Rookie team makes impressive debut on LIV Golf League

Formed less than two months ago and the newest team on the LIV Golf League, the Legion XIII quartet has already won the inaugural tournament and the 2024 season opener in Mexico.

Legion XIII includes captain Jon Rahm - former world number one and a former A-lister on the PGA Tour, Tyrrell Hatton - a golfer who has won many cups on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, 19-year-old talent Caleb Surratt and Kieran Vincent, who has just completed two years of professional experience, including winning the International Series Vietnam on the Asian Tour in March 2023. This is the 13th team in the golf arena of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) Saudi Arabia, named after the Legion, which was a symbol in the Roman army during the time of Emperor Julius Caesar.

The team's formation process ranged from December 7, when Rahm announced his contract to play on the LIV Golf League, to Legion XIII's finalized roster being announced on January 30, two days later for their debut in Mexico, at El Camaleon in Mexico.

Legion XIII team lifted the LIV Golf Mayakoba 2024 championship cup. Photo: LIV Golf — Legion XIII team lifted the LIV Golf Mayakoba 2024 championship cup. Photo: *LIV Golf*

Before starting, young Surratt had trouble checking himself into a hotel. Because he was only 19, the accommodation required a guarantor. However, 32-year-old Hatton successfully intervened.

"After checking in, I stayed behind in case Caleb needed help because he had looked at me with a worried look. It was true when the hotel said Caleb needed someone over 21 to sponsor him. So I showed him my driving license so he could go to his own room," Golf Monthly (UK) reported on February 7 how Hatton handled the situation.

All LIV Golf League tournaments are played in three rounds of stroke play to decide the individual cup winner, while the team cup is based on the combined score of the three best players from the first two rounds, with the entire group taking the final round.

In the actual battle at Camaleon par71 course, Legion XIII ranked T7 (-4 points) after round 1. In that match, Surratt was weak due to food poisoning. Before round 2, captain Rahm encouraged the team's spirit with a video . After that round, Legion XIII ranked T2 (-10).

Before the final round, Rahm used the same mental weapon, this time with a quote from fellow golf legend Seve Ballesteros. When Legion XIII won the championship at -24 on February 4, the media asked about the content, but Hatton said he had seen it during the Ryder Cup, and Rahm refused to share.

In fact, the deciding leg with a simultaneous start, Rahm's team played well from the start, after eight holes they took the top spot and gradually increased their advantage to eight strokes.

But in the middle, they slowed down, leading by only three strokes by hole 13. However, from then on, Surratt made up for his previous personal mistakes and made great achievements by scoring five birdies in a row. This form brought the cup and three million USD to Legion XIII, according to the principle of equal sharing.

However, in the individual table, Surratt finished T13 (-5), Hatton T8 (-7), Vincent T38. In the self-determined content, Rahm finished T3 (-10) after bogeying both the last two holes. This was an unfortunate result for Rahm because the final mark was -12, belonging to Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia. Finally, Niemann took the cup and four million USD after beating Garcia with a birdie on the fourth extra hole.

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