An important LIV Golf format change will shape the narrative of the league for the 2026 season…

Jon Rahm found himself in an unusual position last August in Indianapolis.

The Spaniard had just lost in a playoff to Colombian Sebastian Munoz, ending a winless season at LIV Golf. But there he was, picking up the league’s individual title for a second consecutive year, banking the $18million bonus check rewarded to the season-long champion at Chatham Hills.

Rahm’s 2025 season was founded on consistency – he finished inside the top-10 in all but one LIV event – but most were in agreement that Joaquin Niemann was clearly the league’s standout player.

Niemann won tournaments in Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico, Virginia and in the UK – but five victories from 13 tournaments was not enough to oust Rahm for the individual prize.

That’s because points were only offered to LIV’s top 24 finishers and Niemann finished outside that cutoff in Riyadh and in Miami. With 40 points awarded to tournament winners – only 33% more than the runner-up’s 30 – consistency weighed heavier than glory in 2025.

In an interview with TG before the 2026 season began, Rahm reflected on the strange scenario, for which LIV have now taken important steps to avoid happening again.

“Listen, when somebody wins five times, they deserve to win it all,” Rahm admitted.

“My job is to do the best I can and try to win. Had I won one of those last two events, the validation for me would have been there, just getting one win. But nowadays we’re in a sport where winning is what counts.

“The closest I can get is maybe Formula One. Is it possible where somebody finishes top three every single week and somebody wins five races but finishes off the points enough? Maybe there’s a combination where someone can win. I guess on that point, you’re a world champion, nobody cares if you win a race or not, right? So do I feel proud of winning it? Yeah, I’m being consistent.

“But obviously in the nature of golf, I wish I had that individual win. And when Joaquin has won, again, 40% of the events, you think you deserve to win.”

Niemann was magnanimous despite perhaps having the right to feel hard done by after his dominant year was undone in the season-long race by two minor blips.

“We all know how good Jon is, and I think I learned a lot from him this last year,” the Chilean told TG. “He was a pretty consistent player. Obviously in golf, you’re used to see the person winning having a bigger advantage, and maybe extra points or extra money. In this case, the points system didn’t really give the winner of a tournament a bigger credit.

“It wasn’t the best system. We are four years in, and there’s things that are going to be adjusted. So not having points for the whole field and only being top 24, I think it was different as well.”

LIV has certainly listened to its feedback from its biggest stars here. Among the slew of changes during the offseason – including a move to 72 hole tournaments and increased relegation – the league has announced a complete overhaul of its points system. This season, points will be awarded to all finishing players, with increased emphasis on those winning events.

A total of 1,000 points will be distributed between the 57-player field, with the individual tournament winner accumulating 200 (20%). Second place will claim 113 points (11.3% of the allocation), meaning the season-long title race will be defined by tournament wins. Unsurprisingly, had this system been in place last year, Niemann would have been the runaway champion.

“The revised structure is designed to better reflect consistent, high-level performance over the course of the season, while also recognizing the importance of individual contributions to team results each week,” a LIV statement read.

This ‘enhanced system’ will not only define the race for the top prize, but also relegation, with the Drop Zone widened to 11 places this season. Even for the players struggling down the bottom of the leaderboards, every point will count.

As Niemann stressed: “I think the new points system is going to be better for everybody.”