Kozuma shoots 63 to grab lead; Torque top team leaderboard

RIYADH: Jon Rahm and his Legion XIII teammates each enter Saturday’s final round at LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Ma’aden with an outside chance to capture the individual title. 

In terms of the team competition, though, Legion XIII already has one collective foot atop the podium. 

Legion XIII extended their team lead to a commanding 11 strokes in Friday night’s second round at Riyadh Golf Club, shooting the field’s best team score for the second consecutive night.

Their 18 under total moves them to 42 under for the first two rounds, giving the foursome an 11-stroke advantage over Torque GC. 

“Extremely proud,” Rahm said of his team’s dominant start in the season opener. “I don’t know what else to add to that. Obviously yesterday was a fantastic start and it didn’t take very long today, either, for the whole team to get going.” 

Individually, Legion XIII players make up 50 percent of the top eight players on the leaderboard. Tyrrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt each shot 5-under 67s on Friday and are tied for fourth at 11 under. Rahm also shot 67 and newcomer Tom McKibbin shot 69, as each finished at 10 under and in a three-way tie for 6th. 

Cleeks GC’s Adrian Meronk backed up his opening 10-under 62 with a 6-under 66 to grab a two-shot lead over Torque GC’s Sebastian Muñoz.

Ripper GC’s Lucas Herbert is in solo third at 12 under after his 64 on Friday, the low round of the day. 

Catching Meronk seems like a tall ask, giving his form the first two days. But Legion XIII will have plenty of chances with four players in contention in the first tournament since a format change to all scores counting on each round.

No team has swept the podium since Stinger GC pulled off the feat in the 2022 inaugural LIV Golf event in London. 

“I think if we all focus on trying to win individually and give it the best shot we can to do that, I think we can put a strong enough performance where we’d be hard to catch,” Rahm said of his team’s large lead. “But we still have to go out there tomorrow and take care of it. Nothing is guaranteed until the last putt drops.”

Although Meronk didn’t match his flawless performance in the opening round when he hit all 18 greens, the 31-year-old from Poland relied on his putting, needing just 26 putts. 

With Muñoz nipping at his heels, Meronk never surrendered the lead. At the par-3 17th, he extended it to two shots with a 15-foot birdie putt while Muñoz followed by missing a 5-footer for birdie. 

“I played quite solid,” said Meronk, whose only bogey this week came at the par-4 11th. “I had a couple of bad swings, but overall, I’m very happy with the result and excited for tomorrow.” 

Muñoz matched Meronk’s 66 and has the field’s hottest putter, needing just 51 putts through the first two rounds. “I’m just going to try to shoot as low as possible, make as many birdies as possible like I’ve been doing the last two days and see what happens on the 18th green,” Muñoz said. “There’s no other strategy than that.” 

Meronk and Muñoz have each celebrated LIV Golf wins as members of winning teams but not as individuals. That could change on Saturday for one of them. 

“It would be special for sure, especially the first of the year,” Meronk said. “But I don’t want to focus on that. My only focus tomorrow will be just one shot at a time and playing my best golf as possible, and we’ll see what happens.” 
 

RIYADH: Playing under the lights is unique for most golfers, but Cleeks GC’s Adrian Meronk looked quite comfortable Thursday night at LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Ma’aden.

So did Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team.
 
Meronk shot a bogey-free 10-under 62 to grab the first-round lead in LIV Golf’s first nighttime round at Riyadh Golf Club.

Meanwhile, Legion XIII, fueled by newest member Tom McKibbin, set a first-round scoring record by shooting 24-under as a team, with all four scores counting in the first round thanks to a format change starting this season.

It was just a year ago that Meronk made his LIV Golf debut after signing just before the season opener. The adjustment period resulted in a slow start, but he finished the year in the top 24 Lock Zone. Now he’s looking to make a bigger splash.
 
“Last year was a very stressful beginning of the year for me, definitely, and this year I know what to expect,” Meronk said. “I feel like home, and I love it. I love being on LIV.”

Meronk made a coaching change in the offseason, which also resulted in a couple of swing changes. Those obviously kicked in nicely on Thursday, as he hit all 18 greens in regulation, including a 5-iron second shot from 250 yards at the par-5 sixth that settled 20 feet away for a two-putt birdie. He said his round felt “quite flawless.”

“I’m excited for the future because I really like how my golf game is shaping up,” Meronk said. “It feels much more comfortable, and I can control the ball much easier.”

Legion XIII also made its debut a year ago as LIV Golf’s first expansion team. Unlike Meronk, there was no adjustment period needed.

With Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton a lethal 1-2 punch, Legion XIII won their first event in Mayakoba, and added three more regular-season wins. Inconsistency on the back end of the roster was the team’s only weakness —  and that seems to have been answered with the addition of McKibbin and the continued development of LIV Golf’s youngest player, 20-year-old Caleb Surratt.

On Thursday, McKibbin and Surratt (66) each shot bogey-free rounds, as did Hatton (66). Rahm suffered the team’s only bogey in shooting 67. A year ago, his score wouldn’t have counted.

“I did not expect 5 under to be the worst score of the team,” Rahm said. “But here we are. The young guys have started the year strong.”

Like Meronk a year ago, McKibbin must adjust to life on LIV Golf. But he’s embracing all that his new environment has to offer. He even stopped to watch a mid-round light show — and then proceeded to make an eagle and three birdies in his final nine holes.

“A pretty awesome first day,” he said.