Tag: Legion XIII

Jon Rahm admitted it was ‘weird’ playing with LIV teammate Tyrrell Hatton, who joked: ‘It obviously scared him’

Hatton, ever the card, responded with his typical deadpan delivery, chiding Rahm.

Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf timeline has been uneven, to say the least. The Spaniard arrived late to the party, getting a huge deal to join the fledgling circuit and although he’s had impressive finishes, he’s yet to break through with an individual victory.

And on Friday, in the opening round of LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester, England, he added a new variable — being paired with Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton. It marked the first time Rahm had played with a team member.

He admitted after Friday’s play that it was an awkward experience.

“It’s a weird scenario because, as good friends as you are, you want each other to do good, but you also want to beat each other. I could tell one of us was making a birdie, we first look at each other like, seriously? Don’t get too far away or don’t make many of those, but obviously we want to see each other make birdies,” Rahm said. “My funniest one was his reaction to my chip shot on 6. Being low left, I hit a good shot, and he just froze and looked at me like this. I didn’t know what to do with that reaction, so I was just a little confused down there on the left.”

LIV Golf UK: Photos

Hatton, ever the card, responded with his typical deadpan delivery, chiding Rahm.

“I enjoyed it, but it obviously scared him. It had a nice bit of spin to it, but I was expecting quite a bit — we’re big kids when we’re on the chipping green, so it was a perfect shot for getting some spin on it, and that’s generally, as sad as it is, quite exciting to see,” Hatton said.

The duo certainly didn’t allow the scenario to factor into their rounds. In fact, Rahm matched his best LIV round, posting a birdie on his opening hole (No. 2) and four of the last five en route to a bogey-free 63 that put him two strokes ahead of Andy Ogletree and Abraham Ancer for the individual lead. Hatton was close behind with a 66 that was only marred by an opening double.

With the two playing partners leading the way, Legion took a one-stroke lead in the team competition as well.

Incredibly, Rahm posted his low number without a single birdie on the par-5s.

“It’s funny. I don’t mean to be laughing. Recently, I feel like I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m not making bad swings. I don’t feel like I’m making terrible decisions, but it’s just I’ve got a little streak of bad luck on the par-5s. Didn’t birdie of them at The Open. Didn’t birdie any of them today. I don’t feel like I did anything terribly wrong,” he said. “But this is golf, it happens. There are times when you get going and you enjoy a streak of tournaments where it just seems like everything is going your way. So hopefully today is the start of something like that.”

Caleb Surratt wins team event at LIV Golf Nashville

Former Vol wins team event at LIV Golf Nashville.

LIV Golf Nashville concluded on Sunday at The Grove in College Grove, Tennessee.

Former Vol Caleb Surratt was part of the field. He finished tied for 25th place (-5), 14 strokes behind winner Tyrrell Hatton (-19).

Surratt is also part of Legion XIII. He is teammates with Jon Rahm (captain), Hatton and Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII (-40) won the team event at LIV Golf Nashville, finishing five strokes ahead of Crushers GC.

Caleb Surratt. Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

LIV Golf format

LIV Golf consists of 12 teams, 48 players, 14 events, zero cuts and with shotgun starts.

Each stroke counts for the individual event. A winner is the player with the lowest total amount of shots after 54 holes.

The team event consists of scores for each team’s top three players, for the round count, toward the team’s total score. The team with a cumulative low score following three rounds is the team champion for the event.

During the first two days of each event, only the top three players’ scores count towards their team’s round. On the third day of an event, all four players’ scores count. The top eight teams earn points in team standings.

2024 LIV Golf Nashville prize money payouts for each player and team

Tyrrell Hatton won’t have much to be cynical about this week.

Tyrrell Hatton won’t have much to be cynical about this week.

The first-year LIV Golf player picked up his first victory in the Saudi-backed league at LIV Golf Nashville, finishing at 19 under and winning by six shots at The Grove. For his victory, Hatton will take home a $4 million winner’s check on the back of his strong finish last week at the U.S. Open.

