Valderrama vibrated once again with Jon Rahm. In front of his home crowd, the Legion XIII captain carded a 65 (-6) in the final round —his best score ever at Valderrama— to climb into second place individually (-7) and spearhead the comeback that delivered his team the victory at LIV Golf Andalucía. The individual title went to Talor Gooch (-8).
Rahm started the day six shots back and produced a bogey-free round, accelerating down the stretch to put the tournament on edge. The pivotal moment came at 14, when the Spaniard’s birdie coincided with a bogey from Gooch to leave them tied at -6. The American answered immediately and, although both birdied 17, Rahm needed one more at 18 to force a playoff. A conservative tee shot left him saving par with a 4.7-meter (about 15-foot) putt, triggering a roar around Valderrama. “It’s a shame it wasn’t for birdie,” he smiled afterward.
The Basque player’s week —71-70-65— underlined the dominant feeling of Sunday. “It was one of the best rounds I’ve played in a long time,” he said, satisfied with his execution on a course that demands precision and punishes even the smallest mistake.
Team title for Legion XIII
The full reward came in the team standings. Legion XIII (Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin and Caleb Surratt) posted the best score of the day (-12) to overturn a five-shot deficit and capture their third title of the season (seventh since the team’s creation), by two over Fireballs GC. Counting scores were Rahm’s 65, a 66 from McKibbin, 70 from Surratt —-5 on the back nine with three closing birdies— and 71 from Hatton, capped with a birdie. In 2025, all four scores count in each team round, a change that underscores the value of roster depth.
Valderrama, home energy and context
Legion XIII’s triumph extended the Spanish celebration at Valderrama after Sergio García’s individual title in 2024. This time, Rahm came within a whisker of the double; Gooch held firm with a final-round 70 to seal his second win in three visits to the iconic San Roque layout.