Rahm’s path to Individual Championship wasn’t always smooth, but certainly impressive

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. – Jon Rahm kept trying to fit the impressive and unique 14k diamond-encrusted gold ring with a weight of 84 grams – including the concealed ball marker with the embossed QR code that will link to his winning championship moment – onto one of his fingers. Alas, nothing worked.

RELATED: Rahm wins LIV Golf Chicago, season-long championship; Crushers secure top seed

“Too big for my pinky and too small for the other fingers,” he said. Celebrity ring designer Ben Baller promised later to make the necessary size adjustment.

Then during the podium champagne celebration, Rahm hoped to take a quick breath, only to inhale a direct nose-full of liquid from Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton’s aggressive spray. “His bottle kept going,” the captain said, wincing slightly at the memory.

No, Rahm’s moment atop the podium Sunday afternoon at Bolingbrook Golf Club was not hassle-free. Neither was his first regular season in LIV Golf. And yet, it ended on the highest of notes with his second tournament victory and the season-long Individual Championship, with his team well-positioned to add more hardware at this week’s Dallas Team Championship.

Since joining LIV Golf last December, the last nine months have proven quite eventful and incredibly stressful – both professionally and personally – for the 29-year-old Spaniard.

Taking on the captaincy of the league’s first expansion team involved front-office responsibilities ranging from roster building to marketing to mentoring Legion’s two youngest players. It required him to speak his mind, which he embraced this year even if it meant disagreeing or overruling others.

“I hope that I’ve done a good job,” he said. “I don’t know if my teammates agree or not.”

In March, he and wife Kelly announced they were expecting their third child, a girl. It’s been a challenging pregnancy, one that has forced Kelly to stay at home while her husband competed around the world in LIV’s global schedule. Playing four consecutive weeks in four different European countries in July – LIV Golf tournaments in Spain and England, the Open Championship in Scotland and the Olympics in France – was particularly testing.

On the course, Rahm seemed to adjust quickly to his new “Golf But Louder” environment that includes music across the course and shotgun starts. In the season opener in Mayakoba, he had a share of the lead with two holes left to play … and then finished bogey-bogey to miss a playoff that was won by Joaquin Niemann, who would eventually become his toughest foe this season.

Rahm was happy that Legion XIII won the team title in Mexico but disappointed in his own inability to sweep both trophies. “Absolutely ruined completely,” Rahm said of his finish.

He knew the weight of expectations was heavy on him this season, especially after a 2023 year in which he won four times, including the Masters. But while he kept piling up top-10 results in LIV Golf, he struggled to get over the line. Then in the year’s first two majors, including his Masters defense, he was a non-factor. Critics used it to take swipes at his decision to join golf’s game-changing league, ignoring the consistent performances that would be praised anywhere else.

In May, he made a crucial equipment switch, changing his driver shaft from Aldila to Fujikura Ventus Black 7X. Just like fellow LIV Golf captain Bryson DeChambeau, who a year earlier gained a confidence boost when he opted for a new Krank driver, Rahm felt the immediate benefits after his adjustment. He said the new shafts worked better with his current swing speed, that it allowed him to make a more natural swing and was easier to hit his patented fade. He called it a “before-and-after” moment.

But just when things started looking up, Rahm suffered a foot infection at LIV Golf Houston, forcing him to withdraw in the second round. He hoped to play the next week at the U.S. Open and even participated in an onsite press conference at Pinehurst. A few hours later, the decision was made to withdraw. He watched from his home as DeChambeau won his second major.

For every step forward, there seemed to be a step back. No wonder when Rahm was asked to reflect on his season, he replied: “I wouldn’t say bumpy road but definitely windy.”

But in the second half of the season, the road began to straighten out in his favor.

He returned from his foot infection in Nashville and was immediately competitive, finishing tied for third behind Hatton. He remained positive after a tie for 10th behind winner Sergio Garcia in their home country at Andalucía; Rahm put pressure on himself with his final 6-foot par putt to keep his top-10 streak alive. He then built on it with a tie for seventh at the Open, his best result in his three major starts this year.

The next week at LIV Golf UK by JCB, he broke through with his first league win, outdueling Niemann, Hatton and Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith. His celebration in England came with a dose of relief.

Then there were the last two regular-season events – a playoff loss to Brooks Koepka at Greenbrier that moved Rahm to the top of the points standings for the first time this season, followed by his clutch performance in Chicago. He made just one bogey in 54 holes – and none on the weekend – to hold off Niemann and leave no doubt about his status as one of golf’s top two players.

Not that anybody should be surprised. Asked to describe Rahm’s first season in LIV Golf, Garcia said: “Expected. I mean, he's that good. You knew that he was going to be there, and as soon as he felt a little bit comfortable, you knew that he was capable of doing things like that. It didn't surprise me. He's just that good of a player.”

The Individual Championship trophy he raised Sunday at Bolingbrook proves it. His two wins in the last two months prove it. The unprecedented string of top-10 finishes he had in every completed LIV Golf tournament this season – 12 total – proves it, as do the six podium results.

Certainly, the ring he thrust in the air to an adoring Chicago crowd during his podium celebration proves it, even if he had to clutch it tightly with his fist for fear of it slipping off.

Not everything was picture-perfect this season, but when it mattered most, Jon Rahm found a way to get the job done. That’s the true nature of a champion – and if he ever needs a reminder, he can just scan the QR code inside his ring to watch the video clip.