Rd. 3 News and Notes: Best finish for Bubba, Surratt

ROCESTER, England – Joaquin Niemann closed out his fifth individual victory of the 2025 LIV Golf League season, while Legion XIII took home their fourth team title of the year at LIV Golf UK by JCB, but there were plenty more news, notes and stats from a wild final round at JCB Golf & Country Club.

Related: Leaderboard | Round 3 recap | Full Round 3 highlights

LIV GOLF UK BY JCB ROUND 3 NOTES

BEST RESULTS FOR WATSON, SURRATT

Bubba Watson is 46 years old and has two major wins. Caleb Surratt is 21 years old and still looking for his first professional win. They’re on opposite sides of the career spectrum but shared a similar result in Sunday’s final round at LIV Golf UK by JCB, as each player shot a 6-under 65 to post their best results since joining the league.

Watson finished solo second thanks to his sizzling six-hole stretch of 8 under that included two eagles after hitting driver off the deck. It’s the high point of his return from knee surgery that kept him out of the 2022 season, followed by a lengthy rehab process.

“We knew it was a long process, but I always challenged myself to do it so my kids can see me fight through an injury and recovery and then try to play good golf,” the RangeGoats GC captain said. “It's taken a little bit longer than I wanted to, but it's nice seeing this year pay off and the hard work pay off.”

Surratt jumped to LIV Golf in the middle of his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee, eager to join Jon Rahm’s expansion Legion XIII team. He’s contributed several key moments to the team, but this week at JCB Golf & Country Club was his biggest individual highlight. Not only was he solo third, but he led the team in scoring for the first time.

“Hopefully just a good step forward in the right direction,” Surratt said.

“He’s a phenomenal player,” added Rahm. “He might have some inexperience, but he has the world ahead of him and whole career ahead of him. It’s expected for somebody like him to maybe have a couple of rough weeks, but he’s played really good golf, and I hope this is the confidence booster he needs to take it to another level.”

DRIVERS OFF THE DECK

Bubba Watson eagled the par-5 10th and 13th holes thanks to drivers off the deck with his second shots that found the greens.

On his shot at the 10th that was 300-plus yards from the pin: “I was just trying to get it over there where I could chip down to the bowl, right? I was like, man, that might have hit the downslope and about that time, 30-40 seconds later, everybody starts cheering. I was like, must have hit the downslope.”

On his shot at the 13th: “A different shot. I was trying to fit that in there, but I don’t go to the range and practice them. I never practice those until we’re playing practice rounds, and I need that shot.”

The eagles were part of a six-hole stretch that also included four birdies. “Birdieing that many holes in a row is one thing,” Watson said. “Doing it with a couple eagles in there was pretty crazy.”

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

With two regular-season tournaments left, the season-long Individual Championship is now down to three players – Joaquin Niemann, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. With 40 points for each individual tournament win, no other players are within 80 points of Niemann going into the final two tournaments of the regular season.

ANOTHER STRONG FINISH FOR GOOCH

Smash GC’s Talor Gooch followed his LIV Golf Andalucía victory with a solo fourth after consecutive rounds of 5-under 66 on the weekend left him at 11 under. He’s now fourth in the individual standings and has a chance to move into a bonus-paying top-three position.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to catch Joaco, but we just gave another good crack at it,” Gooch said. “Hopefully we’re still within shooting distance and we can have another two good tournaments coming up.”

Gooch won the 2023 Individual Championship in a season in which he won three times and held the points lead for the majority of the season. That’s allowed him a unique perspective on Niemann’s five-win season.

“You just try to bottle it up and make it last for as long as you can,” he said. “He’s obviously a phenomenal player and I don’t foresee him slowing down anytime soon. You enjoy it. You don’t take good golf for granted When it’s easy, it’s a fun game.”

LEGION XIII’S SUCCESS RATE

As LIV Golf’s first expansion team, Legion XIII has made 24 regular season starts since joining the league prior to the 2024 season. They’ve won eight times – a phenomenal 33.3% success rate.

Certainly having Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton as arguably the league’s best 1-2 punch is one thing, but the maturation of Caleb Surratt and the offseason addition of Northern Ireland phenom Tom McKibbin has made the roster even more potent as the league adjusted its format to count all four player scores in every round this season.

“The rule change of all four scores counting, I thought, was going to be beneficial for us,” Rahm said.

Added Hatton: “Certainly this year we have a very strong team and obviously it’s nice that Caleb has been playing better this season. The result this week is great for him to grow in his confidence and prove to himself that he’s good enough. He just needs to trust himself more.”

NIEMANN’S CHANGES

Joaquin Niemann started the week making some significant changes to his support team, including a caddie switch. But he said that his victory Sunday shouldn’t be construed as a justification for his staff adjustments.

“Because I played good this week, it doesn't mean that it was because of the decision that I took,” he said. “I feel like I'm trying to get better every week, and I feel like I don't have to justify anything, any decision that I make. I feel like every decision is the right decision.”

BIG DAY FOR BALLESTER

Fireballs GC’s newest addition, Josele Ballester, shot a final-round 6-under 65 to tie for seventh at 9 under. It’s the rising Spanish star’s best result in his four starts since joining the league as a mid-season replacement for Luis Masaveu. It was Ballester’s first point-scoring finish of the season, moving him up to 42nd in the standings.

STINGER ON PODIUM

On Saturday, LIV Golf announced it will play in South Africa in 2026 – the first time the league will have an event on the African continent. On Sunday, the all-South African Stinger GC produced the lowest team score of the day, shooting a collective 17 under to move into third place. It’s the first podium result in the last eight tournaments for Stinger.

ENGLISHMEN UPDATE

Six English-born players were playing at home this week. Here’s how they fared Sunday:

Paul Casey, Crushers GC – Shot an even-par 71 to finish at 7 under and tied for 11th.

Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII – Shot a 70 to finish at 5 under and tie for 21st.

Richard Bland, Cleeks Golf Club – Shot a 68 to finish at 3 under and tie for 29th.

Lee Westwood, Majesticks GC – Shot a 3-over 74 to finish at 1 under and tie for 37th.

Sam Horsfield, Majesticks – Shot a 2-under 69 to finish at 1 under and tie for 37th.

Ian Poulter, Majesticks – Shot a 1-over 72 to finish at 1 over and tie for 42nd.

LIV GOLF UK BY JCB ROUND 3 STATS LEADERS

Driving accuracy: Sebastián Muñoz, Abraham Ancer, 85.71% (12 of 14 fairways hit)

Driving distance average (for measured holes 8 and 10): Joaquin Niemann, 321.1 yards avg.

Longest drive (among measured holes 8 and 10): Dustin Johnson, 350.0 yards, 8th hole

Greens in regulation: Bryson DeChambeau, Sam Horsfield, Kevin Na, 83.33% (15 of 18 greens)

Scrambling: Josele Ballester (6 of 6), Louis Oosthuizen (6 of 6), Talor Gooch (5 of 5), Caleb Surratt (4 of 4), Yubin Jang (4 of 4), Kevin Na (3 of 3), 100%

Putting: Jon Rahm, 1.17 putts per hole

Bogey-free rounds: Caleb Surratt (65), Josele Ballester (65), Louis Oosthuizen (66), Kevin Na (66), Talor Gooch (66), Yubin Jang (67)