LIV Golf Riyadh Round 1: Adrian Meronk Owns the Night With a Bogey-Free 62

LIV Golf turned the lights on in Riyadh, and Adrian Meronk treated the dark like it owed him money.

The Cleeks GC star opened the 2025 season with a bogey-free 10-under 62 at Riyadh Golf Club, the first round ever played under the lights in LIV Golf history, to take a two-shot lead after Thursday's opening round of LIV Golf Riyadh. Sebastián Muñoz of Torque GC is alone in second after a 64, Legion XIII rookie Tom McKibbin and Majesticks GC co-captain Lee Westwood share third at 7 under, and four players sit at 6 under. In the team race, Jon Rahm's Legion XIII posted 24 under, a number that ties the lowest team round LIV has ever seen.

Eighteen for Eighteen

Meronk's card had no soft spots. He hit all 18 greens in regulation, never dropped a shot and piled up 10 birdies across a round that started on the fifth hole of the shotgun. The cleanest example of how well he was swinging came at the par-5 sixth, where he ripped a 5-iron from 250 yards to 20 feet and two-putted for birdie. He also birdied the 627-yard par-5 third and the par-4 fourth, the second of those from 27 feet, per Field Level Media.

The 62 is only the sixth round of 10 under or better in LIV history, according to LIV Golf. It also came from a player who made swing changes after switching coaches in the offseason and who has been practicing night golf near his home in Dubai. Meronk, still chasing his first LIV title after joining the league ahead of last season, sounded completely at ease.

"I feel like home, and I love it. I love being on LIV," Meronk said.

Muñoz Rolls It, the Rookie Shines

Muñoz was the best putter in the field on Thursday, needing just 1.33 putts per hole on his way to nine birdies and one bogey. His 64 kept Torque GC in the mix and put him in the one spot on the board that can see Meronk without binoculars.

McKibbin made the more memorable debut. The Northern Irishman, added to shore up the back end of a Legion XIII roster that lacked depth last year, paused mid-round to watch the light show over the course, then came home with an eagle and three birdies on his final nine for a bogey-free 65. "A pretty awesome first day," he said.

Westwood matched that 65 and could have gone lower. He hit 16 of 18 greens, took 27 putts and said he missed five putts from inside about six or seven feet, mostly from misreads. His explanation was pure Westwood: "Just 52-year-old eyes. I've got my reading glasses and am actually putting them on when I read the putts."

Legion XIII Ties the Record

The 2025 format change is simple and brutal: all four scores count in every round. Legion XIII did not seem to mind. McKibbin's 65, bogey-free 66s from Tyrrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt, and Rahm's 67 added up to 24 under, matching the lowest team score in LIV history, set by Stinger GC in the final round at LIV Golf Adelaide last year, and setting a new mark for any first round.

The punchline is that Rahm, the captain and the biggest name on the roster, made the team's only bogey and posted its worst score. Under last season's format, his 5 under would not have counted. Rahm took it in stride, saying he did not expect 5 under to be the worst score on the team. "But here we are. The young guys have started the year strong," he said.

Surratt, at 20 the youngest player in the league, matched Hatton's 66 without a blemish. That is the depth question Legion XIII needed answered, and it got answered on night one.

The Chasing Pack

Majesticks GC sits second in the team standings at 17 under behind Westwood's 65 and 68s from Sam Horsfield and Henrik Stenson. Crushers GC and Torque GC are tied for third at 15 under. Bryson DeChambeau shot 69, but Charles Howell III carried the Crushers with a 66. Torque leaned on Muñoz and a 67 from captain Joaquin Niemann. RangeGoats GC is fifth at 14 under, and 4Aces GC and Cleeks GC share sixth at 13 under.

Cleeks is the cautionary tale of the new math. Meronk's 62 was the best round of the night, but Martin Kaymer and Richard Bland each shot 70 and Frederik Kjettrup shot 73, which left the team 11 shots behind Legion despite having the individual leader.

At the other end, Smash GC finished last at even par after Brooks Koepka opened with a 74. Dean Burmester's 66 was the lone bright spot for Stinger GC.

Golf After Dark

The schedule move was built around the broadcast window for Fox Sports, LIV's new U.S. TV partner, and the players mostly bought in. Dustin Johnson, who shot 67, summed it up neatly: "It's cool to play a tournament at night." David Puig took the long-drive honors with a 350.1-yard poke on the 10th.

What Friday Brings

Meronk owns a two-shot lead and a perfect greens-in-regulation number, which is about as stable as a 54-hole event allows. Muñoz has the hot putter, and Legion XIII has four players inside the top 10 and a seven-shot cushion in the team race. With only two rounds left in this format, Friday is where leads either harden or start to wobble.

Full first-round details are in the LIV Golf Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: LIV Golf (Round 1 recap), Field Level Media, Arab News. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Mateo Villalba/LIV Golf.