Niemann Claims Record Ninth LIV Title at Bedminster as Rahm Wraps Up Third Straight Season Crown
Joaquin Niemann won the LIV Golf New York event on 9 August, finishing on 16-under-par after 72 holes at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey. A final-round 69 — three shots clear of American Harold Varner III — secured the Chilean's record-extending ninth LIV Golf victory BBC Sport.
The tournament was Niemann's from the opening salvo. He made roughly 140 feet of putts in round one and led the field in Greens in Regulation — a stat tracking how often a player's ball reaches the putting surface in regulation — tying his lowest-ever round relative to par LIV Golf. After 36 holes the lead was five. Saturday brought an opening double bogey, but Niemann bounced back to shoot one-under 70 and carry a two-shot cushion into the final round LIV Golf. Sunday's 69 over a Bedminster layout that punishes the slightest miss was enough to close it out.
England's Lee Westwood and Zimbabwe's Scott Vincent shared third at nine-under, seven strokes back BBC Sport. Crushers GC took the team title on the same week LIV Golf.
While Niemann collected the trophy, the broader season story belonged to Jon Rahm. The Spaniard sealed his third consecutive LIV Golf individual season title without even contending at Bedminster — he finished tied for 41st after a closing 76 BBC Sport. The mathematics made it inevitable: Rahm held an unassailable 219-point lead over Bryson DeChambeau heading into the final individual event of the season at Indianapolis.
Rahm's consistency across the 2026 campaign has been relentless. Two wins from 12 starts — in Hong Kong and Mexico — plus four runner-up finishes. That follows a 2025 season in which he claimed the individual crown without winning a single event, proving that over a full season, stacking high finishes matters more than lifting one trophy BBC Sport.
After his win, Niemann met US President Donald Trump BBC Sport. Bedminster, a course long associated with Trump's personal involvement, provided a fitting backdrop for the handshake.
The 2026 LIV Golf season wraps with the team championship in Michigan from 27–30 August BBC Sport. By then the individual honours will be settled. Rahm owns those. Niemann owns the weekend in New Jersey.
