LIV Golf Jeddah: Day Two
Niemann gains six, Schwartzel holds strong, and Kokrak joins the fold: Joaquin Niemann opened up with a first-round 63 to end the day -7. Now going into Sunday, a bogey-free 64 on Saturday has propelled Joaco into the lead at -13. Niemann will now be looking for his third victory in his last six events. It’s been a good past few weeks for the 25-year-old, the win at Mayakoba, a special invite to the Masters, and potentially another tournament under his belt. In second place is Charl Schwartzel, who moves up a spot after being in a tie for third. Schwartzel was -4 on the day with a 66 to go into Sunday at -11. Rounding out the podium and moving up 21 spots is Jason Kokrak at -10. Kokrak sported the lowest round of the day with a 62 and added in nine birdies, including six over seven holes.
Rest of the Top 10: In a tie for third with Kokrak is Louis Oosthuizen. Schwartzel’s teammate moved up three spots today, going bogey-free for a 4 under 66. In a tie for fifth at -9 are Abraham Ancer, Lucas Herbert, Jon Rahm, and Adrian Meronk. Ancer moves up 18 spots with a bogey-free 63 that included seven birdies with six in a row from holes 10 to 15. Herbert capitalizes on his strong start from yesterday, following up yesterday's 65 with a 66, moving up two spots. Rahm and Meronk dropped a few spots from yesterday but remain in contention, shooting one under par today. To round out the top 10 is a tie for 9th at -8 of Kevin Na and Branden Grace. Na opened up on Friday with 66 and followed up with the same score on Saturday to move up five spots into 9th. Grace gained two strokes today, starting the day with an eagle and finishing with a 65, moving up eight spots.
Stinger moves into first: Starting into the day in second place, Stinger gained 13 strokes among their three top 10 players to move into the lead. Dean Burmester’s score didn’t count today but has shot 67 on both days to enter Sunday in a tie for 13th. All scores count tomorrow of course. Smash GC moves into a tie for second with Legion XIII. Smash started the day in 9th but the strong performances of Kokrak and Brooks Koepka helped move the team up seven spots and gained 14 strokes. Koepka individually moved up 17 spots into a tie for 17th, shooting a 66. Legion XIII was led by Kieran Vincent’s bogey-free 67 to move up 14 spots into 26th individually. Legion XIII enters Sunday at -22, gaining five strokes from Friday.
Note: Matthew Wolff withdrew after three holes today due to illness. The RangeGoats will use Wade Ormsby as an alternate tomorrow as their fourth counting score. Per The CW broadcast, several alternates for the week are announced to the captains who then rank them. Assuming only one player total withdraws, that team will get their top pick. Ormsby has experience in LIV, appearing in five events in 2022 for Punch GC, now known as Ripper GC.
Anthony Kim watch: Kim followed up an opening round 76 with another 76. Kim started the day with four straight bogeys, including a double on his third hole of the day. Things got better from there though. After his last bogey, Kim birdied on his fourth hole. Two holes later was another double bogey. After that, Kim got into a good groove and was par on his last 11 holes. Not an easy task given the rocky start, great job on him for holding his composure. Kim only needed 27 putts today as well, good for third out of the field of 54.