Zim golfer Vincent joins Rahm’s elite team
IT’S now official!
ONE of Zimbabwe’s top professional golfers Kieran Vincent will be under the international golf spotlight this year after he was officially named in the team led by Masters champion Jon Rahm in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf on Tuesday.
Vincent will join brother Scott Vincent in the rebel league after securing a card at LIV’s Q-school event in Abu Dhabi in December last year alongside Jinichero Kozuma and Kalle Samooja.
According to the Washington Post, Kieran Vincent will be part of the Rahmled team, which also includes Tyrrell Hatton of England.
Hatton made it official on Tuesday by joining the Saudi-funded LIV Golf, giving the league another player from the top 20 in the world and filling out the new team led by Rahm.
Hatton had been mentioned as a LIV Golf target ever since the Saudi-funded league signed Rahm in a surprising move toward the end of last year. Rahm and Hatton have been partners in the last two Ryder Cup matches.
The Daily Telegraph reported Hatton signed a bonus of 50 million pounds (US63 million).
LIV golf starts its third year this week at Mayakoba on the Golf coast of Mexico and Hatton will be part of Rahm’s new team called Legion XIII, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
Also joining Rahm’s team are Kieran Vincent of Zimbabwe and talented young American Caleb Surratt, who played college golf at Tennessee and competed in the Walker Cup last year at St. Andrews. Vincent, the brother of LIV Golf player Scott Vincent, earned a spot in the league at the qualifying tournament last year.
The group will make up LIV’s 13th team, named Legion XIII.
Hatton, the current world No. 16, had been in serious talks with the Saudi-funded league in recent weeks. Now that Rahm’s team has been revealed, it is set that Hatton will make his LIV debut tomorrow in the league’s season opener at Mayakoba.
Hatton is a three-time European Ryder Cup team member. He won the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2020 and has collected six DP World Tour titles. The Englishman is widely known for his fiery personality and often explosive passion during competition.
“We’ve come a long way in a short period and are extremely proud of the team and brand we are building,” Rahm said. “As we were developing the team’s brand it became clear that I wanted to fight alongside a group of guys who aligned perfectly with what the team stands for.”
He described Hatton as a “fierce competitor, proven champion” and his Ryder Cup teammate.
Rahm went on to say: ‘’Caleb is one of the brightest next-gen stars of the game. And Kieran is a steady, talented ball striker who earned his promotion to LIV and is elevating his game every day.”
Rising Zimbabwean star Kieran Vincent (26) will make his LIV debut at Mayakoba as well, joining his brother Scott Vin-cent, who is a member of Kevin Na’s Iron Heads GC. He snagged one of the three qualifying spots at LIV’s promotions event.
According to Rahm, the Legion XIII name was inspired by a “warrior spirit mythology” in addition to being the 13th LIV team.
“The term loyalty is very important for me — I think it embodies the warrior spirit through its decisiveness and ready-for-battle mindset. During the Roman Empire, there was the iconic Legion XIII Gemina in Caesar’s army. They believed in the credo of faithful loyalty.”
Rahm’s squad will tee off in its first event tomorrow at El Camaleon Mayakoba Golf Course.
Hatton, who has gone two years since his last win at the Abu Dhabi Championship, is No. 16 in the world. He has seven victories worldwide, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in 2020.
Hatton and Rahm were 3-0 in team matches at the Ryder Cup in 2023 and 2021. Hatton went 3-0-1 for Europe when it regained the cup at Marco Simone last September.
“I’m really excited for this next chapter, to link up with Jon Rahm and Legion XIII, and to get started this week in Mexico,” Hatton said.
He was listed in the field for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week and recently was confirmed to play in the Phoenix Open.
LIV Golf now has 13 teams, after two years of 12 four-man teams. Each 54-hole event awards US$4 million to the indi-vidual winner, and there is a team competition based on scores.
There will be 13 teams of four players at each event in what will be LIV Golf ’s second full season.
A new, promotional video confirmed the existence of Legion XIII which will be captained by Rahm, increasing the team total from 12 last year.
It is also expected that fields will increase from 48 to 54 players, meaning two wildcard spots will be given to two players at each event.
US$20 million will be up for grabs to fund the individual purse, while US$5 million will be distributed across the top three teams on the team leaderboard.
The winner at Mayakoba and each subsequent event will bank US$4 million and US$3 million will be given to the winning team.
The LIV website shows 12 events pencilled in for 2024, but this count doesn’t include the season-ending Individual Championship and Team Championship which don’t yet have dates or venues.