Jon Rahm's true character on show for all to see after wild shot strikes LIV Golf fan

Jon Rahm was compelled to swiftly apologise during the second round of LIV Golf UK on Saturday, after his tee shot at the par-four 12th struck a spectator. Rahm was back at JCB Golf and Country Club with hopes of defending the title he clinched 12 months ago.

However, he was ultimately unable to do so, with Joaquin Niemann taking the top spot by the end of Sunday's play with a total of 17-under-par. For context, that's three strokes clear of tournament runner-up, Bubba Watson, and seven strokes ahead of Rahm, who settled for T5 alongside Dean Burmester.

One of the tournament's biggest talking points, however, came when Rahm attempted to take on the drivable par-four 12th on Saturday, before his teeshot veered astray from the target. A rare overdraw saw Rahm's tee shot lag far left of the green and towards a group of spectators, reports the Mirror US.

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The ball ended up hitting one fan in the stomach, who was taken by surprise despite Rahm and tournament officials shouting fore. Luckily, the affected spectator seemed fine but did display some bruising to the TV cameras afterwards.

There was a silver lining for his mishap, as Rahm showed his true character by first apologising before giving the fan a signed glove. The pair laughed off the incident and shared a handshake, with the Legion XIII star thanking him for stopping his ball in its tracks.

In classic Rahm style, the Spanish golfer managed to recover quickly, executing a brilliant up-and-down from the dense JCB rough. It came among six birdies for the European Ryder Cup veteran on Saturday, though he remained considerably adrift of Niemann for the duration.

The Chilean's commanding performance effectively crushed Rahm's chances of retaining the crown he claimed in 2024, which came as his first LIV triumph, as he edged out his Legion XIII team-mate Tyrrell Hatton to secure the £3million jackpot.

Despite crossing the finish line first, Rahm confessed the victory felt somewhat hollow when reflecting on it last week, given Hatton's final-hole blunder.

He said: "In a weird way, it's always going to be a bittersweet memory because I don't know if there's been many cases where two team-mates have gone at each other to win the individual title and then go on to win the team title as well, and you never want to see a teammate and a friend make a mistake on the last to win.

"In a weird way, as much as I like that I won here, it's not something that I can celebrate in that sense, just because it was such an unusual circumstance.

"It's one of those things that happen in LIV, and as we get better, as the league gets better, I think it's something that's going to happen more and more often."

Rahm, who holds two wins on the LIV circuit in total after doubling down at LIV Golf Chicago last year, will now turn his attention to the final two singles events of the season as he hopes to finish strong in the league standings.

The breakaway circuit lands at the Bolingbrook Golf Club for LIV Golf Chicago between August 8 and 10, before LIV Golf Indianapolis plays out at The Club at Chatham Hills a week later.

The LIV Golf Team Championship then takes place at The Cardinal at Saint John’s, Michigan, between August 22 and 24.