Ex-Masters champion Jon Rahm and Chilean talent Joaquin Niemann both have a chance to win this season’s LIV Golf individual championship and a huge amount of cash
The 2024 LIV Golf season is nearing its climax with only Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann left in the running for the overall title.
The duo will battle it out for the massive prize fund at the Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday as the LIV Individual season wraps up.
The prize pot for LIV Golf Chicago is typical of any LIV event – a total of $25million (£19.1m), with $4m (£3.1m) going to the winner, $2.25 million (£1.7m) for second place, $1.5m (£1.1m) for third, $1m (£760k) for fourth, and $800,000 (£601k) for fifth place. Rahm has one win this season but hasn’t finished outside the top 10 and boasts a score of 195.17.
Niemann, with two tour victories this year, holds a score of 192, ahead of third-place Tyrrell Hatton by almost 50 points. Teams also get rewarded for good performances – Crushers GC leads the LIV Team standings thanks to strong showings from Bryson DeChambeau.
The winning team at LIV Golf Chicago is set to bag $3m (£2.3m), followed by $1.5m (£1.1m) for second place. And the overall prize for clinching the 2024 LIV Golf season? The league champion is set to pocket an additional $18 million (£13.7m).
This figure was scooped by both 2023 champion Talor Gooch and 2022 winner Dustin Johnson. The victor is also set to receive a diamond championship ring similar to those awarded to NBA or NFL players for winning their league titles.
The ring, boasting 5.78 carats of white diamonds and 1.2 carats of green emeralds, has left Jon Rahm struggling to visualise it. “I’m trying to picture what it looks like right now, and I can’t get that in my mind,” Rahm said about the ring.
“But honestly, who cares what it is as long as you’re the one that has it? That’s, I think, what most of us will be thinking. I think you would be lying to yourself if you said there’s nothing extra. We’re all aware it’s the last event, and for the two of us, obviously, we both want to win.”
“Probably my wife won’t be happy knowing that my ring would have more [diamonds],” Niemann quipped about the ring. “No, I feel it’s pretty special. It’s a little different than other trophies, so it would be pretty cool to have an extra ring.”
While Rahm and Niemann are vying for the LIV title, players like Hatton, Sergio Garcia, and Louis Oosthuizen are also aiming to finish the season on a high note. Rahm currently leads the Chicago championship on seven-under, one shot ahead of Garcia in second, but Niemann is only three shots behind his title rival heading into the final round.
