Jon Rahm Exceeds Expectations, Puts Together Sneaky Brilliant First Season On LIV Golf
The second Jon Rahm announced his move to LIV Golf he immediately became the new face of the Saudi-backed circuit. Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and even Phil Mickelson to an extent held that same title when they joined LIV, but Rahm took over the top spot not only because he was the freshest face in the league, but because of his reported $300 million contract and the fact that he ended 2023 as the No. 3 ranked player in the world after winning four times that season.
Given the gargantuan payday and his phenomenal form, expectations for the Spaniard to immediately perform out of the gates in LIV events were higher than they'd ever been for any other player. Performing well for an employer who is paying you hundreds of millions of dollars may be a different pressure than going out and winning a major championship, but it's pressure nonetheless.
Jon Rahm had a phenomenal first season with LIV Golf. Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
While some may say Rahm's 2024 season was a disappointment given he had just one Top 10 and a missed cut in his three major championship appearances, when looking at his results on the LIV circuit, you could say he had a phenomenal campaign.
In 13 starts, Rahm did not finish worse than 10th one time. Yes, LIV events only feature 54-player fields, but 13 straight Top 10 finishes is still an accomplishment. Of those 13 Top 10 finishes, eight were Top 5 finishes, which included wins in two of the season's last three individual events.
Some tried to spin Rahm not picking up his first LIV title until his 10th start as some sort of negative - this goes back to the absurd expectations surrounding him - but a win in start No. 10 coupled with nothing but Top 10 finishes beforehand makes for quite the year.
After earning his first win in the United Kingdom, Rahm followed that up with a runner-up finish at LIV Greenbrier before winning the individual title in Chicago in dominant fashion. The win in the Windy City earned Rahm an $18 million prize to go along with his $16.7 million in individual earnings alone.
Rahm's Legion XIII team also captured four wins during the season and enters the team championship in Dallas in second place behind Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC team.
Jon Rahm says the narrative of him being unhappy since joining LIV Golf is completely false. Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
Two individual wins, four team titles, and zero finishes outside of the Top 10 in a season in which the entire golf world is expecting you to put together a resume exactly like that is quite the accomplishment from Rahmbo.
Does Rahm's season come close to Scottie Scheffler's historic year on the PGA Tour? Of course not, and not a single person is comparing the two, but from a LIV and expectation perspective, Rahm checked every single box in 2024.