secures

LIV Golf New York final leaderboard

-16 J Niemann (Chi); -13 H Varner III (US); -9 L Westwood (Eng), S Vincent (Zim)

Selected others: -6 P Casey (Eng), T McKibbin (NI); -3 L Canter (Eng); +1 R Bland (Eng)

Full leaderboard

Joaquin Niemann led throughout to win the LIV Golf New York event on Sunday, while Jon Rahm secured his third straight season title.

Niemann fired a two-under 69 to finish on 16-under after 72 holes at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey.

That meant the Chilean won by three strokes from American Harold Varner III and the 27-year-old met US President Donald Trump after extending his record for LIV wins to nine.

“I feel like the more they push me, the better golfer I’m going to become from every experience,” said Niemann.

England’s Lee Westwood and Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe were both seven off the pace in a share for third place.

Rahm finished tied for 41st after closing with a round of 76 but the Spaniard has clinched the season title.

The world number 13 has an unassailable 219-point lead over American Bryson DeChambeau heading into the final individual event of the season at Indianapolis in two weeks.

The 31-year-old won last year’s season title despite not winning a single event, but this year has two wins from 12 so far – in Hong Kong and Mexico – and has also had four runner-up finishes.

“It has been a great year,” he said. “A little sour taste in my mouth because of how badly I played this week but it has been something to be proud of.

“After last year, not getting a win and possibly having a question mark over the season-long race, to win twice and win it again definitely feels good.”

The LIV season concludes with the team championship in Michigan from 27-30 August.

The competition will reduce to 10 events from next season, with five in the United States and five held around the world.

There were 14 events planned for the 2026 season but in April, LIV postponed June’s New Orleans competition amid questions over its future and has not announced a rescheduled date.

O’Neil said LIV is focused on “delivering a great week for fans and players at Bedminster” in New York, starting on Sunday and “finishing the 2026 season strong” – but made no explicit mention of the final two events scheduled this season, in Indianapolis from 23 August and the concluding team championship in Michigan from 30 August.

Major winners including Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Martin Kaymer and Sergio Garcia remain part of the LIV roster after having left the PGA Tour.

American major champions Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed rejoined the PGA Tour after it introduced a returning member programme.

In July, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour struck an alliance with the Asian Tour in another blow to LIV Golf.

O’Neil added: “We’re also seeing strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties to potentially serve as minority investors, creating a multi-partner model built for long-term stability and growth.”

LIV was founded in 2021 and launched the following year with 54-hole events and took its name from the Roman numeral for 54.

However, it moved to the tradition 72-hole format for golf tournaments from this season.

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Genesis Scottish Open final round

-17 T Kim (Kor); -15 MW Lee (Aus); -13 R MacIntyre (Sco), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), J Keefer (US), K Nakajima (Jpn); -12 M Thorbjornsen (US), R McIlroy (NI); -11 SW Kim (Kor), V Perez (Fra)

Selected others: -9 T Fleetwood (Eng), V Hovland (Nor); -4 J Rahm (Spa), -2 J Thomas (US)

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Tom Kim’s drought is over. The South Korean shed tears of joy and relief after excelling on a compelling final day at the Genesis Scottish Open to claim his first title in three years.

Kim has endured a form and confidence crisis since his previous victory – as well as plummeting down the world rankings – but served a reminder of his talents with a faultless 64 to finish 17 under at the Renaissance Club.

The 24-year-old has sought counsel from Tiger Woods during the dark times and revealed the 15-time major winner was among the first to congratulate him on this long-awaited victory.

He triumphed by two shots, with Min Woo Lee the runner-up as crowd favourite Bob MacIntyre faltered in pursuit of a second home title, ending four adrift alongside Matt Fitzpatrick.

MacIntyre, Lee and Fitzpatrick had shared the lead after the fog-disrupted third round, but it was Kim who surged from one back for a brilliant win. He was the only player in the field to avoid a bogey in the fourth round.

“I can’t really wrap my mind over it,” said an emotional Kim of his win. “It’s really special and I’m just at a loss for words.

“Obviously I’ve had a tough couple years. I got to taste a lot of that humble pie and I got to really learn about myself and I’m still trying to grow, still trying to learn.

“I’m definitely appreciating this more now than I did a couple years ago, which is really cool. I thought about my family, all the people around my corner that have suffered with me and also celebrated with me and kind of remembering all those people really brought tears to my eyes.

“Obviously on TGL being on Tiger’s team, I’ve been able to ask him questions on certain things. He’s been really helpful a lot of the time. This was my first win in three years, and the first person that texted me was Tiger Woods. Shows you the person he is and how much he cares.”

As well as a winner’s prize of £1.2m, Kim secures a place in next year’s Masters at Augusta National.

Rory McIlroy’s third-round 73 left the world number two with too big a deficit to overcome despite matching Kim’s closing six-under 64, the lowest score of the day.

Americans Michael Thorbjornsen and Johny Keefer, who tied for seventh and third respectively, will make their Open Championship debuts next week, while the other spot at Royal Birkdale goes to Frenchman Victor Perez.