Getty Jon Rahm ahead of his first round at the 2024 LIV Golf Invitational - Mayakoba.
At this time a year ago, Jon Rahm had already appeared in three PGA Tour events and won two of them, taking titles at what was then called the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the American Express.
Rahm, of course, didn’t defend his title at either event as the reigning Masters champion announced on December 7 that he had joined LIV Golf, confirming rumors that had been swirling since the Ryder Cup. Details of his deal weren’t released, but it’s believed his contract will pay him somewhere between $300-600 million, depending on the report.
As the PGA Tour and LIV Golf failed to reach a partnership agreement before their December 31 deadline, although negotiations are still ongoing, Rahm is unable to appear in any PGA Tour event and was subsequently suspended after defecting to the Saudi-backed circuit.
With a much more relaxed schedule with LIV, Rahm finally made his highly anticipated season debut on February 2 at the LIV Golf Invitational-Mayakoba at El Camaleon Golf Course, which was designed by none other than LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman.
And the world’s third-ranked player didn’t disappoint, firing a 5-under round of 66, putting him in a tie for fourth after the first 18 holes of the 54-hole event. He’ll enter Friday’s second round seven strokes behind leader Joaquin Niemann, who shot a blistering 12-under 59.
Jon Rahm Sits Tied For 5th Following His LIV Golf Debut
While each LIV Golf tourney features a shotgun start, Rahm took the normal route at El Camaleon as he began his day on the 438-yard, par-4 first hole, quickly getting to red figures with a birdie three.
After a par at the second, Rahm birdied the next three holes and added another at the 554-yard, par-5 seventh.
Hot start with the putter for @JonRahmOfficial 😮💨
He’s 3-under through 4 holes to start Round 1 👀
With pars at the eighth and ninth, the 11-time PGA Tour winner got through the first half of his first-ever LIV Golf round with a five-under 31.
Rahm cooled off on the second nine but added a sixth birdie at the 532-yard, par-5 13th, and a seventh at the 140-yard, par-3 15th.
A birdie on 15 has moved @JonRahmOfficial to -7 on the day 🤌
But he ran out of gas as his round came to a close, making his first bogey of the day at the 386-yard, par-4 17th and then another at the 489-yard, par-4 18th to finish with a 5-under round of 66.
The two-time major champ sits in a tie for fourth with Richard Bland and Laurie Canter.
A round for the LIV Golf record books 5️⃣9️⃣
@joaconiemann fires a course record 12-under during Round 1 in Mayakoba 👏
As mentioned, Niemann fired a 59 to kick off his 2024 campaign, becoming just the second player in LIV Golf history to break 60. He joins Bryson DeChambeau, who shot 58 last August at The Greenbrier.
Patrick Reed sits in second at 7-under, while Rahm’s countryman, Sergio Garcia, is in third at 6-under.
Rahm’s Legion XIII Teammates Didn’t Fare As Well
Given Rahm’s stature, he was given his own team upon joining LIV Golf, which is aptly named Legion XIII as it became the circuit’s 13th squad.
Along with Rahm, the team includes Tyrrell Hatton, 19-year-old Caleb Surratt, and Kieran Vincent, who qualified for the 2024 campaign via the LIV Golf Promotions event back in December.
But while Rahm did his part as it pertains to the team competition at El Camaleon, his teammates did not.
.@JonRahmOfficial after his #LIVGolf debut 🗣️:
Surratt played the best round of the three, shooting an even-par round of 71. Hatton and Vincent, meanwhile, each fired a 1-over 71.
As only the top three scores from each team are included in the team total in the first two rounds, Legion XIII sits at 4-under for the week and is tied for seventh with Garcia’s Fireballs GC.
Niemann’s Torque GC sits atop the LIV Golf team leaderboard at 13-under.