A laser light show seen over the 18th green at LIV Golf Riyadh

LIV Golf – Inside the 2025 Season

Name: Golf Escapes
Rating: 4

LIV Golf – Inside the 2025 Season

After a hugely dramatic finish at LIV Golf Chicago, fans were treated to two nail-biting play offs. Firstly, for the individual title, South African Dean Burmester fought off the two Spaniards, Jon Rahm and Josele Ballester, with a birdie on the first play-off hole to clinch the title and a $4million dollar payday.

Jon Rahm teeing off at LIV Golf Hong Kong

The drama didn’t stop there……

……when the team event went into an unlikely second play-off of the day. But thanks to back-to-back birdies from Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel in the play-off, Stinger GC were crowned Team Champions capping-off their first victory of the 2025 season.

With just one regular-season event remaining before the LIV Golf Team Championship, the race for both the individual and team titles are wide open. Can Niemann close out his dominant campaign, or could Rahm spoil the party and win the individual title for the second year on the bounce?

LIV Golf Explained

For those new to LIV Golf, here’s a quick bitesize guide to LIV Golf and how the format differs from traditional tours like the PGA tour.

The LIV Golf schedule 2025 features 14 events in the season, blending both team and individual competitions. Firstly, there are 54 holes per event, which is where the name comes from (LIV being the Roman numerals for 54).

Dom Dolla performing at LIV Golf Adelaide.

The events consist of 48-man fields with no cuts…..

…..and so all players who are in the starting line up, play all three days. There are also shotgun starts, when all players are on the course at the same time, keeping the action fast-paced and spectator friendly.

Designed for modern audiences, the format encourages maximum engagement with fan zones, music and entertainment at each venue, and this, coupled with the worldwide schedule, promotes its intended expansion of the game.

Season Review – What’s happened so far?

Joaquin Niemann has been dominant this season, having won 5 events of the 12 played this season and is currently in pole position to be crowned the individual winner of the LIV Golf 2025 season, and the $18 million prize fund that comes with that. The only man standing in his way is the ever-consistent Jon Rahm, who has finished in the top 10 in 11 of the 12 events.

Niemann celebrating following his victory at LIV Golf UK

Notable performances

A notable mention should go out to another impressive year for the big hitting Bryson DeChambeau, who currently sits in third position, after numerous strong finishes including a victory in Korea. Other standout performances include a debut LIV Golf victory for 4AcesGC team member Patrick Reed, who took the LIV Golf Dallas trophy earlier this year.

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after his win at LIV Golf Korea

Underperformers and Relegation Risks

In terms of biggest flops of this LIV season, there are a few notable names that face the possibility of relegation from the league. European Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter currently sits 52nd, 3 places below the drop zone. Furthermore, Ryder Cup veterans Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson are also in danger of the drop zone, with both players needing a strong final week to avoid relegation.

Martin Kaymer and caddie walk 10th hole at LIV Golf Hong Kong

It has also been a disappointing season……

……for team captains Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson who have lacked consistency, finding themselves outside the “Lock Zone” of the guaranteed contract extensions that the top 24 receive following the season’s conclusion.

Team Race

As we move on to the Team Championship, the majority of the victories have been shared between Legion XIII, Crushers GC and Fireballs GC. The Legion XIII, captained by Jon Rahm have had a hugely consistent season, with two victories in the last three weeks putting them top of the pile at this stage.

Legion XIII celebrating thier vicotry on the stage at LIV Golf Riyadh

The Crushers aren’t far behind……..

……with influential captain Bryson DeChambeau leading them to 3 victories so far this season. The Fireballs GC complete the current podium after their impressive start to the campaign, winning 3 early season events on the bounce at Adelaide, Hong Kong and Singapore. This means that the race is far from over as we head into the final two events of the season.

The Road to the Finale

So where does this leave us? Well, the final event of the regular season begins this Friday, at the racing capital of the world – Indianapolis – and there is plenty at stake here in the Individual Championship. In terms of the end of season title, it realistically comes down to two men, Niemann and Rahm. Niemann leads the LIV Golf standings on 208 points, while Rahm just sits 12 points back on 196.

Jon Rahm walking down the 18th at LIV Golf Andalucia

To add context to how the points system works……

…..1st place currently gets 40 points, with second place getting 30 and third place getting 24. From there, the points go down gradually, from fourth getting 18 down to twenty-first place getting 1 point. Therefore, if Rahm has a strong week, and Niemann falters, we could see a potential overthrow at the top of the leader board. All is to play for.

Following the final regular season event, all heads will turn to the final event of the year, the Team Championship, held at Michigan this year. The format has changed this year, to spark even more drama. The season finale format switches to match play, whereby the championship is decided through a three-stage eliminator, finishing on the Sunday with the showdown between the top 3 teams.

Prize money

With $14 million on the line for the winning team, plus $8 million for second, and $6 million for third, every match, shot and putt matters until the very end.

After a season full of twists and turns, the finale promises drama until the end. For golf fans, this is simply a must-watch.