While Dean Burmester earned the individual title at Blue Monster, Jon Rahm‘s Legion XIII was crowned with the Miami team title. Given Legion XIII’s first appearance at the tricky Blue Monster course, the conquest wasn’t as smooth. The treacherous course gave a tough time to the team, along with wind-stricken hassles.
Rahm even called it “the hardest golf course on the planet.” Notwithstanding the hindrances, Rahm still led his team to victory powered by outstanding gameplay. In his endeavor for glory, Rahm shot an eagle and four birdies in the opening round. That was followed by Surratt’s four birdies and Tyrrell Hatton‘s four birdies to seal the score at 8-under. Despite the efforts, Legion XIII still lagged behind Bubba Watson‘s RangeGoats GC by five shots in round one.
Then, in round two, Legion XIII left no room for complaints. The team outshined RangeGoats GC with an outstanding 21-under. In the round, Vincent scored 66, followed by Hatton’s 67 and Rahm’s 70. Finally, the game proceeded to round three and fireworks awaited the winner.
As the final round teed off, the tension and pressure was palpable. Rahm had three unsuccessful bogeys, followed by two bogeys by Surratt and three by Hatton. Added to that, Vincent’s seven missed shots resulted in bogeys. The Legion XIII saw plenty of drop shots and Rahm even admitted that they had made mistakes.
“We definitely made it hard for ourselves we had a comfortable lead and I made some mistakes we all made some mistakes on the stretch.”
They were still not prepared to give up. Ultimately, the team defeated RangeGoats GC by one shot to conquer the winning title. After capturing a demanding course and securing top-10s in all seven LIV starts, Rahm reflected on his playing experience.
“It was a great week…Hopefully I can keep doing all the good things I’ve done this week next week and avoid a couple of silly mistakes and hopefully go back-to-back.”
Rahm’s adept guidance aided the new LIV team in its second triumph after a successful venture at LIV Golf Mayakoba. So how was the latest team formed and how did they perform in Mexico?
How was Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII formed?
Jon Rahm’s defection to LIV Golf ignited widespread shock in the golf world. Soon, the big move became a subject of speculation for a possible 13th team on the LIV roster. As expected, Jon Rahm got his very own team and named it the Legion XIII taking Kieran Vincent, Caleb Surratt, and Tyrrell Hatton on his team.
As fabled as it sounds, the name ‘Legion XIII’ was heavily influenced by Rahm’s love for comics and history. The Asterix & Obelix comics’ plot included a Legion XIII troop that ambushed a village despite multiple failures. The zeal and perseverance of Legion XIII made Rahm choose it as his team’s name.
Additionally, Roman history boasts of Legion 13 Gemina helping Julius Caesar return to Rome. This act of benevolence evoked the idea of loyalty and faithfulness and Rahm wanted such ideology to prevail in his team’s formation. Therefore, he adhered to Legion XIII, where ‘X’ implied a captain and ‘III’ signified his teammates. The team also carries a lion symbol to display valor.
Like its name, the team displayed immense valor in Mexico. Although they were new to the roster, the gang impressively captured their first team title at their LIV Golf Mayakoba debut. They secured an opening round of 4-under, followed by 6 under and 14 under in rounds two and three. Finally, the team sealed their score at 24 to secure a victory over Crushers GC by 4 strokes.
After their fortunate ventures at Mayakoba and Miami, the team also sealed a T5 finish at Adelaide and Singapore, respectively. It’s evident that Legion XIII is moving forward with skill and passion, and they’ll be adding another LIV title to their name soon, given they maintain their pace.
