Similar to last season, Joaquin Niemann entered this week’s LIV Golf UK by JCB as the season-long points leader, with Jon Rahm in hot pursuit. The Torque GC captain is determined to write a different ending this time.
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Niemann, a four-time winner this season, shot a bogey-free 65 on Friday at JCB Golf & Country Club to grab a share of the first round lead with Cleeks GC’s Adrian Meronk and Stinger GC’s Branden Grace. The trio are one shot ahead of Majesticks GC Co-Captain Lee Westwood, RangeGoats GC Captain Bubba Watson and Niemann’s Torque teammate Carlos Ortiz.
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The team leaderboard is also tightly bunched at the top with defending UK champions Legion XIII tied with Stinger and Torque at 11 under. Six other teams are within five shots of the lead.
A year ago, Rahm won the individual UK trophy for his first career LIV Golf victory, using it as a springboard to catch Niemann for the season-long Individual Championship in the regular-season finale.
Niemann entered this week with a 15-point lead over Rahm and is now in great position to build on his advantage, as Rahm shot an even-par 71 and is tied for 32nd. Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau, who is in third place in the standings, is tied for 11th after a 68.
Based on projections after Friday’s first round, Niemann would leave England with a 44-point lead, meaning he would be guaranteed the pole position in the standings going into the regular-season finale, LIV Golf Indianapolis, that will determine the Individual Championship next month.
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“I’m on a really privileged situation to be on the top of the rankings and being chased by Jon and Bryson,” said Niemann, who birdied four of his first six holes. “It just makes me a better athlete. I like that pressure.”
Unlike Niemann, the other two players who share the lead are fighting different battles.
Grace has spent most of the season in the Drop Zone (49th and below in points) and facing relegation while battling wrist problems, but the South African has found his form recently. He tied for fourth earlier this month in Andalucía, a result that moved him out of the Drop Zone, and he continued his fine play with a round that started hot (three birdies in his first four holes) and ended the same way.
Meronk, meanwhile, returned to the kind of form Friday that won him the season-opening tournament in Riyadh. His 65 was his best score, relative to par, in his last 25 LIV Golf rounds.
“Finally, I’m enjoying myself on the course and playing good golf again, which is quite exciting,” said the Polish star, who finished with four birdies in his last five holes. “It’s great to be back in this position, and I’m really looking forward to this weekend and to three more tournaments this year.”
Of the top eight players on the leaderboard, three are from England, led by the resurgent Westwood, the 52-year-old legend who tied an Open Championship record last week at Royal Portrush by shooting a back-nine 29.
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Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton and the Crushers’ Paul Casey, the other two Englishmen on the front page of the leaderboard, are tied for seventh after shooting 67s.
All of the six English players on the LIV Golf roster received huge support from a packed and enthusiastic gallery at JCB, which is hosting the tournament for the second consecutive year and will return as a host course next season.
“It feels like our home event, and it’s always nice to perform in front of home fans,” said Westwood, who played with fellow Englishmen and Majesticks teammates Ian Poulter and Sam Horsfield on Friday.
The crowd was especially vocal at the par-3 14th. “It’s a fun atmosphere,” said Hatton, who tied for second last year to his captain Rahm. “There was a lot of people there, and the music was good too. I think most of us probably enjoyed a sing-along down that hole.”
