Crowded leaderboard marks day one of LIV Golf UK as season-ending jostle intensifies

Four-time winner in 2025 and standings leader Joaquin Niemann of Torque GC and Chile launched his bid to put some serious distance between himself and the opposition with an opening 65 at LIV Golf UK by JCB.

Neimann’s bogey-free round at the JCB Golf & Country Club had him well ahead of closest pursuers, Jon Rahm of Legion XIII and Spain, and US golfer Bryson DeChambeau. Alongside the Chilean star in the lead were Adrian Meronk of the Cleeks and Stinger GC’s Branden Grace. 

The trio were ahead of Majesticks GC co-captain Lee Westwood, RangeGoats GC captain Bubba Watson and Niemann’s Torque teammate Carlos Ortiz by a shot, which left Neimann well-pleased.

“I’m in 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.”

Last year, Rahm won the UK event for his first LIV title to close in on and eventually catching Neimann in the season's finale for the individual championship. This time, the Chilean started the week with a 15-point advantage over Rahm and is poised to make further gains with the Spaniard shooting a level par 71 and DeChambeau returning a 68 for shared 11th place.

In the team event too, the leaderboard bore a crowded look defending champions Legion XIII tied with Stinger GC and Torque GC on 11 under and a further six teams within five strokes of the lead.

But the storyline was about  more than just Neimann with Grace battling to survive in the league and Meronk rediscovering form after a winning start to the season. 

Grace has been in the Drop (relegation) Zone for players ranked 49th and below in points and having to cope with an injured wrist but the South African tied for fourth in Andalucía to move out of immediate danger.

For his part, Meronk looks to have found the game that helped him win at Riyadh. “Finally, I'm enjoying myself on the course and playing good golf again, which is quite exciting,” the Pole said. “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.”

Meanwhile, Watson started the week in 31st place and safe from relegation but said he would love to move inside the top 24 Lock Zone for the first time since joining LIV Golf. 

“There's a lot more stress. Guys are without a contract next year, so there's people that are stressed. They're trying to get top 24. They're trying to stay in the top 48. There's a lot of movement. 

“There's a lot of having to step up and hit great golf shots because they know what's on the line to be in an elite league like this. They want a contract. They want to be able to play here next year, so there's a lot of stress out there for sure.”

The biggest projected movers in the individual standings after the opening round were Meronk (23rd to 9th) and Grace (37th to 25th).

“Obviously everyone wants to finish well, at least in the top 24,” Meronk said. “Guys who are outside definitely have more pressure, I would say, to perform well. But I'm happy I'm in a good position and playing finally well and enjoying myself on the course.

“It was very frustrating. When you start the season quite well, you have high expectations. You want to keep going, keep having good results, keep shooting good scores. But sometimes it just doesn't happen.

“But if I look at it now, I changed my coach last year, and I started with my coach in October, so we worked quite hard over the winter just to get ready for the season, and it clicked the first two weeks, but then it kind of dropped. I guess I just needed more time to get used to it.”