'One Of The Big Reasons Why I Decided To Transition' - Jon Rahm Thankful For LIV Golf's Format Following Painful End To Individual Debut

Jon Rahm is already grateful for LIV Golf's dual-competition format, it seems, after the sting of a painful end to the individual competition was eased by a debut triumph for Legion XIII in the team event at LIV Golf Mayakoba.

Joaquin Niemann triumphed at El Camaleón Golf Course in a playoff against Sergio Garcia with darkness all but surrounding the 18th green. Those extra holes may well have featured Garcia's fellow Spaniard as well, if not for an uncharacteristic stumble on 17 and 18 which saw Rahm card consecutive bogeys to finish in a tie for third alongside Dean Burmester.

Yet, the former PGA Tour winner could console himself with the fact that a T3 result had gone a long way to help secure a victory on debut for Legion XIII - made up of Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Kieran Vincent, and Caleb Surratt.

Asked how Legion XIII's captain felt emotionally following a mixed end to the day, Rahm said: "It feels great. It's very nice - in a day in which in any normal tournament I probably would have been upset at my finish - to actually have something to celebrate, and that is one of the big reasons why I decided to transition.

"To share the stage with those three guys, to share the golf course with all the other teams and compete for something else is what it's all about. It means a lot."

On paper, Legion XIII's success was perhaps not all that surprising given there were two Ryder Cup stars involved and a couple of other extremely talented players in the infancy of their careers.

But despite the fact that full team line-up was only announced days before LIV Golf Mayakoba began last week - and, as a result, very little practice would have taken place - Rahm insisted he was not all that surprised with a win coming so early on for his roster.

Rahm said: "I wouldn't say we're ahead of schedule. The goal is to win. I'd like to think everybody in this interview right now, anytime they tee it up, they want to win. That's the whole point of being here."

The Masters champion continued: "It's hard to know what to expect. I think we all had probably our certain reserves for the week. It's different to any competition we've been in before. There's a lot to adapt to.

"We all come out here pretty much as rookies. I know Kieran played one or two rounds for Team Smash last year, and he knew a little bit about what to expect, but three of us didn't.

"For us to do what we did and perform and get the win, I'm glad that we proved it to ourselves and everybody that we're a team to reckon with."