Jon Rahm makes feelings abundantly clear on LIV Golf rival ahead of title showdown

Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann are locked in a two-horse race for the LIV Golf season title after the Spaniard claimed his first win on the breakaway circuit on Sunday.

But a late surge from the Chilean elevated him into a share of second place at JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire, England, limiting the damage as former world No. 1 Rahm tries to hunt him down at the top of the standings.

In addition to the $4 million top prize for winning, Rahm banked 40 points. But Niemann's five birdies in his final 10 holes saw him finish the tournament with a six-under-par 65, good enough for 24 points to protect his lead in the Individual Championship.

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Just two events remain in the campaign – The Greenbrier from Aug. 16-18 and the Individual Championship finale in Chicago from Sep. 13-15 – and Niemann has a 24.23-point advantage over two-time major champion Rahm. The former world No. 15 made a sensational start to the year with wins in Mexico and Saudi Arabia, and he has finished in the top 10 in seven of the eight events since to edge closer to the season title.

Rahm, who has finished in the top 10 in each of the 10 LIV events he has completed this season, hopes to make the title race interesting with another big performance after Sunday's victory, but he has nothing but praise for his title rival.

"He still had a fantastic Sunday and finished tied for second, so I didn't really catch up as much as I would have liked. He has two wins and an incredible season so far," Rahm said.

"He's a fantastic player. Clearly, last year he didn't have the year he thought he could have had, could have been better, and at some point in the post-season figured something out because he finished the year by winning overseas and then continued that great momentum into Golf, winning early on a couple of times.

"Not only that, the weeks he's not winning he's pretty much always up here. He's a great competitor, a great golfer, somebody who has all the tools to keep putting himself in a great position and giving himself chances.

"Hopefully, I can keep doing my job and do it well and keep putting myself in a good position, hopefully get more wins, and maybe we have a nice little show there going on the last day in Chicago for the individual title. Whoever gets it done so far, it's been an incredible year for either one."

The final two individual events of the season will also decide matters at the bottom of the standings, with Bubba Watson, Pat Perez and Harold Varner the big names at risk of relegation from the league.