Rory McIlroy recently took a dig at Jon Rahm’s participation in LIV Golf South Africa, pointing out how Rahm might not be too eager to be a part of the event. However, not only did the Spanish star defend himself publicly, but he also played some stellar golf at Steyn City. But it was his reaction towards Bryson DeChambeau at the end of the tournament that showed his true character. 

In the final round of the LIV Golf South Africa, DeChambeau and Rahm finished with a 26 under par after 72 holes. However, playing on the first extra hole, DeChambeau dropped a birdie to claim his fifth title on the PGA Tour. This was a big moment for the LIV Golf superstar. On the other hand, Rahm became 0-for-4 in the playoffs, making the loss hard-hitting.

Yet, Rahm decided to show gratitude. Soon after the curtains came down on the thriller, the Spanish star came forward and gave DeChambeau a good hug. After sharing a few words, two of LIV’s top talents had a long hug before DeChambeau went away to celebrate his victory. 

Well, these two are the pillars of the PIF-backed league currently, especially following the sudden exits of the big names such as Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed.

Coming into the game, DeChambeau had rounds of 63, 65, 64, and 66 before things went into the playoffs. The LIV Golf South Africa triumph was the icing on the cake following his win at LIV Golf Singapore last week. This was the first time since 2018 that DeChambeau has managed to win consecutive titles. 

On the other hand, Rahm did almost everything correctly and yet lost. He ended up approaching the bunker from the fairway. He misjudged the birdie attempt after recovering to just over 12 feet, while DeChambeau calmly rolled his eagle attempt to within inches, sealing the victory with a two-putt.

Even DeChambeau had to praise him, saying, “Hats off to Jon Rahm, I’ve got to tell you that guy, gosh, he’s too good.”

“Oh my gosh, he’s unbelievable. That’s why he’s one of the best in the world. You could see it out here today, shot eight under to finish it off and gave me a hard time to finish this one off, but luckily I hit that three wood in there to 12 feet.” he said, as quoted by HITC.

Clearly, despite the results, the two opponents showed immense respect for each other. However, it doesn’t change the fact that defeat will linger with Rahm for quite some time. He now has more playoff defeats than any other player in LIV Golf’s history.

Moreover, this defeat only brought sour memories from his last year’s losing effort against Angel Hidalgo at the 2024 Spanish Open on the DP World Tour. In fact, one would have to roll back as far as 2020 to see Rahm winning any playoff events. This terrible misfortune has to start bothering Rahm. Remember last year when his approach shot hit the flagstick during his fight with Sebastian Muñoz in Indianapolis? Nevertheless, there’s every reason to think he’ll be a strong contender late on a Sunday at one of the four majors in 2026.

Still and all, that’s not all Rahm has on his mind these days.

Why did Jon Rahm not want to pay the DP World Tour settlement?

Rahm and the DP World Tour have been having a feud for a long time now. Playing in the Saudi-backed league, the Spanish golfer has more than £2 million in fines. Although he had managed to play the Ryder Cup last year, this time around, things look really concerning. 

Recently, the Tour offered a settlement to eight players that enabled them to play both in the LIV Golf and the DP World Tour. And while this was supposed to be the way out for Rahm, he denied paying the settlement amount. Lashing out at the league, the golfer termed it an ‘extraction.’ 

Such a response was not received well by names like Rory McIlroy. The world number 2 pointed out how even Brooks Koepka had to pay a fine for his reinstatement to the PGA Tour. With a lot of noise surrounding Rahm, his recent antics in South Africa have surely diverted the negative attention from him momentarily.