Burmester captures LIV Golf Chicago crown

Stimpmeter · August 11, 2025, 4:30am

South Africa’s Dean Burmester sank a six-foot birdie putt on Sunday’s first playoff hole to beat Spaniards Jon Rahm and Joséle Ballester and claim the LIV Golf Chicago title.

Burmester, who squandered a two-shot overnight lead with three bogeys to start his round, battled back to card a par 71 and finish alongside Rahm and Ballester on nine-under 204 for 54 holes at Bolingbrook Golf Club.

“This has been emotional,” Burmester said. “Since before Virginia [in June] I’ve been going through a bit of a rough time, personal stuff. I’ve just been grinding and trying to get better, thinking about my wife and my kids back home, and I’m just trying to do the best I can for them.”

At the par-four 18th in the playoff, Ballester landed 12 feet from the hole, Burmester – who had found the rough off the tee – dropped his approach to six feet, while 2024 Chicago winner Rahm’s ball finished 10 feet away.

Ballester and Rahm both missed their birdie putts before Burmester rolled his in for the win.

DEAN BURMESTER WINS IN CHICAGO

He takes his second LIV Golf Individual Title #LIVGolfChicago @stingergc_ pic.twitter.com/nuGGG092UJ

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) August 10, 2025

“After three bogeys in a row to start I was like, fudge, I don’t know where I’m going. My head was nowhere but I just kept at it,” said Burmester.

“To hit that out of the rough and get the right bounce and roll it in – I watched Jon’s go left and I knew I had the right line – to roll it in in front of everybody that’s here is amazing.”

It was Burmester’s second LIV title after winning in Miami last year.

Ballester, the 2023 European Amateur and 2024 US Amateur champion who turned professional in June, was playing just his seventh pro event at age 21.

Rahm, Ballester, Burmester and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, who finished fourth, shared the lead at eight under with three holes to play.

Burmester birdied the 16th from four feet to seize the solo lead, but Ballester made a four-foot birdie at 18 and Rahm rolled in his from five feet to force the playoff.

Burmester’s nightmare start had signalled a final-round shootout, but his birdie at the 5th put him one ahead of Rahm at the turn. Ballester birdied the par-four 10th to tie him, and both picked up another at the par-five 12th.

Ortiz joined the leaders with birdies at the par-three 13th and par-five 14th, before Ballester’s birdie at 14 gave him the outright lead.

Rahm birdied 15 to get within one, and when Ballester bogeyed moments later, the Spaniards were tied with Ortiz and Burmester.

Chile’s Joaquín Niemann, a five-time winner this season, finished on two-under 211 to share 17th but still topped the season points list ahead of defending champion Rahm going into next week’s final individual event in Indianapolis.

Burmester’s Stinger GC beat Niemann and Ortiz’s Torque GC in a playoff for the team title.

Photo: Patrick McDermott Getty Images

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