Winless Champion Jon Rahm Speaks Out on LIV Golf Format Revamp and Points System

Jon Rahm has openly supported the idea of changing the LIV Golf points system, which potentially prevented him from winning last season's LIV Golf Individual Championship. The Spanish Golfer did finish atop the Individual Standings for two consecutive seasons in 2025, but interestingly, he achieved this without a single tournament victory.

This situation sparked serious debate within LIV Golf. The reason is that Rahm's closest competitor, Joaquin Niemann, performed far more explosively. The Chilean golfer recorded five tournament wins throughout the season, in Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico City, Virginia, and Great Britain. Despite this, Niemann still failed to secure the overall individual championship title.

Rahm's success in winning the individual title rested on an almost perfect level of consistency. From 13 appearances on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit, he only failed to finish inside the top ten once. Bryson DeChambeau also had to settle for third place in the final Standings.

Consistency is Key, But Questioned

However, this anomaly has prompted criticism of the LIV Golf points system. Many parties believe tournament victories should carry greater weight than merely consistent high finishes. Rahm himself did not dismiss this notion and admitted that his latest title feels somewhat incomplete.

"I will say that winning the individual championship without a tournament win doesn't have the same weight as last year, especially seeing Joaquin who won five times," Rahm said on the Subpar podcast.

"You could make the argument that he probably deserved it more. But I'm not responsible for the points system," he added.

Push for Points System Change

Rahm also welcomed the possibility of LIV Golf revising its scoring system to assign a higher value to tournament victories.

"I hope so. I know I was more consistent, but if someone wins over a third of the tournaments, they should probably come out as Champion, even if I finished second every week, which also didn't happen," explained the 31-year-old golfer.

He felt Niemann lost the title due to "a couple of bad weeks", but still believes regulation changes will be implemented soon.

"The feeling is mixed, but I think they will change it," Rahm said.

LIV Golf Moving Towards a More Traditional Format

Rahm also spoke about the planned transition of the tournament format from 54 holes to 72 holes, a move touted from the start as an effort to bring LIV Golf closer to traditional golf tour standards.

According to Rahm, this change will actually benefit elite players. He believes the longer format provides room for true quality to shine through consistently and fairly in the race for titles.

Additionally, LIV Golf is reportedly increasing the number of relegated players to 11 this season, up from six players the previous year. Big names like Anthony Kim and Henrik Stenson were among those eliminated last season.

This move is seen as an important strategy to strengthen the competition's legitimacy, including LIV Golf's efforts to gain recognition within the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system, which has so far kept its doors closed to the tour. The number of tournament participants is also planned to increase from 54 to 57 golfers.