There was a wait until the eleventh hole of his second round in the tournament for Adrian Meronk (-16) to make his first bogey of the week and show some signs of nervousness. The Pole, an ice block, seemed to falter as he saw his rivals were able to keep up the pace. However, after making par on the 12th to regain composure, his reaction was immediate, scoring an unthinkable birdie on the 13th, which had become very complicated, another on the 14th, and one more with a tremendous putt on the 17th.
He couldn’t match his impressive round of 62 from Thursday, but Meronk, with 66 strokes, continued his recital of successes in the Riyadh tournament that opens the 2025 season of LIV Golf in Saudi Arabia to edge closer to the final victory. He will start tomorrow with a two-stroke lead over Sebastián Muñoz (-14) and four over Lucas Herbert (-12). And if he manages to maintain his extraordinary precision with the irons and solidity from the tee, it will be difficult to dislodge him. But, just in case, Jon Rahm (-10) and his Legion XIII will be ready…
Off the tee and on the green 🤯 @JonRahmOfficial
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📱Stream on the LIV Golf App#LIVGolfRiyadh @LegionXIIIgc pic.twitter.com/WXcTCDyVoE— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 7, 2025
The man from Barrika was almost infallible with the driver again and, unlike yesterday, was very accurate with the irons, leaving it much closer to the flag and giving himself numerous birdie opportunities. He managed to succeed on six occasions to sign a card of 67 strokes, placing him tied for sixth in the standings. The pity, his unexpected errors on three par fives, a bad start on the 10th, a ball in the water on the 13th, and the bogey with which he closed his round on the 3rd, after a poor third shot and a chip that stopped on the green.
In tomorrow’s final round, he will try to accelerate from the start to put pressure on the leader and stay true to his top 10 appointment (he has always finished in the top 10 when completing a LIV Golf tournament). And if circumstances allow, of course, fight for his third victory on the tour. He will not be alone in his attempt. He will be accompanied by his three teammates, Tyrrell Hatton (-11), Caleb Surrat (-11), and Tom McKibbin (-10), positioned high in the standings and extending the Legion XIII (-42) lead to 11 strokes over Torque GC (-31) in the team standings.
Bryson DeChambeau (-9), with a fairly solid round, will also try to take advantage of the moment if those at the top get stuck. Meanwhile, Sergio García (-8) and David Puig (-6) will seek to fight to get into the top 10. The consolation prize for which Lee Westwood (-8) will also fight, who has been in the fight for victory since the tournament began and, with a ball in the water on the 16th, with two penalty strokes, buried all his options. Luis Masaveu (-1) managed to get under par, and once again, there seemed to be more people at the concert stage than following the game, before the final battle for the first four million cheque of the year.