Sam Horsfield placed second while U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann, Lee Westwood and Jon Rahm tied for third.

Rahm and Hatton’s Legion XIII took home the team title and with it a $3 million prize.

With $20 million up for grabs, check out how much money each player and team earned at 2024 LIV Golf Nashville.

Individual prize money

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Tyrrell Hatton -19 $4,000,000
2 Sam Horsfield -13 $2,250,000
T3 Joaquín Niemann -12 $1,000,000
T3 Lee Westwood -12 $1,000,000
T3 Jon Rahm -12 $1,000,000
T3 Bryson DeChambeau -12 $1,000,000
T7 Sebastian Munoz -11 $562,500
T7 John Catlin -11 $562,500
T9 Paul Casey -10 $396,875
T9 Richard Bland -10 $396,875
T9 Cameron Smith -10 $396,875
T9 Carlos Ortiz -10 $396,875
13 Louis Oosthuizen -9 $340,000
T14 Pat Perez -8 $310,000
T14 Brendan Steele -8 $310,000
T16 Matthew Wolff -7 $277,500
T16 Harold Varner III -7 $277,500
T18 Sergio Garcia -6 $230,000
T18 Abraham Ancer -6 $230,000
T18 Anirban Lahiri -6 $230,000
T18 Marc Leishman -6 $230,000
T18 Kieran Vincent -6 $230,000
T18 Eugenio Chacarra -6 $230,000
T18 Jason Kokrak -6 $230,000
T25 Charl Schwartzel -5 $180,000
T25 Caleb Surratt -5 $180,000
T25 Ian Poulter -5 $180,000
T25 Henrik Stenson -5 $180,000
T25 Dean Burmester -5 $180,000
T25 Kevin Na -5 $180,000
T25 Scott Vincent -5 $180,000
T32 Patrick Reed -4 $155,000
T32 Thomas Pieters -4 $155,000
T32 Adrian Meronk -4 $155,000
T35 Cameron Tringale -3 $142,800
T35 Bubba Watson -3 $142,800
T35 Hudson Swafford -3 $142,800
T35 Branden Grace -3 $142,800
T35 Mito Pereira -3 $142,800
T40 Matt Jones -2 $134,000
T40 Phil Mickelson -2 $134,000
T42 Graeme McDowell -1 $127,750
T42 Brooks Koepka -1 $127,750
T42 Talor Gooch -1 $127,750
T42 Martin Kaymer -1 $127,750
T46 Anthony Kim E $124,000
T46 Jinichiro Kozuma E $124,000
48 Lucas Herbert 1 $120,000
49 Andy Ogletree 2 $60,000
50 Peter Uihlein 3 $60,000
T51 Kalle Samooja 4 $53,333
T51 Dustin Johnson 4 $53,333
T51 David Puig 4 $53,333
54 Danny Lee 5 $50,000

Team prize money

Position Team Score Earnings
1 Legion XIII -40 $3,000,000
2 Crushers GC -35 $1,500,000
3 Torque GC -34 $1500,000

 

Caleb Surratt’s second-round results at LIV Golf Nashville

A look at former Vol Caleb Surratt’s second-results at LIV Golf Nashville.

LIV Golf Nashville is being held, Friday-Sunday, at The Grove in College Grove, Tennessee.

Former Vol Caleb Surratt is part of the field. He is tied for 27th place (-3) after the second-round on Saturday. Tyrrell Hatton (-13) is in first place entering Sunday’s final round.

Surratt is also part of Legion XIII. He is teammates with Jon Rahm (captain), Tyrrell Hatton and Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII enters third-round play in first place (-28), five strokes ahead of Crushers GC (-23).

Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images

LIV Golf format

LIV Golf consists of 12 teams, 48 players, 14 events, zero cuts and with shotgun starts.

Each stroke counts for the individual event. A winner is the player with the lowest total amount of shots after 54 holes.

The team event consists of scores for each team’s top three players, for the round count, toward the team’s total score. The team with a cumulative low score following three rounds is the team champion for the event.

