The 2026 LIV Golf season ended Sunday with a familiar foursome atop the team leaderboard, and a bright young star declaring his future greatness as the individual champion of LIV Golf Indianapolis.<\/p>\n
Jon Rahm\u2019s Legion XIII won its second consecutive LIV Golf Team Championship and the 12th team trophy of any kind, an impressive run of success in its three seasons as the league\u2019s first expansion team. The quartet of Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt and Tom McKibbin shot a cumulative 10 under in the final round at The Club of Chatham Hills to win by six strokes over HyFlyers GC.<\/p>\n
Rahm, the three-time season-long Individual Champion, pressed hard for the individual tournament trophy with a 7-under 63 but came up one stroke short to the HyFlyers\u2019 Michael La Sasso, who at 22 becomes the youngest winner in LIV Golf\u2019s first five seasons.<\/p>\n
Despite the pressure of being chased by major winners Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia, La Sasso was unflappable on Sunday. Entering the day with a one-shot lead, he finished with a bogey-free 65 to finish at 18 under, clinching the tournament title with a clutch up-and-down birdie at the par-5 18th.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m completely speechless,\u201d said La Sasso, the 2025 NCAA Individual Champion who turned pro to join the HyFlyers this season. \u201c\u2026 I knew coming into this week that something special might happen, and kind of shooting 1-over the first round and looking back at the leaderboard, I didn\u2019t really think I\u2019d be standing here right now. But I was able to putt it off. It\u2019s pretty unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahm was his primary pursuer, and the two were tied for a large portion of the back nine. Rahm, who started his final round on the second hole, birdied the 18th to take a one-shot lead but finished with a bogey at the par-4 first hole after missing an 11-foot par putt. That dropped him into a tie with La Sasso, giving the youngster an opening to win the tournament on the last hole.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mistake opening the door,\u201d said Rahm, the league\u2019s dominant performer since joining in 2024. \u201cMichael made a great up-and-down on 18 to win. He earned it, and as frustrating as it is for me, I\u2019m happy about all the good things I did this week to give myself a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
RELATED: CEO O\u2019Neil emphasises \u201ccomplete, not compete\u201d while discussing LIV Golf\u2019s future<\/a><\/p>\n Said La Sasso: \u201cI definitely saw the names starting to rise up on the leaderboard, especially early. I know we teed off a little bit later, so I knew I had some holes coming in to kind of shake them off a little bit. I knew as soon as I saw this last hole, I was like, this is my time to strike. It all worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n La Sasso has struggled for results this season, but his second-round 10-under 60 on Friday put him in position to make his move on the weekend. On Sunday, he played steady golf all day, hitting every green in regulation \u2013 just the fifth time that\u2019s happened for any player this season \u2013 and then finishing with three birdies in his last six holes. He\u2019s 50 days younger than former LIV Golf player Eugenio Chacarra, the previous youngest winner at age 22 at LIV Golf Bangkok in the inaugural 2022 season.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was impressive,\u201d said Majesticks Golf Club\u2019s Laurie Canter, who played with La Sasso in the final group Sunday. \u201cI knew he was a good player, but he\u2019s had no form. He\u2019s a killer, isn\u2019t he? He knows where it\u2019s going. I love it. I think it\u2019s great. I think he\u2019s going to be great for golf.\u201d<\/p>\n Legion XIII has been great for three seasons. The combination of Rahm and Hatton has been complemented by youngsters Surratt and McKibbin during their final two championship years. They started the day with a one-stroke lead, but it only took approximately 90 minutes to build the lead to 10 shots, with all four players getting off to quick starts.<\/p>\n A year ago, they won the title under the previous format of match-play and stroke play. With all stroke play for this week, Rahm wasn\u2019t surprised his team repeated as champions. \u201cGiving us four stroke-play days where all the scores count, I think it benefits us the way we play,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we\u2019re very consistent tee to green, and that plays to our advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Hatton: \u201cAs a team we\u2019ve done incredibly well. Winning last year was special. Obviously, this time around it\u2019s a little bit different, but it\u2019s nice to defend the title.\u201d<\/p>\n As for La Sasso, the future is bright. This week\u2019s tournament was just his 13th as a professional. Pressured by some of the best golfers in the world, he stood strong, unflappable, never showing any nerves.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing those names on the leaderboard, those are guys I grew up watching and admiring,\u201d La Sasso said. \u201cKnowing I was able to hold [Rahm] off, that\u2019s even more special, to be honest. I think it just kind of set the scene for it. It was a perfect day.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow Golf Digest Middle East on social media<\/p>\n