Back in April at the Masters, Jon Rahm sat down at his pre-tournament press conference and was asked where he thought he ranked in the world, regardless of his position in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“Where am I in the rankings?” Rahm said with a laugh. “I’m out of the top 100 yet?”
As a member of LIV Golf, Rahm has limited chances to earn OWGR points since LIV is not currently accredited. While LIV is working towards OWGR accreditation, players in the Saudi-backed league have fallen significantly in the world rankings over the past few years. Rahm, who was once the No. 1 golfer in the world, has fallen to No. 87. Dustin Johnson is 636. Brooks Koepka, who recently left LIV Golf, is ranked No. 244. Only Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau are ranked inside the top 30.
With OWGR unable to properly rate LIV players, Rahm sees a number of his league mates being underrated by the rankings and the golf world at large.
Rahm went on the last episode of GOLF Podcast subpar and offered his list of the most underrated players in the breakout league.
Rahm’s list begins with a player who has posted a win in each of the last two seasons at LIV: Dean Burmester.
“I think Dean Burmester is a little underrated,” Rahm told co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. “He’s a very good player, especially when things get tricky. He hits the ball low. He’s really good in the wind.”
Burmester joined LIV in 2023. He won LIV Miami in 2024 and LIV Chicago in 2025.
Rahm’s list continued with little surprise as he named Joaquin Niemann, who won five times in LIV in 2025. For Rahm, Niemann’s inability to find success in the majors has caused many to not fully appreciate the Chilean’s talent.
“I still think because I’ve seen him play and he hasn’t played his best in the championships, I still think Joaquin (Niemann) is underrated,” Rahm said. “He hasn’t played his best (in the majors), but what I’ve seen from him the last two years, he’s been outstanding. He’s won seven times in 26 starts. That’s good.”
Niemann notched his first top-15 finish in a major at the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club. But he missed the cut at the Open and the U.S. Open and has yet to become a factor on the weekend at a major.
The third and final member of Rahm’s roster is one of the newest members at LIV Golf: David Puig.
“I’m going to put somebody we don’t know, I’m going to put David Puig in there,” Rahm said. “I think he’s one of those where if the world rankings count, he’s been able to get closer to the top 100 playing around the planet in events that maybe don’t count as much as the ones at LIV.
