Joaquin Niemann led from the first tee to the last to win LIV Golf New York at Trump National Bedminster on Sunday, while Jon Rahm mathematically sealed his third consecutive LIV Golf individual season title at the same event. It was a weekend that settled two of the league’s biggest storylines at once — and both came with a slice of history attached.
The 27-year-old Chilean closed with a two-under-par 69 to finish on 16 under par after 72 holes, three shots clear of American Harold Varner III. The victory was Niemann’s second of the 2026 LIV season and the ninth of his LIV career — a league record that now stands four wins clear of any other player.
Rahm, by contrast, had a quiet week on the scoreboard — a closing round of 76 left him tied for 41st — but the bigger picture was anything but quiet. With an unassailable 219-point lead over Bryson DeChambeau in the season-long standings, the world number 13 has now clinched the individual title with one regular-season event still to play. His reaction told the story of a champion who holds himself to a brutal standard.
Final Leaderboard: LIV Golf New York
Here is how the top of the board finished at Bedminster after 72 holes:
- Winner: Joaquin Niemann (Chile) — 16 under par
- 2nd: Harold Varner III (United States) — 13 under par
- Joint 3rd: Lee Westwood (England) and Scott Vincent (Zimbabwe) — 9 under par
- Selected others: Paul Casey (England) and Tom McKibbin (Northern Ireland) — 6 under; Laurie Canter (England) — 3 under; Richard Bland (England) — 1 over
- Jon Rahm (Spain): tied 41st after a closing 76
Niemann’s Wire-to-Wire Masterclass
Niemann’s victory was built on consistency rather than fireworks. He seized the lead early in the week and never surrendered it, grinding out a four-round total of 16 under on a Bedminster layout that punished anything loose. His final-round 69 was the perfect summary of the week: controlled, patient and free of the big numbers that cost his rivals.
The win extends a remarkable record in the Saudi-backed league. Since joining LIV Golf in August 2022 — after two PGA Tour victories and a spell as the world’s top-ranked amateur — Niemann has now won nine LIV events, four more than any other player in the league’s history. This season alone he has two wins to his name, and he met United States President Donald Trump after lifting the trophy at the New Jersey venue.
“I feel like the more they push me, the better golfer I’m going to become from every experience.”
— Joaquin Niemann, on winning his second LIV title of 2026
Rahm’s Quiet Coronation
For Rahm, the arithmetic had already done the talking before Sunday’s final round was over. The 31-year-old Spaniard’s huge lead in the season standings meant that nothing he did at Bedminster could change his destiny — and he ended the week in reflective, almost frustrated, mood.
This is the third straight year Rahm has claimed the LIV individual title, a run of dominance that now reads: a title in 2024, a title in 2025 that he secured without a single event victory, and now 2026, when he has won twice — in Hong Kong and Mexico — and added four runner-up finishes. The consistency is the headline; the trophies are the footnote.
“It has been a great year. A little sour taste in my mouth because of how badly I played this week, but it has been something to be proud of. After last year, not getting a win and possibly having a question mark over the season-long race, to win twice and win it again definitely feels good.”
— Jon Rahm, after clinching a third straight LIV season title
How the Week Unfolded at Bedminster
Bedminster, the New Jersey course owned by the Trump Organization and a regular LIV venue, served up a test that rewarded patience. Niemann set the tone with a fast start and protected his advantage through the middle rounds, while the chasing pack traded places behind him without ever applying sustained pressure.
- Niemann’s early command: the Chilean set the pace from day one and never trailed, putting the field under pressure from the opening round.
- Varner’s charge falls short: the American pushed hard and finished alone in second, three back, but could never quite close the gap.
- Westwood’s late-season form: the English veteran shared third at nine under alongside Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, one of his better finishes of the campaign.
- Rahm’s struggle: a closing 76 summed up a frustrating week on the course — but the season trophy was already wrapped up.
The Journey to Nine: Niemann’s LIV Record
Niemann’s ninth LIV victory is the latest milestone in a career that has been quietly historic at every level. As an amateur, the Chilean spent 44 weeks as the world’s number one junior-ranked player between May 2017 and April 2018, won the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal and claimed the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship.
He announced himself on the PGA Tour in September 2019, winning A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier to become the first Chilean to win on the PGA Tour — and the youngest international winner on the circuit since 1923. He added the Genesis Invitational in February 2022, finishing 19 under par to beat Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young by two strokes at a tournament hosted by Tiger Woods.
His move to LIV Golf in August 2022 came with the captaincy of Torque GC, and the results have flowed since. He was runner-up in his very first LIV start — a playoff defeat to Dustin Johnson in Boston — and in 2023 his all-Spanish-speaking team won more team titles and collected more prize money than any other side on the circuit. Five victories followed in the 2025 season alone, and Sunday’s Bedminster win brings his career LIV tally to nine, more than any player in the league’s short history.
Rahm’s Three-Peat in Context
Rahm’s achievement deserves to be measured against the depth of the field he has beaten. LIV’s individual standings reward consistent high finishes across the entire season, and to win the title three years running — including a 2025 campaign in which he did not win a single event yet still finished top of the pile — requires a level of week-to-week excellence that few golfers anywhere have ever sustained.
The 2026 numbers tell the story: two wins from 12 events (Hong Kong and Mexico), four runner-up finishes, and a 219-point lead over Bryson DeChambeau with only the Indianapolis event left to play. The margin is so large that DeChambeau cannot mathematically catch him, which is why Rahm’s coronation was sealed a fortnight early.
How the LIV Season Works
For anyone new to LIV Golf, a quick primer helps explain why Sunday mattered so much. The league plays a series of individual events through the year — Bedminster was the 12th of 13 in the 2026 regular season — with players earning points for high finishes in every event. Those points build the individual season standings, and the leader at the end of the campaign takes the individual title.
Alongside the individual race, each event also counts toward team scores, with teams of four players competing across the season. The whole campaign then culminates in the team championship in Michigan from 27–30 August, a knockout-style finale worth the biggest team prize on the calendar. That dual structure is why Rahm could clinch the individual crown a fortnight early, and why Niemann’s Torque GC will still have everything to play for in Michigan even with the individual race settled.
What It Means and What’s Next
With the individual title decided, the remaining drama of the LIV season shifts to the team competition and to the small matter of pride at the season’s final individual event in Indianapolis in two weeks. DeChambeau and the chasing pack can still fight for second place in the standings, while Niemann heads to Indianapolis with a chance to add a 10th career LIV victory.
Beyond that, the season concludes with the team championship in Michigan, where Niemann’s Torque GC — one of the most consistent teams in the league’s history — and Rahm’s Legion XIII will be among the favourites to walk away with the biggest team prize on the LIV calendar.
For Niemann, the immediate question is whether he can carry Bedminster form into the finale and push his record even further out of reach. For Rahm, the challenge shifts from winning the individual race to finishing the campaign with a team title — and, by his own admission, erasing the sour taste of a poor week in New Jersey with a strong showing in Indianapolis.
Key Takeaways
- Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf New York by three shots at 16 under par — his second win of 2026 and his ninth LIV title, a league record.
- Niemann led wire-to-wire at Trump National Bedminster and met US President Donald Trump after the trophy presentation.
- Jon Rahm clinched his third consecutive LIV individual season title with an unassailable 219-point lead over Bryson DeChambeau.
- Rahm’s 2026 season: two wins (Hong Kong and Mexico) and four runner-up finishes from 12 events.
- The final individual event of the season takes place at Indianapolis in two weeks, followed by the team championship in Michigan from 27–30 August.
