LIV Golf UK Round 1: Joaquin Niemann Leads a Three-Way Logjam at JCB

LIV Golf came back to Staffordshire with the season-long race tightening, and the man everybody is chasing responded by refusing to blink.

Joaquin Niemann opened LIV Golf UK by JCB with a bogey-free 6-under 65 at JCB Golf & Country Club on Friday, good for a share of the first-round lead with Branden Grace of Stinger GC and Adrian Meronk of Cleeks GC. Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson and Carlos Ortiz sit one back at 5 under, Tyrrell Hatton and Paul Casey are at 4 under, and the team race could hardly be tighter: Legion XIII, Stinger GC and Torque GC are tied at 11 under, with Ripper GC one shot behind.

The Hunted Plays Like It

Niemann arrived in Rocester as the season's dominant force, a four-time winner in 2025 and the leader of the individual standings by 15 points over Jon Rahm. Four birdies in his first six holes put him in front early, and he never handed a shot back, finishing with six birdies and a clean card.

The Torque GC captain did not pretend the chase was invisible. He called it a privileged spot to be at the top of the rankings with Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau coming after him, and then framed it the way the best front runners do. "I like that pressure," Niemann said.

He already owns two of the most emphatic wins of the LIV season, a closing charge at LIV Golf Adelaide and a five-shot runaway at LIV Golf Singapore. A 65 on a course where the field averaged a little more than one under par is the kind of start that keeps that résumé growing.

Grace and Meronk Find Something

The two players alongside Niemann came in with very different stories than the points leader.

Grace has spent much of the year fighting a sore wrist and sitting in the Drop Zone, the bottom of the standings where relegation lives. Friday looked nothing like a player in trouble. The South African opened with three birdies in his first four holes and closed with the same burst, a round built on two hot stretches that carried Stinger GC into a share of the team lead.

Meronk's 65 was his best score relative to par in 25 LIV rounds, according to LIV Golf, and he saved the good stuff for the finish with four birdies over his last five holes. That run mattered more than usual at JCB, where holes 15 through 18 all played over par on Friday. While most of the field was giving shots back on the closing stretch, the Cleeks GC man was taking them.

"Finally, I'm enjoying myself on the course and playing good golf again, which is quite exciting," Meronk said.

Home Comforts for the Majesticks

The loudest support in the building belonged to the Majesticks. Westwood, the co-captain who arrived on the back of a strong week at The Open at Royal Portrush, posted a 66 and talked about JCB as the closest thing his team has to a home event. Fans packed the Majesticks Arms pub overlooking the ninth green, and Sam Horsfield added a 68 and Henrik Stenson a 70.

Ian Poulter shot even-par 71, which left the Majesticks at 9 under as a team, two off the lead and very much in it.

Watson's 66 was quietly one of the most important rounds of the day. The RangeGoats GC captain is safely clear of the relegation zone but has never finished a season inside the top 24 in the standings. He spoke frankly about the tension in the field with the season winding down, saying the stress is real because some players do not have deals for next year.

Three-Way Tie, All Four Count

Every score counts in the 2025 team format, and Friday rewarded depth. Legion XIII got there with balance: Hatton and Caleb Surratt each shot 67, Tom McKibbin added a 68, and Rahm's even-par 71 was the worst score on the team. Rahm won this event in 2024 for his first LIV title, but the defending champion sits tied for 32nd after one round and is leaning on his younger teammates for now.

Stinger GC matched them behind Grace, with Charl Schwartzel at 68, Dean Burmester at 69 and captain Louis Oosthuizen at 71. Torque GC got a 66 from Ortiz to go with Niemann's 65, while Sebastian Munoz and Mito Pereira each signed for 71.

Ripper GC is one back at 10 under after a deep, steady day: Marc Leishman 67, Cameron Smith 68, Lucas Herbert 69 and Matt Jones 70. HyFlyers GC sit sixth at 6 under, and Cleeks, RangeGoats and Crushers share seventh at 5 under.

Where It Went Wrong

The Crushers are the cautionary tale. DeChambeau shot 68 and Casey 67, and Charles Howell III matched DeChambeau's 68, but Anirban Lahiri's 76 dragged the team back to 5 under.

4Aces GC and Smash GC both sit at even par. Dustin Johnson opened with a 74 and Brooks Koepka a 72, numbers that leave two of the league's biggest names chasing from the back of the pack. Iron Heads GC is last at 2 over.

Saturday's Setup

Eight players are within two shots of the lead, and six teams are within five strokes of the top of the team board. But the name at the top is the one nobody wanted to see there. Niemann has shown all season that he does not give back leads easily, and Saturday is the round where Rahm, DeChambeau and everyone else in between has to start closing the gap.

The official LIV Golf Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has full scoring.

Sources: LIV Golf (Round 1 recap), FOX Sports, Business Today. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: LIV Golf.