Phil, Bryson and Bubba all contend in LIV Virginia, but Joaquin Niemann (63) ends a lone survivor

Joaquin Niemann almost allowed veteran major champions like Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Graeme McDowell to wind back the clock at LIV Golf Virginia and feel those competitive juices again. Bryson DeChambeau and Anirban Lahiri threw their hats in the ring, too. But on one of the most dramatic final rounds LIV has staged, it was the league’s most in-form player, Niemann, who emerged victorious on a significantly weather-impacted final day.

"I felt like there was a lot going on during the rain delay,” Niemann said after winning. “I tried to keep my mind on the right thoughts and having Bryson coming off pretty clutch at the end, Phil as well, Anirban, it could have been for anybody. The only [thing] I was telling myself from last night was, ‘just have faith.’ There's nothing else I can do, have a good attitude, and just wait.”

Mickelson commanded much of the attention on the last day at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville. The six-time major winner, who is days away from turning 55, conjured glimpses of his brilliant best on the course. Off the course, he also hopped on X to hype himself and the tournament during the first weather delay.

Mickelson was well in contention having made the turn at three under. He added two more birdies on the back side before hitting his approach to three feet on the 505-yard, par-4 12th. The horn sounded moments later, prompting Mickelson to make light of what he faced when play returned.

While Mickelson’s run ended with a bogey at the 15th, he went down swinging with some vintage short game magic. Faced with an incredibly awkward stance on the lip of a bunker at the par-4 17th, Mickelson had to aim 90 degrees left of the hole and hit a pitch shot with an almost vertical trajectory, while imparting hook spin. He did all the above and holed the shot for birdie as the crowd went wild. One more birdie at the 18th gave Mickelson a share of fourth at 13 under.

Watson, 46, also reminded us of the freewheeling style of brazen shot-shaping that earned him a legion of fans —and two Masters titles—as he made a run at the lead. So too did DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open champion, who chipped in from off the green at the par-3 16th to make it a six-way tie for the lead late in the round. Although DeChambeau drove just short of the green at the 377-yard, par-4 17th, he couldn’t produce a birdie there or at the 18th to force a playoff.

So it was over to Niemann, who after making the turn at four under, rattled off four defining birdies in a row from the 14th. He stood on the final hole with a one-shot lead and promptly drilled a 340-yard drive down the middle of the fairway. His eventual par was enough for a stunning 63 and a one-shot victory over former U.S. Open winner McDowell and Lahiri (both 14 under).

“I just love this game; I love playing golf,” Niemann said. “I love hitting those kind of shots at that kind of time.”

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Earlier in the week McDowell admitted that he has struggled to adjust to LIV’s 14-event schedule, saying, “Hopefully a big summer ahead, and like I said in the presser, been so disappointed with my general performance on LIV this to point, this is what I expect of myself still. Really nice to get the juices flowing a little bit. I'm super excited about the week.”

At 13 under, Thomas Pieters, Mickelson, DeChambeau and Watson shared fourth. In the team element, DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, which includes Lahiri, Paul Casey and Charles Howell III, won at 36 under (all four scores counted on all three days). Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces team was second at 34 under while Koepka’s Smash GC was 31 under.

Niemann earned the league’s outright record for most LIV victories with six, one more than Koepka. All of Niemann’s wins have come in his past 21 starts.

“I would love to keep going,” Niemann said.

Certainly, a goal of Niemann is to contend in majors. It’s been the biggest criticism of the former two-time PGA Tour winner—that he has not showed up in golf’s four biggest championships. Indeed, a T-8 at this year’s Masters was his maiden top-10 result at the majors. Although he is only 26, the Chilean said it may take more time before he is a serious enough threat to win on golf’s grandest stage.

“It's hard to tell; I feel like I'm still pretty far away of winning one,” Niemann said. “I'm just happy to be playing at the U.S. Open. [Oakmont] is going to be a great course, pretty tough conditions. I'm just looking forward for that challenge and have a fun week.”