Kingdom. He was in line to capture the 2025 Individual Championship. However, as the season came to a close, Niemann’s T4 finish in Indianapolis wasn’t enough for him to win the $18 paycheck. Instead, Jon Rahm stole it from the 26-year-old with a second-place finish in the last event of the season.

Yes, Jon Rahm is the 2025 Individual Championship winner. The Spanish maestro did it without winning a single LIV Golf event throughout the season. His only advantage was, he consistently finished within the top 10 of the leaderboard and scored vital points to catch up to Niemann in the standings. After capturing the big title and the even bigger paycheck, Rahm finally posted a thank-you speech on Instagram. “What a wild ride!!,” he said to start the conversation. We’re sure his peer from Chile would agree, as even he couldn’t imagine how he didn’t win in the end.

Rahm continued, “First of all congratulations to Sebastian and Torque on a great weekend. Very impressive ending by Sebas well earned!” Sebastian Munoz was absolutely brilliant in Indianapolis and rightfully deserved to win the title. He scored 14 birdies and a double bogey just in the first round to gain a mammoth lead over the field. Across the three rounds, he nearly averaged 10 birdies per 18 holes. His efforts and Niemann’s push in the end helped Torque GC win the Team Championship for LIV Golf Indianapolis 2025.

Coming back to Jon’s caption, he also mentioned, “A win would have been amazing but Sunday will always be one of the best rounds of my life. I’m learning that it’s the smaller victories that mean the most. Those short term goals that may seem impossible in the moment but feel like you just climbed Mt Everest when you’re done. That was yesterday. Luckily, I’m just crazy enough to believe the impossible is still possible. Maybe I’m just stubborn that way🤷🏻‍♂️”

What he achieved would certainly seem impossible to the world. Despite not winning a single event in 2025, he somehow beat the man who won 5 championships to lift the biggest title of the season. That is truly a remarkable feat for Rahm. The fact that he didn’t give up until the end played a major role in his rise to the top of the individual standings. Highlighting that, he also mentioned, “No individual wins this year is disappointing, make no mistake, but I’m so proud of how we played this year, I gave it my all in every shot and never gave up. Fortunately for me, there is always a new event and new goals and this week I can’t wait to go to war with my Legion XIII crew.”

As disappointed as he may be to not win a single event in 2025, the $18 million check should motivate him enough to keep pushing. And his team will need him to do so as they go in for one final battle in the Team Championship in Michigan this week. Playing at The Cardinal at Saint John’s, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt, and Tom McKibbin are currently leading the team standings for LIV Golf. However, that won’t matter as they all will be pitted against each other in the knockout format of the Team Championship.

Having said that, Jon Rahm’s win has certainly exposed the biggest flaw of LIV Golf. Something that has been a huge topic of discussion ever since the Spaniard was awarded the 2025 Individual Championship title. Let’s explore the controversy that surrounds his second straight win.

Did Jon Rahm deserve to win the LIV Golf 2025 Individual Championship?

Joaquin Niemann won 5 of the 14 events in the LIV Golf 2025 season. That means he had a 38.46% win rate in 2025. While Phil Mickelson‘s comparison of the Chilean with the world #1 may sound atrocious, he does have a better record in the Tour he represents than Scottie Scheffler. However, what is truly absurd is that Niemann still hasn’t won the Individual Championship. And that all comes down to the much-criticized LIV Golf points format.

Jon Rahm’s 2025 Individual Championship win sparked the biggest debate of the season. How can someone win the biggest title of the year without winning a single event all year long? The secret to the Spaniard’s success was consistency. While Niemann did win 5 titles, he rarely finished inside the top 10 in other events. In fact, the only time the 26-year-old got a top-10 finish without winning in 2025 was in Indianapolis. By then, it was already too late for him to save his title.

Twice in the season, Joaquin also ended up outside the top 25. Two more times, he got T23. The lack of points in these 4 events cost him dearly. Especially considering the fact that Rahm consistently averaged more points due to his high-ranked finishes. The higher average points are what helped Jon Rahm edge himself to a win against Joaquin Niemann and capture the $18 million paycheck in the end. Seems fair? Maybe not. Did the Spaniard deserve it? Yes. Is LIV Golf flawed for allowing this? That’s for you to decide.