LIV Golf was back in action this week, opting to play in Europe again the week before the British Open.
The league was in Spain, at venerable Valderrama for the third straight year, playing in LIV Golf Andalucia.
Sergio Garcia was the defending champion, winning last year at one of the courses he loves most in the world.
This year, another Spaniard, Jon Rahm, had a chance to win but came up just short, one shot behind Talor Gooch, who hadn’t won in two years.
Gooch shot eight-under total for the three days to take home $4 million from the $20 million purse. Rahm walked away with $2.25 million. Abraham Ancer was third ($1.5 million).
Joaquin Niemann still leads the season’s individual standings, although he tied for 23rd in Spain. Rahm is second and Bryson DeChambeau is third.
On the team side, Rahm’s Legion XIII squad won at Valderrama. They lead the season’s team standings over DeChambeau’s Crushers team. Garcia’s Fireballs are third.
Several of the league’s top players will now head to Northern Ireland for the British Open at Royal Portrush.
The next LIV Golf event is at JCB Golf & Country Club in England from 25-27 July.
Forgettable
Meanwhile, from a South African point of view it was a somewhat forgettable LIV Golf Andalucia event for the all-South African Stinger GC foursome.
Branden Grace finished in a tie for fourth place on 4-under par and earned $833 333 (R14.9 million).
Charl Schwartzel was next best in a tie for 30th on 3-over par which was good enough for a $167 500 (R3 million) pay day.
Louis Oosthuizen struggled to a tie for 45th place finish on 6-over par which saw him bank $124 333 (R2.2 million), while Dean Burmester finished 51st in the 56-player field on 11-over par and took home $60 000 (R1.07 million).
In the team competition, Stinger GC finished 11th out of 13 teams on a cumulative score of 16-over par.
Here’s what each player earned in Spain.
| Finish | Name | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Talor Gooch | -8 | $4,000,000 |
| 2 | Jon Rahm | -7 | $2,250,000 |
| 3 | Abraham Ancer | -5 | $1,500,000 |
| T4 | Matt Jones | -4 | $833,333 |
| T4 | Tom McKibbin | -4 | $833,333 |
| T4 | Branden Grace | -4 | $833,333 |
| T7 | Cameron Tringale | -2 | $522,500 |
| T7 | Cameron Smith | -2 | $522,500 |
| T7 | Dustin Johnson | -2 | $522,500 |
| T10 | Sebastian Muñoz | -1 | $361,000 |
| T10 | Jason Kokrak | -1 | $361,000 |
| T10 | Sergio Garcia | -1 | $361,000 |
| T10 | Jinichiro Kozuma | -1 | $361,000 |
| T10 | Patrick Reed | -1 | $361,000 |
| T15 | Sam Horsfield | E | $278,750 |
| T15 | Richard Bland | E | $278,750 |
| T15 | Brendan Steele | E | $278,750 |
| T15 | Adrian Meronk | E | $278,750 |
| T19 | Charles Howell III | 1 | $235,000 |
| T19 | Thomas Pieters | 1 | $235,000 |
| T19 | Danny Lee | 1 | $235,000 |
| T19 | David Puig | 1 | $235,000 |
| T23 | Josele Ballester | 2 | $190,714 |
| T23 | Anirban Lahiri | 2 | $190,714 |
| T23 | Bubba Watson | 2 | $190,714 |
| T23 | Harold Varner III | 2 | $190,714 |
| T23 | Joaquin Niemann | 2 | $190,714 |
| T23 | Phil Mickelson | 2 | $190,714 |
| T23 | Tyrrell Hatton | 2 | $190,714 |
| T30 | Charl Schwartzel | 3 | $167,500 |
| T30 | Bryson DeChambeau | 3 | $167,500 |
| T32 | Lucas Herbert | 4 | $146,000 |
| T32 | Caleb Surratt | 4 | $146,000 |
| T32 | Ian Poulter | 4 | $146,000 |
| T32 | Chieh-Po Lee | 4 | $146,000 |
| T32 | Paul Casey | 4 | $146,000 |
| T32 | Brooks Koepka | 4 | $146,000 |
| T32 | Andy Ogletree | 4 | $146,000 |
| T32 | Lee Westwood | 4 | $146,000 |
| T32 | Martin Kaymer | 4 | $146,000 |
| T41 | Graeme McDowell | 5 | $129,750 |
| T41 | Mito Pereira | 5 | $129,750 |
| T41 | Kevin Na | 5 | $129,750 |
| T41 | Peter Uihlein | 5 | $129,750 |
| T45 | Henrik Stenson | 6 | $124,333 |
| T45 | Louis Oosthuizen | 6 | $124,333 |
| T45 | Ben Campbell | 6 | $124,333 |
| 48 | Carlos Ortiz | 7 | $120,000 |
| 49 | Frederik Kjettrup | 8 | $60,000 |
| 50 | Marc Leishman | 10 | $60,000 |
| 51 | Dean Burmester | 11 | $60,000 |
| 52 | Anthony Kim | 13 | $50,000 |
| 53 | Yubin Jang | 14 | $50,000 |
| 54 | Luis Masaveu | 15 | $50,000 |
Legion XIII, consisting of Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt and Tom McKibbin claimed the team crown and will split the $3 million team bounty.
| Finish | Team | Score | Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Legion XIII | -5 | $3,000,000 |
| 2 | Fireballs GC | -3 | $1,500,000 |
| T3 | Smash GC | E | $250,000 |
| T3 | 4Aces | E | $250,000 |
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