The last 12 months had a bit of everything – a career Grand Slam, Ryder Cup chaos and much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look at the most memorable moments from 2025 and explain why they mattered.
no. 15 – Impeller motion with zero torque
no. 14 – Happy Gilmore 2 takes the world of golf by storm
Greatest Golf Moments of 2025 No. 13: Big wins by LIV stars lead to bigger questions
Twenty-twenty-five was a year of change for LIV Golf. HAD change at the top AND change to format. But on the course, the breakaway league saw one of its stars dominate the 54-hole circuit.
Joaquin Niemann won. Then he won again and again and again and again. The 27-year-old Chilean won five times in 2025, from Adelaide to the UK, even had Jon Rahm making bold claims for his place in the professional golf hierarchy.
“In my mind, in golf these days, because of different circumstances, I think Joaquin is very underrated,” Rahm said after Niemann’s win at LIV UK in July. “He’s one of the best players in the world, and he continues to prove that. … I don’t know the numbers. I don’t know. My thinking is definitely majors, events outside of LIV that could push him back. It’s not a true reflection. He’s definitely a top-10 player in the world right now. I’m saying that conservatively.”
But each of Niemann’s wins at LIV brought the same questions about his lack of major championship success. After his second win of the season, Niemann was confident that success on the biggest stage was on the way.
“I know I’m going to win a major. I know it’s going to happen,” Niemann said after winning LIV Singapore in March.
The 2025 season did little to dispel those questions. Niemann finished T29 at Augusta National before finishing T8 at the PGA Championship, his first top 15 at a major. That T8 at Quail Hollow was fueled by some setbacks Sunday from the players ahead of him. Niemann missed the cut at the Open and the US Open and then parted ways with his team and coach. Niemann has found success in LIV, but that has yet to translate to the main championship stage. Until that happens, Niemann knows questions about how good he can be and what his LIV earnings mean will continue.
“I feel like there’s nothing else to try,” Niemann said of his big struggles after winning LIV UK. “Yeah, I was very disappointed that I didn’t play well in the majors, but I know I’ll make it happen. I know I’ll understand. Obviously, this is a game that’s really frustrating and I think we all know that. Sometimes we take it personal, like the game is doing something against us. In the position where I’m going bad from every mistake. I’m patient, so I know the results will come, I’ll just wait for them.
Things were different, and yet, the same for Rahm in 2025.
The two-time major champion didn’t win at LIV until the end, when his consistency allowed him to overtake Niemann as individual champion. Rahm said it was “bittersweet” to win the individual title without winning a tournament in 2025, but also said he believed remove any “star” from a season that saw him finish outside the top 10 in just one LIV event.
But Rahm is realistic about his success at LIV. He knows it’s “easier to top 10 with a smaller field” and that he will ultimately be judged on his major success, especially after his move to LIV Golf.
Rahm believes he was “unjustly tried” in his poor 2024 major performance, but he missed the cut at the Masters and wasn’t a factor at the PGA or Open Championship. He did not play in the US Open due to a toe injury. After a backdoor T14 at the 2025 Masters, questions about when we’d see top-scorer Jon Rahm again — and whether LIV’s schedule and format were getting in the way — only grew stronger.
But then came the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, where Rahm thrust himself into contention and tied eventual champion Scottie Scheffler on Sunday before a disastrous finishing stretch doomed his title chances.
Despite coming up short, Rahm was energized by his return to the championship’s main cauldron. In fact, it didn’t look like Rahm lost the PGA Championship at all. He seemed to find something.
“Gosh, I haven’t had this much fun on a golf course in a while,” Rahm said that Sunday in Charlotte.
“I mean, it’s hard to put into words how hungry I can be for a major. As hungry as anyone can be in this situation.”
For two of LIV Golf’s biggest stars, 2026 will be about whether or not one of them can satisfy their huge championship hunger. Or if the questions will get louder.
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