Joaquin Niemann eagled the par-5 15th hole at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on his way to completing a wire-to-wire victory at LIV Golf New York on Sunday in Bedminster, N.J.
Sunday’s results solidified Spanish star Jon Rahm as the 2026 individual champion, his third straight title since joining LIV ahead of the 2024 season. He finished a disappointing 8 over at LIV Golf New York, but with one regular-season event to go he can no longer be caught by second-place Bryson DeChambeau.
Niemann, meanwhile, earned his ninth LIV victory in a three-year span and his second of the season, following LIV Golf Korea back in the spring. The Chilean shot a 2-under 69 on Sunday and went 16-under 268 for the week, earning a three-shot win over Harold Varner III.
“I feel like I didn’t have the best start. I didn’t feel that comfortable,” Niemann said. “But as to how the day came out, during the day I started playing better and better, feeling more comfortable and feeling more committed, started committing to my lines, ball started going wherever I was aiming.
“Yeah, that’s a great feeling to have, especially coming down the stretch on how tough this golf course is. So yeah, pretty happy and proud of the way I played at the end.”
Niemann, 27, raced out to the lead with a 7-under 64 Thursday and a 6-under 65 Friday. Even though he settled for a 1-under 70 in the third round, he entered Sunday with a two-shot cushion over Varner.
Niemann bogeyed the opening hole and didn’t get the stroke back until a birdie at the par-3 seventh. He birdied No. 13 and clung to a two-shot lead when he arrived at No. 15.
He took an aggressive line with a 5-hybrid and landed his second shot just past the flag, then converted a downhill 26-foot putt for eagle, doubling his advantage over Varner.
“I hit a great tee shot with my 3-wood, and then the pin placement, where they put it, I feel like outside the top 20 guys of the leaderboard, probably no one was going to that pin because it’s pretty scary,” Niemann said. “There’s no room to land it, especially how soft the greens are right now.
“I was just (aiming) to the right side of the green, left myself a putt, and yeah, it was not an easy putt for sure. I was going to be pretty happy with two putts there, and it was quite a surprise to make that one. It’s one of those that I just got to be grateful about it and just go pick it up and run.”
Varner, who catapulted into contention Saturday with a round of 65, could not convert his chances Sunday. He had two birdies through 11 holes, then bogeyed the 12th and made only pars the rest of the way to shoot a 70 and stay at 13 under.
Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent carded a 66 to move to 9 under and tie for third with Englishman Lee Westwood (72), marking Vincent’s best finish on the LIV circuit. South Korea’s Byeong Hun An (69) rounded out the top five at 7 under.
DeChambeau’s Crushers GC won their third team title of the season despite their captain pulling up the rear at 7 over par. Paul Casey of England tied for sixth at 6 under, Anirban Lahiri of India tied for 17th at 1 over par and Charles Howell III was at 4 over par to help Crushers go 6 over for the week and beat Rahm’s Legion XIII and Niemann’s Torque by two.
“Yeah, this is what makes team golf, I think, so much better than just personal individual golf because you’ve got something else to play for,” DeChambeau said. “… Like I might have been 6, 7, 8 over par going into the third round, but I’m like, ‘I need to get this thing back to even par, not just for myself but for my team.’
“It’s a bit disappointing and honestly embarrassing to be that far over considering the skill set and the playability that I know I have. But you’ve got to fight for every shot. It’s a little different out here.”
–Field Level Media
