WATCH: Awkward drama on last hole of LIV event ends with emotional Jon Rahm earning his first victory in 15 months

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It came down to the last hole at LIV Golf UK, with thousands of fans lining the 18th hole at JCB Resort in Uttoxeter, in the Midlands of England. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were a group apart but going toe to toe, tied at 13-under-par. Good mates, LIV franchise teammates, and victorious Ryder Cup partners twice in Rome last year.

‘Yell on our f***ing backswing, you d***head’: Watch Jon Rahm stare down unruly fan

It was hard to find any fault to the climax, other than Hatton missing a par putt inside six feet to hand the Spaniard his first LIV Golf victory and first win worldwide since the 2023 Masters.

“I’ve got to give Tyrrell a lot of credit. He’s a fantastic player and you never want to see him like that,” said Rahm, who has finished in the top 10 in every start he made since joining the league.

Rahm, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour, started the final day at JCB Resort three shots off the lead. He rallied with a four-under 67 to get in the clubhouse at 13-under (200). Hatton’s final-hole bogey left him with a 69 and at 12-under the LIV Nashville champion shared second with Cameron Smith (69) and Joaquin Niemann (65).

The team Rahm captains, Legion XIII, secured its fourth win of the season while 2022 Open champion Smith’s Ripper GC was second and Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC finished third.

Once victory was confirmed, Rahm, 29, buried his face in his hat and let out tears. It was less to do with securing his first win on LIV, and far more to do with the fact his wife, Kelley, is pregnant with the couple’s third child, noting at the Open Championship last week at Royal Troon that it “hasn’t been the easiest [pregnancy].”

“It’s just emotional,” he said on Sunday at LIV UK. “It hasn’t been the easiest year for our family. Kelley and I have gone through quite a bit, and she has gone through even more. To get this one done [is huge]. She did tell me our son, Kepa, said to bring a trophy home from this stretch of golf. I started to believe it was going to happen, [but] maybe not in the last 20 minutes. At least I can look at Kepa and say, ‘I’m bringing one home.’”

Rahm, who won the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines before last year’s Masters victory, picked up two birdies on the front nine to get into the mix. On the back nine, two of three birdies he made in a four-hole stretch came on par 5s, after struggling all season on them. Rahm wedged it close to birdie the 632-yard par-5 10th while at the 627-yard 13th he rifled a fairway metal from 262 yards to the green and two-putted for a 4. It allowed him to bogey the 17th, JCB’s signature hole at 231 yards downhill over water, and face no worse than a playoff with Hatton.

Hatton, who grew up two hours from JCB at High Wycombe, was cheered on by the Midlands crowds, who proved that LIV’s decision to take its UK event well north of London was a skilled move.

https://twitter.com/livgolf_league/status/1817636107716075920

LIV UK was an example of the league, funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, gaining traction around the globe by going to markets that have an appetite for golf higher than what they have had on their doorstep.

Now, Rahm and six other LIV players, including his Spanish compatriot David Puig, head to the Olympics golf competition in Paris, at Le Golf National, where Rahm has a history. He defeated Tiger Woods there in Sunday singles during Europe’s victory at the 2018 Ryder Cup.

“Getting over the hump [today] I think gives me a little extra confidence if I [were to] put myself in a good position come Sunday, so I’m really looking forward to sharing the week with David,” Rahm said.