LIV Has Its Best Sunday Yet originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
GAINESVILLE, Va. — It might have been the best leaderboard in golf this year, sans majors.
It had major winners, some nostalgia, and maybe the hottest golfer on the planet after Scottie Scheffler.
And it was in the final round of LIV Golf Virginia.
The star for the fourth time in eight LIV events was Joaquin Niemann from Chile.
Shooting an 8-under 63 in the final round, the 26-year-old is proving he is the real deal with wins in 2025 in Adelaide, Australia; Singapore; Mexico City; and now Virginia.
In those wins, Niemann was a combined 61-under with a final-round scoring average of 6.75-under.
It’s a game that is not in question when playing in LIV events, but it has yet to show itself beyond the LIV walls, which could be a valuable part of LIV Golf in the future.
While Niemann is still striving for a major title, that is not true for Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer.
Oodles of majors among them, and they were all on the leaderboard on Sunday with a legitimate chance to win.
And they are performed admirably, never giving it away, but just not having the horsepower on a day when two weather delays could be pointed to as a factor for some.
In the end, McDowell, who has made it clear recently that the LIV limited schedule of 14 events may not have done his game any good, looked the McDowell of old.
He finished one back of Niemann and tied with Anirban Lahiri of India for second place, a career LIV Golf finish for the Ulsterman.
“I’m happy with the fight. It was tough to keep the momentum going with the breaks,” the 45-year-old McDowell said of Sunday’s final round. “I just asked Joaco’s caddie what they did in the second break because whatever they did was good.”
Oddly, the second and longer weather delay may have been the hardest for the players, but Niemann used the French Open as a motivator.
“I feel like I got some inspiration from Carlos Alcaraz, to be honest,” Niemann said. “I was watching his game, and it was pretty good to see that he was three match points away from losing the match, and being able to bring that back into the match and being able to win, it was pretty cool. I felt like I was able to sit down in the locker room by myself, was Mito there, and my brother, so I was just chilling there in the locker room and watching Carlos Alcaraz.”
You could see what LIV can be for the first time, but it’s taken over three years for that to happen.
It could be a new phase, or it could be an aberration; only time will tell.
Related: Phil Mickelson Makes Strong Statement on Retirement From LIV Golf
Related: LIV Golf Viewership Numbers Up but Far Behind PGA Tour
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Read the full article here
