Joaquin Niemann Wins LIV Golf Adelaide With a Bogey-Free Sunday Charge

Joaquin Niemann started Sunday three shots back and did not make a single mistake. That turned out to be the whole story.

The Torque GC captain shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 at The Grange to win LIV Golf Adelaide at 13-under 203, three strokes clear of Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz, who both closed with 71s to tie for second at 10 under. It is the third LIV Golf League victory for the Chilean and a second win in Australia, after the 2023 Australian Open.

The team title went to Fireballs GC, which posted 12 under on Sunday to finish at 21 under and beat Legion XIII by six. Torque GC rallied to take third.

The Quiet Charge

Niemann's 65 was not the kind of round that announces itself early. It was a round that simply never gave the leaders a break. Niemann hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation, kept every hole at par or better, and stacked birdies while the players ahead started leaking shots.

The decisive blow came at the par-5 15th, where a birdie moved Niemann into the solo lead. A closing birdie at the 18th put the finishing touch on a round that matched Adrian Meronk for the low score of the day and was the only bogey-free card in the field.

Niemann said afterward that the goal going into the day was to do something special from three back. Mission accomplished. LIV Golf noted the win lifts Niemann to third in the season-long individual standings, and it comes roughly two months after Niemann won the PIF Saudi International.

Ancer's Late Leak

For most of the day, this looked like Ancer's tournament. The Fireballs GC star birdied the first two holes of the round and was 3 under for the day standing on the 14th tee.

Then the par-3 14th bit. Ancer found a bunker, failed to get up and down, and made bogey. That opened the door, and two more bogeys followed, including dropped shots on the final two holes. Three bogeys in the last five holes turned a likely win into a share of second.

Ancer was blunt about the ending, saying the last two holes "were rough to finish with bogey-bogey." Ancer added that it would serve as fuel for the rest of the season, per Field Level Media.

Ortiz and Horsfield Fade

Ortiz never found Saturday's rhythm. A couple of early bogeys stalled the round, and Ortiz had little momentum until birdies at the 17th and 18th rescued a 71 and a share of second.

Sam Horsfield, the first-round leader and a 36-hole co-leader, had the toughest day of the overnight leaders. Horsfield made little headway on the front nine, then piled up bogeys on the back to shoot 75 and drop into a five-way tie for seventh at 6 under, alongside Brooks Koepka, Harold Varner III, Tom McKibbin and Anirban Lahiri.

Behind the top three, David Puig shot 67 to finish alone in fourth at 9 under. Richard Bland's 66 was good for fifth at 8 under, and Jon Rahm closed with a 70 to finish sixth at 7 under.

Fireballs Burn Brightest

The team competition was settled by depth. Sergio Garcia and Puig each shot 67, and Ancer and rookie Luis Masaveu each added 71, giving Fireballs GC the best team score of the day and a 21-under total. Legion XIII finished second at 15 under after a 6-under Sunday, and Torque GC's 10-under final round lifted it to third at 13 under. Crushers GC was fourth at 12 under.

The win is the fifth team title in Fireballs GC history, and LIV Golf noted the franchise is now the only team to win a team event in each of LIV's four seasons. Garcia, the captain, summed up the mixed emotions in the room.

"Bittersweet with Abe, the way he played," Garcia said.

The Majesticks Hangover

Saturday's team leader could not hold on. Majesticks GC went 1 over on Sunday, with Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson shooting 71, Ian Poulter 72 and Horsfield 75, and slid into a three-way tie for fifth at 9 under with HyFlyers GC and 4Aces GC. HyFlyers GC had the second-best team round of the day at 11 under, and 4Aces GC went 9 under. The long wait for a Majesticks podium goes on.

Ripper GC's run as Adelaide team champion also came to an end, with the Australians finishing outside the top five in front of their home crowd.

The Takeaway

Adelaide delivered everything LIV Golf wants this event to be: a hole-in-one at the Watering Hole on Friday, a three-way tie on Saturday and a comeback on Sunday. And it rewarded the player who kept the card cleanest when it mattered most.

Niemann's Sunday was a lesson in pressure golf. Three back, no bogeys, and the lead taken at the right moment. On a day when the leaders blinked, Niemann never did.

Revisit how the week unfolded in our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. LIV Golf's final-round recap (opens in a new tab) has the full team scoring.

Sources: LIV Golf (final-round recap and team scoring), Field Level Media, Golf Monthly, Golf News Net. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Chris Trotman/LIV Golf.