Archive of posts tagged Adelaide

Jon Rahm returns where he robbed the bank

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Adelaide

Joaquín Niemann, in full swing, has won five of the 11 LIV Golf tournaments this year, and Jon Rahm remains at zero, but with only two events remaining, the Spaniard can still take the season's No. 1 ranking from the Chilean and thus retain his 2024 crown.

The points system of the multimillion-dollar Saudi Super League and Rahm's consistency, finishing in the top 10 on every course except one, explain why the Basque player can still overtake Niemann, champion in Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico, Virginia, and Great Britain, the last tournament he played.

Jon Rahm, statements

"This is how the points system works right now. I think they should probably give more points for winning, that would be great for me, but it could be the other way around next year: if I'm not going to win and I still have a chance to win with two tournaments left, I'm fine with that. It all depends. In the current situation, I'd obviously love to have more points for winning, but this is how the system is set up now," reflected Niemann, 26.

The Chilean admitted that being consistent is "the hardest thing in this game" and, since "Jon Rahm is the most consistent player in the world," he understands why the Spaniard remains so close to him in the standings: Niemann has 206.80 points, 37.64 more than Rahm (169.16). American Bryson DeChambeau, third with 136.24, is the other golfer still with a mathematical chance of reaching the throne, albeit a very remote one.

Each victory at LIV Golf awards 40 points, second place earns 30, and the points continue to decrease from there, with the last players to earn a point being those who finish between 21st and 24th. No points are awarded outside the top 24.

Rahm's assault on the No. 1 ranking will begin this Friday at LIV Golf in Chicago, at Bolingbrook GC, where the Basque golfer will defend his title from last year, hoping to get closer to and even surpass Niemann in the overall standings if he wins.

“Someone told me that in the weeks he hasn't won, Joaquín hasn't been at his best or scoring many points, so with my consistency, I've had a chance to stay close,” conceded Jon, whose team, Legion XIII, leads the standings (218.66 points) ahead of the Crushers GC, captained by DeChambeau (172.00).

Rahm raided the bank last year in Chicago, which closed out the Saudi Super League season. The Spanish golfer won the four million reserved for the tournament champion and was crowned No. 1, also taking home the $18 million bonus. Jon pocketed $22 million in one day, about €19 million at current exchange rates.

The LIV confirms its return to Virginia in 2026

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Adelaide

The 2026 LIV schedule continues to take shape. This Wednesday, the Saudi Super League announced that Virginia (USA) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) will once again be among its stops next season. The former will take place from May 8-10, and the latter will once again serve as the opening venue, from February 5-7.

Liv Golf, calendar

The new development is that this time the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club will not be the venue for the LIV Virginia, which will also have a new sponsor in Maaden, the Saudi state mining company. Instead, a property owned by Donald Trump, with whom the organization has maintained good relations since its inception, was chosen not far from there: Trump National in Washington, D.C.

“I'm excited to welcome the LIV. The last time it was here, we broke attendance records, and next year it will be even bigger. I'm looking forward to once again showing the world one of the most iconic courses in existence and welcoming the best golfers in the world,” said Eric Trump, Donald's third son and one of the heads of the family's businesses.

Virginia and Riyadh are the sixth and seventh stops, respectively, confirmed for the LIV's upcoming schedule. The LIV will also travel to Adelaide (February 13-15), South Africa for the first time (March 20-22), Mexico City (April 17-19), the United Kingdom (July 24-26), and Singapore (March 13-15).

The Rules of Golf are a set of standards and procedures by which the sport of golf should be played. They are jointly written and administered by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the governing body of golf worldwide, except in the United States and Mexico, which are governed by the United States Golf Association. An expert committee composed of members of the R&A and the USGA oversees and refines the rules every four years. The latest revision took effect on January 1, 2016. Amendments to the Rules of Golf are generally divided into two main categories: those that improve understanding and those that reduce penalties in certain cases to ensure balance. The rulebook, entitled "Rules of Golf," is published regularly and also includes rules governing amateur status. In Italy, the Italian Golf Federation is responsible for overseeing competitions by enforcing the rules issued by the R&A, ensuring that these rules are observed by clubs, associations, and their members, and managing the resulting sporting justice, protecting their interests abroad.

Montreal: Elena Rybakina reaches SF via Marta Kostyuk retiring; Issues classy comment

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Adelaide

Elena Rybakina progressed into the Montreal semifinal via a Marta Kostyuk but stayed very classy afterward, saying it definitely wasn't the desired finish to the match and wished her rival a speedy recovery ahead of the US Open.

The Kazakh tennis star, who is the No. 9 seed at the Canadian Open, made a lightning start to the match after breaking the 24th-seeded Ukrainian three times to easily bag the opener with a 6-1 scoreline.

Through the opening three games of the second set, Rybakina led 2-1 but without any breaks. But then, Kostyuk – who evidently appeared to be hampered by a physical issue on the court – retired from the match due to a wrist injury. It is worth mentioning that the 23-year-old Ukrainian played three matches in three sets in Montreal before facing the No. 9 seed. 

For Rybakina, it was her third consecutive victory over Kostyuk – the Kazakh lost their first meeting in 2023 Adelaide but has since been perfect against the Ukrainian. 

For the 2022 Wimbledon champion, next up for her in Montreal will be rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko, who defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Rybakina on Kostyuk's retirement: No one wants to finish a match like that

"Yeah, of course, it's not a nice finish of the match. No one I think wants to finish the match like this, but we played at least a set. I can say that on the baseline I was feeling quite well. A bit of struggle on the serve, but this is something for me to work on tomorrow. So yeah, I mean, for Marta, she's a tough competitor. She always fights. I just wish her a speedy recovery, because I know it's not easy when the big tournaments are ahead," the 26-year-old said after the match.

Rybakina will now turn her focus to Mboko, whom she beat in Washington two weeks ago.