Joaquin Niemann is absolutely bossing this year’s LIV Golf campaign. The elegant Chilean has now won three of the six individual events this year, winning by three strokes at last week’s inaugural LIV Golf Mexico City event.
2025 LIV Golf Series
LIV Golf Korea
Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, Korea
2nd-4th May
It was a significant victory, meaning that Niemann has qualified for this year’s US Open via the LIV Golf exemption process. Elsewhere, Jon Rahm continued his impressive- if frustrating- consistency with a solo 4th (a player of his quality should be winning more golf tournaments). The tour will be making another inaugural stop this week, heading to Korea for the first time since the tour’s inception (Korea will now be the 10th country to host a LIV Golf event). This week will make the halfway point of the LIV season (and the last LIV event prior to the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow).
Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Korea earns an unique distinction this week, becoming the first course to host both a LIV Golf event and the President’s Cup (it hosted the 2015 edition of golf’s 2nd most popular biennial team event). Measuring nearly 7,500 yards, Jack Nickalus Golf Club is widely regarded as one of the best golf courses in Asia. This stunning course hugs the west coast and can be susceptible to low-scoring (especially if the wind is tame). This is a tactical golf course with water in play on half the holes. This is a course- in true LIV fashion- that offers a smorgasbord of risk-reward holes. This course calls for elite ball-striking. The greens are bentgrass and will respond to pinpoint approach play (Guntaek Go shot a course record 62 here back in 2021). Something tells me that record in under serious threat this week.
Joaquin Niemann is an obvious favourite this week. He is striking the ball as well as anyone in the world and this course should play to his tee-to-green strengths (the Chilean just needs to learn to translate that form into success in Major Championship golf). Bryson suffered a bout of Masters deja vu last week, posting a disappointing 71 in his final round to finish three shots back of Niemann. It will have been a disappointing blow for DeChambeau (who hasn’t won in LIV in two years). Jon Rahm- who looks perpetually depressed- produced another top ten display. Not to belabour the point, but he really needs to translate some of these top ten finishes into victories (especially with a Major Championship around the corner). Elsewhere, the likes of Cameron Smith and Patrick Reed seem to regaining some of their Major Championship winning form.
Past Winners
n/a
Betting Favourites (To Win): Joaquin Niemann (6/1), Jon Rahm (13/2), Bryson DeChambeau (13/2), Tyrell Hatton (9/1), Patrick Reed (16/1)
Value Bet
Branden Grace- To Win (140/1)
This is a bold outside bet. The South African was relegated from last year’s LIV Golf series (injury compounded his loss of form). He has shown some decent form in recent months and he could be an interesting dark horse this week. He was 2nd at LIV Golf Promotions in December, T6 at the Saudi International and T4 at the SA Open. But there is another reason I’m drawn towards Grace this week: he went 5/5 during the 2015 President’s Cup (a rare feat against the American juggernaut).
The Man to Beat- Jon Rahm- To Win (13/2)
Surely Rahm must win eventually. The 2024 LIV Golf individual champion has been a bastion of consistency this year, recording three consecutive top six finishes in LIV (including three top 5’s). He disappointed at Augusta but still managed to snag a T14 finish. He has actually been sub-par with his usually reliable irons of late (he is -.20 strokes gained across the last two events). To put that into context, he gained an average of 0.75 strokes gained on approach in his final eight events last year. He could be unbeatable if he just gets that approach play back to it’s usual efficiency.
