Robert TheodorsonThis is the second part review of the 2025 LIV Golf Season. The first part of our review can be found here: What LIV Golf got right, and what they got wrong, for the 2025 season.
Most Valuable Player – Joaquin Niemann
Five Individual Wins – Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico, Virginia, UK
I’ll concede that when considering all golf in 2025, Jon Rahm was the superior golfer as evidenced by some masterful performances in the majors.
However, concerning LIV Golf tournaments alone, five-time champion Joaquin Niemann was simply the best amongst the field throughout the entire season.
Winning five out of thirteen tournaments is probably something that will never be done again unless Scottie Scheffler joins the league. His streak of winning every other tournament for the first eight tournaments was pure domination and something unlikely to be replicated as the league becomes more competitive.
All eyes will be on Niemann once again in 2026, but not for reasons one may think.
The Torque captain will be judged on his performances in the major championships, justly or not.
Best Overall Team – Legion XIII
Four Team Wins – Riyadh, Mexico, Andalucia, UK; Four Podium Finishes – Adelaide, Singapore, Dallas, Indianapolis; Winners of the 2025 Team Championship
Four wins and four additional podium finishes had Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII on top even before the team championship in Michigan.
While second and third place Crushers and Fireballs were separated by exactly one point, Legion XIII was exactly 62.66 points better than Bryson’s Crushers.
Simply put, Legion XIII was in a league of their own the entire season. Should the team stick together throughout the next few years, there’s little reason Legion XIII can’t be LIV’s first dynasty.
Rookie of the Year – Tom McKibbin
Finished 20th Overall; Four Top 10 Finishes – Adelaide, Hong Kong, Dallas, Andalucia
A big part of Legion XIII’s success is due in part to LIV’s newest arrival in Tom McKibbin.
Finishing his first season in 20th place, which included four Top 10 finishes, McKibbin repaid captain Jon Rahm when the latter took a chance on the youngster. Instead of adding another veteran presence, Rahm banked on two of LIV’s youngest (the other being Surratt) to lead Legion XIII to glory, and so the foursome did time and time again.
McKibbin also had what would be considered a successful outing at the 2025 PGA Championship. Making the cut and coming in T50, beating out a number of veteran golfers to include several former champions.
Comeback Player of The Year – Bubba Watson
Finished 11th Overall; Four Top 10 Finishes – Mexico, Virginia, UK, Indianapolis
An easy and somewhat obvious choice, from being “relegated” out of the league last season and considering retirement to 11th place at the end of the year, Watson showed that great players can have bounce-back seasons.
Watson also went from being a complete detriment to his team, dragging them down constantly in 2024 to being by far and away the best RangeGoats of 2025 (Ben Campbell finished 26th).
Turning 47 this November, it will be interesting to see if Watson invests in his team to build a winner. Once a detriment to his team, adding a top talent to play alongside him could boost the RangeGoats back to prominence.
Most Improved Team – Fireballs
Three Straight Wins – Adelaide, Hong Kong, Singapore; Three Podium Finishes – Andalucia, Chicago, Indianapolis
Improving from one team win in 2024 to three straight wins in 2025 was the biggest team accomplishment of the season.
Although there was a lull after the trifecta, Sergio’s Fireballs finished the season strong with two podium finishes to wrap up the season.
Credit is due to Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces that went from a single podium finish in 2024 to an astonishing six in 2025, but Sergio’s trifecta takes the cake here.
Best Golfer U25 – David Puig
Finished 10th Overall; Four Top 10 Finishes – Riyadh, Adelaide, Singapore, Indianapolis
Securing 10th place in the final standings despite missing LIV Virginia is something to behold.
Though he never saw the podium, Puig was a huge reason for the Fireballs’ mid-season success and coming in 4th place himself three times was an incredible accomplishment.
Puig looks like he will be a winner sooner than later and should keep up with other leagues in the offseason to qualify for major championships. The youngster has a real shot to be a force for years to come.
Best Team Builder – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers
Three Straight Team Wins – Korea, Virginia, Dallas; One Podium Finish – Miami; Finished 2nd in Team Championship
Sticking to his guns, DeChambeau brought back all three teammates back for a third consecutive season, resulting in a 3rd place finish at the end of LIV Indianapolis.
Had Anirban Lahiri kept one and a half points, all four members of the Crushers would have finished in The Lock Zone, and would have been the only team to do so.
Three straight wins in Korea, Virginia, and Dallas reminded us of how perfectly the team gels together and what they’re capable of.
Best Tournament (In-Person) – LIV Adelaide
Crowds That Break Their Own Records
The crowds at LIV Adelaide have essentially ensured that as long as LIV is alive, a tournament will be held in Adelaide. The Aussie fans down under love their golf, and they’ve made sure to support their annual tournament to the best of their ability.
The field seems to enjoy the atmosphere as well as everyone is able to relax a bit, get loud, and let loose, something the founders of LIV tried to instil into the league from day one.
Best Tournament (For Television) – LIV Jeddah
Professional Golf After Dark
While I enjoy the backdrop of Trump National Doral and Club Real Valderrama, there was something special about the season opener being played at night.
Everyone was correct to be sceptical; nobody knew how such a thing could possibly work, but it did, and we were treated to a fun, competitive tournament that served as the best season opener to date.
Best Player to Not Win a Tournament – Carlos Ortiz
Finished 8th Overall; Finished T4 at U.S. Open Oakmont
The Top 5 finish at Oakmont puts Ortiz over Puig here, who would have likely eclipsed Ortiz had he not missed LIV Virginia. Ortiz had an incredible season and earned himself an automatic bid to the 2026 U.S. Open thanks to his masterful 3-over par performance on what many consider to be the most difficult course in America.
Most Impressive Win (Individual) – Joaquin Niemann, LIV Virginia
Bad Start? Brush it Off and Win
This was the “comeback” game for Niemann. Starting the tournament with double-bogey and bogey on 1 & 2 on Friday, it looked like an uncharacteristic early exit for Niemann. Seven birdies to end the round put the Torque captain back in the mix.
Then the field pulled away from Niemann on Saturday, and it looked like Joaco could just manage a respectable Top 25 finish.
Come Sunday, fans were treated to one of the best performances of the year. Niemann’s 63 by way of eight birdies and zero mistakes was good enough to crush a number of worthy competitors with scores in the double digits, but none could be quite as good as Niemann.
Most Impressive Win (Team) – Torque, LIV Indianapolis
Scoring at an Incredible Pace
Finishing the weekend with a total score of 64-under par and beating second-place Legion XIII by ten strokes was something we may never see again in the LIV Golf League.
Although it was a tournament that will go in the record books, it’s unfortunate that it was also the tournament that crowned Jon Rahm the individual champion over five-time winner Joaquin Niemann.
LIV Indianapolis also featured Sebastian Munoz carding a 59 on the opening round and an unprecedented three members of Torque (Munoz, Ortiz, Niemann) finishing in the Top 5.
Most Exciting Moment – Bryson Starts Sunday with Rory
The Most Exciting Moment Was Also The Most Disappointing
For a little less than an hour, it seemed that Bryson DeChambeau was going to win the first major of the year and don the illustrious green jacket.
After all, he was playing against Rory McIlroy, the man who couldn’t win at Augusta to save his life and choked away the 2024 U.S. Open, which DeChambeau closed out in dramatic style.
While the morning will soon be lost to history because of a surprise playoff with Justin Rose and the ultimate storybook ending, there was a decent amount of time where we were convinced this was Bryson’s year.
Fortunately, the result gives us something to watch and hope for this upcoming Spring.
