After the opening round of LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf and Country Club, there is already a familiar name at the top of the leaderboard.
Joaquin Niemann, who entered the tournament looking for his fifth win of the season, carded a six-under 65 on Friday to share the lead with LIV Golf Riyadh winner Adrian Meronk and Stinger GC’s Branden Grace with 36 holes to play.
The Torque GC captain began his round on the second hole in the usual shotgun start, and he got off to a flyer, with birdies on the first two holes.
Niemann’s blemish-free round continued with four more birdies, and it could have been even better for the Chilean but for missing his birdie putt on the last by a whisker.
Regardless, he is likely to be satisfied with his day’s work, particularly after the disappointment of missing the cut at The Open a week ago.
Afterwards, he addressed his form at Royal Portrush, saying: “I feel like my putter was a little bit off for the first two days.
“But it’s part of it, and it was tough, and then I was able to focus and kind of reset myself into the last three, four tournaments of the season, which I think is really important.”
He then added ominously: “We’re back at it.”
As for Meronk, he also made a strong start with a birdie on his first of the day, the 13th.
However, it took until his seventh of the round to make his second birdie, but his finish was strong, with four birdies in his last five holes to make amends for his one misstep of the day, a bogey at the par-4 sixth.
Adrian Meronk is looking for his first win since LIV Golf Riyadh
(Image credit: Getty Images)
South African Grace produced his best performance of the season in the previous event, LIV Golf Andalucia at Valderrama, finishing T4, and he picked up where he left off with seven birdies and just one bogey.
That leaves him in contention for his first LIV Golf title since the circuit’s second-ever tournament, LIV Golf Portland in 2022.
Immediately beneath the three co-leaders is Lee Westwood, who went into the tournament on the back of a decent showing at The Open, where he finished T34.
A strong performance for the Englishman this week would alleviate relegation worries, but he insisted that’s not on his mind.
He said afterwards: “I haven’t really thought about it to be honest. Just play…
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