LIV Golf Riyadh Round 2: Adrian Meronk Holds Firm as Legion XIII Runs Away

Friday night in Riyadh was less about fireworks and more about who could keep their card clean while the floodlights hummed. Adrian Meronk did enough, and Legion XIII did a lot more than enough.

Meronk followed his opening 62 with a 4-under 66 to reach 16-under 128 and hold a two-shot lead over Sebastián Muñoz heading into Saturday's final round of LIV Golf Riyadh. Lucas Herbert posted the low round of the night, a 64, to climb into solo third at 12 under. In the team race, Jon Rahm's Legion XIII shot 18 under for the second straight best team round of the week and now leads Torque GC by 11 shots at 42 under.

Meronk Bends, Doesn't Budge

Thursday's perfect greens-in-regulation number did not survive Friday, but Meronk's short game covered the gaps. The Cleeks GC star needed just 26 putts, and his first bogey of the week did not arrive until the par-4 11th.

The moment that mattered came late. At the par-3 17th, Meronk rolled in a 15-footer for birdie to go two clear, while Muñoz missed a birdie try from 5 feet. Those are the small margins that separate a nervy one-shot lead from a real cushion going into the last 18.

Meronk summed his night up plainly. "I played quite solid," he said.

Muñoz Keeps Rolling

Muñoz matched Meronk's 66 and is now at 14 under. The Torque GC veteran has been the best putter in the field all week, needing only 51 putts across the first two rounds, the fewest of anyone. When the putter is that hot, a two-shot deficit feels a lot smaller than it looks.

That steadiness is also why Torque sits second in the team standings. Muñoz and his teammates combined for 16 under on Friday to get to 31 under, the only side within shouting distance of Legion XIII. The concern for Torque is that captain Joaquin Niemann followed his opening 67 with a 71, so Saturday will need a little more from the top of the lineup.

Herbert's Night

Herbert was the night's best player on paper. His 64 jumped him into solo third at 12 under, four back of Meronk, and pulled Ripper GC into a three-way tie for third in the team race at 28 under. Ripper matched Torque's 16 under on Friday, tied for the best team round outside of Legion XIII.

RangeGoats GC and Crushers GC share that 28-under mark. Bryson DeChambeau found his range with a 66, a three-shot improvement on his opener, to help the Crushers stay in the conversation.

Legion XIII Turns It Into a Procession

The new four-scores-count format was supposed to punish depth problems. Instead, it is showcasing how deep Legion XIII is. Tyrrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt each shot 67 and are tied for fourth at 11 under. Rahm also shot 67, and rookie Tom McKibbin, who poured in a 57-foot birdie putt, signed for a 69. Rahm and McKibbin are tied for sixth at 10 under. That is four Legion XIII players inside the top eight.

Hatton was full of praise for his new teammate. "He's a fantastic player," Hatton said of McKibbin.

Rahm, for his part, was proud of the start but refused to get ahead of himself. "Nothing is guaranteed until the last putt drops," he said.

History backs him up, at least a little. The largest final-day comeback to win a LIV team title belongs to Crushers GC, which erased an 11-shot deficit at LIV Golf Jeddah last year by shooting 20 under on the final day. That is exactly the margin Torque faces now, and LIV Golf notes it would take a record-tying round from Torque, or a record-setting one from anyone else, to catch Legion. There is also a sweep subplot: no team has filled the entire individual podium since Stinger GC did it at the inaugural LIV Golf event in London in 2022.

Damage on 16

Lee Westwood had been one of the best stories of the week, sharing third after a Thursday 65 that he played with his reading glasses on the greens. Then came the par-4 16th. His tee shot found the water, a ball mix-up added to the trouble, and he walked off with a double bogey that knocked him out of a share of third.

Elsewhere, Brooks Koepka found something after his Thursday 74, chipping in for birdie on the 18th on his way to a 67 that helped Smash GC post 11 under for the night.

One Round Left

The math is simple now. Meronk is two clear of Muñoz and four clear of Herbert, with Hatton, Surratt, Rahm and McKibbin lurking at five and six back. He has one round left to protect a lead he has held since Thursday night, and he still has not won on LIV. Legion XIII, meanwhile, has an 11-shot cushion and the chance to make the team race a formality.

Saturday night will tell us whether Meronk's composure travels to the final round, and whether anyone behind him can post a number low enough to make him sweat.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. LIV Golf's own Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab) has full team scoring.

Sources: LIV Golf (Round 2 recap), FOX Sports, Arab News. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Mateo Villalba/LIV Golf.