Jon Rahm won LIV Golf Chicago and the Individual Championship on Sunday, but he had plenty to say about Kieran Vincent after his relegation from the league.
Jon Rahm admits he will always be there for Kieran Vincent despite the Zimbabwean being relegated from LIV Golf following the final regular event of the season in Chicago.
Vincent, 26, finished T23 in Chicago but it was not enough to guarantee his playing privileges on the LIV Golf League for 2025.
He ended up in 50th place in the individual standings and in the dreaded drop zone.
Vincent joined four other players in being relegated from LIV Golf including Kalle Samooja, Branden Grace, Scott Vincent and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson.
Related: Major champion to lodge appeal after being axed from LIV Golf
All is not yet lost for Watson since he will now appeal to the LIV team board in a bid to remain on the circuit in 2025.
Much will depend if LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman wants him back as a captain.
Watson has struggled badly for form all season with just one top-20 finish coming in Las Vegas in February.
There is faint hope for the other four relegated players, including Vincent on Jon Rahm’s current Legion XIII team, to remain on LIV Golf.
That’s because players will have a chance to earn one of three spots on LIV Golf for 2025 via their Promotions event later this year.
Vincent earned his playing privileges on LIV Golf this season after coming through the Promotions event at the end of 2023.
Players will also have an opportunity to get back on LIV Golf via the Asian Tour’s International Series.
That will be a tough ask for Vincent this year given he currently ranks 28th in the standings.
Kieran Vincent (second left) has been relegated
Kieran Vincent (second left) has been relegated
Speaking to a pool of reporters after landing a second LIV Golf title in Chicago, enough to take the $18m Individual Championship in the process, Rahm was quick to praise the potential of Vincent despite declaring he was not seen at his best this season.
Vincent, like Watson, notched just one top-20 finish all season coming in Nashville in June.
He did, however, help Legion XIII win four team events at Mayakoba, Miami, Nashville and UK.
When pressed as to what Rahm will tell Vincent following his exit from LIV Golf, he said:
“I’ll tell him that no matter what, he’s got my phone number. If he wants or if he needs anything, any advice, all he needs to do is text me, and I’ll respond. We’ve shared a lot this year, and whenever you compete as a team, that just doesn’t go away.
“Unfortunately he didn’t play his best. He’s extremely talented and capable of a lot more than he showed this year, which is the cruel reality of LIV Golf. But if I’m not mistaken he still has a chance [via LIV Golf Promotions and Asian Tour’s International Series].
“He still has a chance of maybe making his way back. Still no easy task, but he did do it once, so he might be able to do it again.
“My advice would be to get his head in the game because we’ve got one more week, and then maybe after that we can discuss future.
“But he’s got plenty of talent. He just got engaged. Things in his personal life are going well. He’s a heck of a person. He’s one of those people that’s always happy, always smiling, always dancing, whistling. Kind of annoying sometimes to be honest, especially with me and Tyrrell in the group, who are usually the grumpy bunch. He’s got a lot of potential. I hope he gets to succeed in the game of golf in the future.”
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