Joaquin Niemann captured his fifth victory of the season following a three-stroke win on Sunday at LIV Golf United Kingdom.
Niemann carded a 3-under 68 on Sunday to finish 17-under 196 for the tournament at the JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester, England. The Torque GC captain collected five birdies against two bogeys to add his to his titles at Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico City and Virginia.
Sunday’s victory served as a $4 million payday for Niemann, who began the week by firing his caddie and coach after missing the cut at the 2025 Open Championship.
Niemann’s Torque GC, however, was unable to hold its three-stroke lead over Legion XIII in its bid for its first team title since 2023. Legion XIII shot a staggering 14-under on Sunday to finish at 35-under for the tournament, eight strokes better than Torque GC.
First things first for Niemann, who wasn’t too interested in talking about his individual play on Sunday.
“Well, I’m going to talk for the first two days because today I didn’t feel like I had my best,” Niemann said. “Yeah, it was great. I was able to flow on tough situations.
“I felt like today I was pretty calm, pretty chill, until Bubba (Watson) started playing golf. Yeah, he made it tough for me. I was actually feeling the pressure on 13, 14, but, yeah, just stay in the present. Yeah, was able to hit a great shot on 15. After that put me back into my place.”
Speaking of Watson, he had a stretch of four birdies and two eagles from No. 9 to No. 14. He rolled in six birdies overall to finish in second place at 14-under after a third-round 65.
Niemann put a halt to his charge after sending a shot within five feet of the cup on the 15th hole.
“Yeah, I was pretty happy to see that ball go in that close, and making that birdie I think was huge for the next three holes,” he said.
“Feel like 16 is a good hole for a lefty, so I needed some room to be a little bit more comfortable. So, yeah, I mean, probably looked more easy but it was pretty stressful.”
Caleb Surratt (65 on Sunday) sank six birdies during his bogey-free round to finish at 13-under for the tournament, followed by Talor Gooch (66) at 11-under.
As for team play, Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm was thrilled after his team captured its fourth title this season.
“With all four scores counting this year I thought we played to our advantage. It showed early on and it’s showing now,” Rahm said. “I think the middle of the season none of us played our best. I said last week, I was looking forward to Caleb hopefully having a good tournament and not needing to birdie something like the last four holes for us to win. Good to see the scoreboard and see just that.”
–Field Level Media
