Dustin Johnson emerged victorious at the LIV Golf Las Vegas, the second event of the 2024 Arab Super League. The former world number one, hailing from the United States, clinched the individual title with a score of 198 (-12), narrowly defeating Talor Gooch and Peter Uihlein, who finished on the podium with scores of 199 (-11).
Johnson, a Major champion and a dominant force in the inaugural season of the separatist green league in 2022, earned $4,000,000 from the total prize pool of $20,000,000. Additionally, his second-place team, “4Ages GC,” received $375,000 for their performance, finishing at “-26” in the team competition. The team competition was decisively won by “Smash GC,” led by Brooks Koepka, with a score of “-33”.
Expressing his satisfaction, the 39-year-old Johnson stated, “It’s a great success, achieved after three days of intense competition. I knew it would be tough, especially considering the challenging weather conditions, but I pulled through.” Johnson, who has previously triumphed at the US Open 2016 and the Masters 2020, has an impressive career record.
On the other hand, Jon Rahm, the Spanish player ranked number 3 in the world and a star of the 2024 LIV Golf, had a disappointing performance this time. Despite a standout second round closing at 63 (-7) at the Las Vegas Country Club, Rahm finished in 8th place with a score of 202 (-8) in the individual competition in Las Vegas.
Following their dominant performance in the first team event in Mexico, Rahm’s team, “Legion XIII,” could only manage a 5th place finish at “-16” in Nevada. The Premier Golf League, which emerged in 2019 as a rival to the PGA Tour, sparked discussions among golfers. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan hinted that participation in the new league could result in exclusion from PGA Tour events. In response, the PGA European Tour and the PGA Tour formed a “strategic alliance” in 2020 to collaborate on commercial ventures, scheduling, and prize allocations for their respective memberships.
The Premier Golf League explored financial collaboration with Saudi investors, but Golf Saudi, a division of the Public Investment Fund, decided to finance their own venture in 2020. This led to the establishment of the “Super Golf League,” also known as LIV Golf Investments, in October 2021, with Greg Norman as its CEO. LIV Golf has been compared to the now-defunct breakaway European Super League in football due to its disruptive potential in the sport.
According to the Source tennisworldusa.org