CLEEKS’ MERONK, RAHM’S LEGION XIII GO WIRE-TO-WIRE UNDER THE LIGHTS

 

First place individual champion Adrian Meronk of Cleeks GC. (Photo by Chris Trotman/LIV Golf)

Cleeks GC’s Adrian Meronk faced some tense moments on the back nine Saturday night at LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Ma’aden. On the other hand, Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII spent the final round mostly in cruise control, their substantial lead never seriously threatened on the team leaderboard.

In the end, both Meronk and Legion XIII emerged as wire-to-wire champions in LIV Golf’s first tournament under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club.

The 31-year-old from Poland won his first individual title since joining LIV Golf prior to last season, shooting a 1-under 71 to finish at 17 under, two strokes ahead of Rahm and Torque GC’s Sebastián Muñoz. Dean Burmester (Stinger GC) and Lucas Herbert (Ripper GC) tied for fourth at 14 under. 

“Super special,” said Meronk, a former DP World Tour Player of the Year. “I was nervous all day. I played quite good in the beginning, then it was a fight at the end. But super happy that I crossed the line. It was very satisfying, definitely.” 

Legion XIII won the LIV Golf season opener for the second consecutive season, having captured the title last year in Mayakoba when making their debut as LIV Golf’s first expansion team. They began Saturday’s final round with an 11-shot lead, which ended up as their winning margin. Their winning total of 50 under for the week was just three shots off the record low by any team in a LIV Golf event, with Riyadh being the first tournament in which all four scores counted for every round. Legion XIII won the LIV Golf season opener for the second consecutive season, having captured the title last year in Mayakoba when making their debut as LIV Golf’s first expansion team. They won three more times in 2024 and now have five wins in their first 15 LIV Golf tournaments. 

Rahm led his team Saturday with a 5-under 67, with Tyrrell Hatton shooting 70 and Caleb Surratt 71. Tom McKibbin, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland, shot even par to finish at 10 under and tie for 15th in his LIV Golf debut for Legion XIII.  "Luckily we had a nice cushion going into today and we could afford to not have our best day as a team,” Rahm said, “But still, it was a decisive win and very happy we got to start the year again like this.”  The All-Australian Ripper GC, the reigning LIV Golf Team Champions, prepared for their return to Adelaide this week as defending tournament champions by finishing tied for second at 39 under with RangeGoats GC.  With Legion XIII draining the final round of drama on the team leaderboard, Meronk appeared to be doing the same in the individual competition. Entering the round with a two-shot lead, he extended it to four shots at the turn.  But then he missed a short par putt at the 10th hole and followed with an errant tee shot at 11 that set up a second consecutive bogey. At the par-5 13th, his short birdie putt circled the cup 360 degrees before lipping out. Muñoz, playing in the same group, made birdie to tie Meronk for the lead.  “The lip-out at 13, that was just so ugly,” Meronk said. “But it happens.”  He steadied his nerves and delivered the decisive blow at the par-4 16th when his second shot from 167 yards settled 4 feet from the pin for the go-ahead birdie. He then closed it out with two pars. “The birdie on 16 was really huge,” Meronk said. “...It was probably the biggest shot for me this round.”  Rahm, the defending LIV Golf Individual Champion was six shots back to start the day. He produced five birdies in a six-hole stretch early in his round and spent the back nine threatening to join the leaders. But he missed a 3-foot birdie putt at 15 that could’ve moved him to within a shot.  “I think I played good enough to win,” he said. “Obviously it just maybe wasn't my week.” It was definitely his team’s week, though. Their dominance under the lights left no doubt.

TEAM SCORES LIV Golf’s new scoring format made its debut this week, with all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. (Click here for more on the new format). Here are the final results and scores for each team after Saturday’s Rd. 3 at Riyadh Golf Club.  1. LEGION XIII -50 (Rahm 67, Hatton 70, Surratt 71, McKibbin 72; Rd. 3: -8)  T2. RIPPER GC -39 (Leishman 68, Jones 69, Herbert 70, Smith 70; Rd. 3: -11)  T2. RANGEGOATS GC -39 (Watson 68, Uihlein 68, Campbell 69, Wolff 72; Rd. 3: -11)  4. CRUSHERS GC -36 (DeChambeau 68, Casey 69, Lahiri 69, Howell III 74; Rd. 3: -8)  5. FIREBALLS GC -34 (Puig 65, Garcia 67, Masaveu 68, Ancer 74; Rd. 3: -14)  6. CLEEKS GC -28 (Kjettrup 68, Bland 70, Meronk 71, Kaymer 75; Rd. 3: -4)  7. TORQUE GC -27 (Muñoz 71, Ortiz 72, Niemann 73, Pereira 76; Rd. 3: +4)  T8. STINGER GC -25 (Burmester 65, Schwartzel 68, Oosthuizen 69, Grace 74; Rd. 3: -12)  T8. MAJESTICKS GC -25 (Horsfield 69, Poulter 71, Westwood 73, Stenson 74; Rd. 3: -1)  10. SMASH GC -23 (Kokrak 67, McDowell 68, Koepka 70, Gooch 71; Rd. 3: -12)  11. 4ACES GC -21 (Pieters 67, Varner III 68, Reed 71, Johnson 74; Rd. 3: -8)  12. HYFLYERS GC -18 (Tringale 65, Schniederjans 70, Steele 70, Ogletree 71; Rd. 3: -12)  13. IRON HEADS GC -11 (Lee 69, Ormsby 69, Jang 73, Na 75; Rd. 3: -2)  Wild Cards: Lee 71, Kim 72

Legion XIII replaces the flag on the 18th green. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/LIV Golf)