– Joaquín Niemann (-7) has taken the first round of the battle for the individual ranking of LIV Golf against Jon Rahm (-4) this week. The Chilean, who starts with an advantage and only needs to finish above the Spaniard, has gained three strokes in the initial round of the LIV Golf in Indianapolis, held at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield.
Obviously, it’s not over yet, but the slope has certainly become steeper for the man from Barrika. The chase is getting complicated. He will need two very good rounds on Saturday and Sunday and for that, he must improve his golf. Today he was seen to be very inconsistent with the long game, missing more fairways than usual on a course that is almost like a toy for this type of golfer. They were almost always with a wedge in hand to hit the green and the fairways are quite generous. By the way, the maintenance level of the course is not up to the standard of a circuit of this category. LIV Golf should take better care of these details, especially considering there are only 14 courses a year.
Niemann started like a rocket and the punishment towards Rahm initially seemed like it was going to be worse. The Chilean reached seven under in the first nine holes, leading alone and on a roll. At that moment, Rahm was five strokes behind. However, the situation changed on the 15th hole. Unexpectedly, Niemann sent his ball into the water off the tee and made a double bogey. Jon closed the gap to three and it could have been two if he hadn’t missed a putt of just over a metre. He hit it very poorly. Immediately after, Niemann hit a poor shot from the tee with the 3-wood. He changed his glove, as if the club had slipped. Or maybe it’s those 18 million dollars awaiting the individual champion of LIV Golf, which make even the most seasoned sweat bullets, even those who have already accumulated a fortune in earnings. This applies to both, as Jon at no point displayed his best game and Niemann faltered on the back nine.
In any case, many things can happen in the holes ahead. However, Jon has no choice but to play very low the next two days. Not just because of his particular duel with Niemann, but also because to finish in the top 5, practically the minimum he needs to have a chance to win the ranking, he will have to score very low. It would be unusual for that position not to go beyond -15. This means, at least, two rounds of 65 strokes on Saturday and Sunday. He will need to be better from the tee and more brilliant with the putter.
Beyond this duel, Sebastián Muñoz (-12) is the main protagonist of this first day with a round of 59 strokes. It is the first of his career and the third below 60 in LIV since its inception. He joins the club of Bryson DeChambeau, who scored 58, and Joaco Niemann, who signed 59 in Mayakoba. The Colombian has recorded an incredible sequence of twelve birdies in his last thirteen holes. Impressive. He left many very close and also made some long putts and even some from outside. It’s normal to reach those figures. However, the level of the course leaves much to be desired for a LIV final tournament.
Muñoz has a three-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson (-9) and five over Niemann, Cameron Smith, and Patrick Reed. The top 10 closes at -5, where Henrik Stenson (-5) has slipped in, one of those struggling to retain playing rights in LIV. Today he took an important step forward. Thinking in Ryder terms, Hatton’s slight dip in recent weeks is concerning. Today he scored -2. Far from where the action is.
Regarding the Spaniards, David Puig (-4) is the best classified tied with Jon Rahm, while Sergio García scored -2 and Josele Ballester signed -1. Too many errors on the card for the man from Castellón. In the fight to avoid losing the card, Ian Poulter (-3) needs to improve a lot in the next two days to avoid being relegated out of the league. The performance of Frederik Kjetrupp (+8) can start to be considered the worst signing in LIV history.