During the first two days of each event, only the top three players’ scores count towards their team’s round. On the third day of an event, all four players’ scores count. The top eight teams earn points in team standings.

Jon Rahm doesn’t regret LIV Golf decision, but he’s still ’emotional’ after missing PGA Tour events

“It was a lot harder to be at home not competing and know that those events were going on,” Rahm said.

Simply put, Jon Rahm doesn’t regret his decision to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. That said, it’s been an emotional couple of months for the Spaniard.

He missed out on title defenses last month at both The Sentry and American Express, and will miss another next week at the Genesis Invitational. Two weeks ago he couldn’t play at Torrey Pines, where he’s a two-time winner with the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open, his first PGA Tour victory, and the 2021 U.S. Open, his first major championship. This week he’s missing his hometown WM Phoenix Open.

“It was a lot harder to be at home not competing and know that those events were going on. Palm Springs and Torrey, those weeks were hard. I’ve explained so many times how important Torrey is for me,” Rahm explained earlier this week ahead of his second LIV Golf start. “And driving by Phoenix as often as I had to and knowing that I wasn’t going to play there, it’s definitely emotional. That’s one of the things that I’m going to miss.”

“I’m hoping that in the near future I can be back playing some of those events,” he added. “I would certainly love to go back and play some of them.”

But when the shotgun start begins at Las Vegas Country Club, all of that will be behind him.

“Now, when the tournament started, we’re here to compete, so whatever else is going on, whatever tournament is going on doesn’t really matter,” he explained. “We’re here to hopefully perform well and win. It’s a lot easier while we’re playing.”

Rahm certainly made it look easy in his debut last week at Mayakoba in Mexico, where he finished T-3 to lead his Legion XIII to the team title in their first event. All eyes have been on Rahm since his shocking move to the Saudi-backed league given his past comments about the 54-hole format, and while the 29-year-old seems to be enjoying his early days with LIV, his eyes are still glancing elsewhere.

“I would love to, if allowed and if I can, go play the Spanish Open, and if it doesn’t conflict with LIV’s schedule, right. But a tournament that both me and (teammate Tyrrell Hatton) are going to miss dearly is Wentworth. If I qualify, I’d still love to go play in Dubai, the DP World Tour Championship. There’s certainly events I would like to play,” Rahm said. “PGA Tour, we’ll see. If there’s ever a way back and a way where we can play, even if it’s as an invite, I will take it. Like I said, there’s certain events that are special to me that I would still love to support.”

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Caleb Surratt wins team event in professional debut with Legion XIII

Former Vol Caleb Surratt wins team event in professional debut.

The 2024 LIV Golf season started Friday at El Camaleón Golf Course in Mayakoba, Mexico.

The three-round event concluded on Sunday.

Former Vol Caleb Surratt made his professional debut in Mayakoba. He finished tied for 13th (-5) place.

Joaquin Niemann (-12) defeated Sergio Garcia in a four-hole playoff to win the individual competition.

Surratt is also part of Legion XIII. He is teammates with Jon Rahm (captain), Tyrrell Hatton and Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII (-24) won the team competition by four strokes.

Surratt appeared in 15 tournaments at Tennessee from 2022-23. He earned 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year honors and was the 2023 SEC individual champion. Surratt signed a professional contract with LIV Golf on Jan. 30 during his sophomore season with the Vols.

PHOTOS: LIV Golf’s first expansion team Legion XIII debuts

Caleb Surratt (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

LIV Golf format

LIV Golf consists of 12 teams, 48 players, 14 events, zero cuts and with shotgun starts.

Each stroke counts for the individual event. A winner is the player with the lowest total amount of shots after 54 holes.

The team event consists of scores for each team’s top three players, for the round count, toward the team’s total score. The team with a cumulative low score following three rounds is the team champion for the event.

During the first two days of each event, only the top three players’ scores count towards their team’s round. On the third day of an event, all four players’ scores count. The top eight teams earn points in team standings.

Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images

‘A very successful start’: Jon Rahm details his pressure-filled LIV Golf debut

“It was nice to get off the jump, just get going and play good golf,” Rahm said of his 5-under debut.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico —Teeing it up on Mayakoba’s El Camaleón Golf Course may seem like nothing new for Jon Rahm given his three previous appearances on the Riviera Maya on the PGA Tour from 2014-2016, but the Spaniard felt the nerves on Friday as he made his LIV Golf debut.

“Yeah, I could feel the pressure, but it’s a good thing, right?” said Rahm, who fired a 5-under 66 to sit T-4 one shot behind Sergio Garcia, two shots behind Patrick Reed and a whopping seven shots behind Joaquin Niemann after his historic 12-under 59. “It’s weird; you do get to pick a song for the first tee, and I thought maybe it was going to help. If anything, it gave it a little bit more — the heartbeat went a little bit up just from hearing a song you like.”

“I’m like, I feel confident, but the added pressure that it’s one of my favorite songs,” Rahm said of Bad Bunny’s hit track, Monaco, “but it helped because I hit a great tee shot to start the day. I felt it, but after the tee shot and the second shot and making that putt, it felt like I settled in pretty nicely.”

That’s putting it lightly. Starting on the first hole alongside Cam Smith (Ripper GC) and Talor Gooch (Smash GC) Rahm birdied five of his first seven holes to storm out the gate, which normally would put him at the top of the leaderboard if it weren’t for Niemann.

“I didn’t see him early on, and then when I was 5 under and I was tied for fourth, I was like, ‘Somebody is — I was 5 under through 7, and I was third, so I was like, ‘Okay, clearly everybody is going off.’”

After the turn, Rahm added to his tally with a pair of birdies on Nos. 13 and 15 and was cruising through the back nine until he leaked a bit of oil coming in with two bad bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes.

“I feel like one of those bogeys, 17, was avoidable. 18 was just unfortunate,” he explained. “But it doesn’t take away from how good I played those first 16 holes. It was nice to get off the jump, just get going and play good golf. So far I would say it was a very successful start.”

Seven shots back is quite the mountain to climb, especially with only 36 holes left compared to the 54 that Rahm is used to. Despite the deficit, Rahm is more focused on what he didn’t do to close out his round than what Niemann did to take his lead.

2024 LIV Golf Mayakoba
Captain Jon Rahm of Legion XIII warms up in the practice area during day one of the LIV Golf Invitational – Mayakoba at El Camaleon at Mayakoba on February 02, 2024 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)

“If anything I’m thinking more about that, my finish, than what Joaco did. Again, I think if the wind doesn’t pick up, we’re going to have to approach a 20-under, which again is doable,” he said. “The greens are in really good shape, and if you can put the ball in the fairway, you can give yourself chances.”

“I played a really good round today,” he added. “If I cleaned up my finish a little bit, could have been a fantastic way to finish.”

Rahm explained his first impressions of LIV as a different vibe compared to what he’s used to on Tour, but noted the music throughout the round wasn’t too different from how he plays at home – if anything the speakers on carts back in Arizona are more powerful than LIV’s, he joked. As the captain of the league’s first expansion team, Legion XIII, Rahm said earlier in the week that it was unusual to be thinking about managing his team seeing as golf is an individual sport. He then found himself watching the leaderboard on Friday to keep tabs on his teammates Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt and Kieran Vincent.

“It’s funny, the first few times I was more interested in how the team was doing than myself, which was definitely something new, and I think Cam caught me looking, he said that; it’s crazy how you might care more about the team than your individual,” Rahm explained. “Yeah, I obviously kept up. There’s three players that I want to see how they’re doing. Not their best start, but still two more days for them to show what they’re made of. Even though it’s still early; we’ve got a barely, barely turned professional player and Kieran who’s now full-time here. It could be expected to have a little bit of a difficult start.”

“But I feel like those two guys and Tyrrell at some point are going to surprise a lot of people,” he added. “Maybe not Tyrrell because he’s done it so many times, but those two guys might play a level of golf that I know they can play but that a lot of people haven’t seen.”

Legion XIII is 4 under as a team and currently sits T-7 alongside Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC entering Saturday’s second round.

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