Neimann in the van but Rahm is closing in at LIV Golf Mayakoba

From a Correspondent

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico: Torque captain Joaquin Niemann has popped champagne bottles atop the LIV Golf podium after team victories but never for an individual title. Now he’s 18 holes away from a dual celebration.

Niemann backed up his opening 12-under 59 with a solid 1-under 70 in windy conditions during Saturday’s second round at LIV Golf Mayakoba.

At 13 under, he’ll take a four-stroke lead over Jon Rahm and Dean Burmester into Sunday’s final round at El Camaleon.

“Obviously in 18 holes there’s a lot that can happen,” Niemann said after his four-birdie, four-bogey round.

“I’m just looking forward to that day. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m going to play with Jon, which will be my first Sunday against him, and I was looking for that for a while.”

Rahm, the reigning Masters champion and making his LIV Golf debut this week with his team Legion XIII, shot a 4-under 67 that he described as a “fantastic day on a much tougher golf course.”

Good start

He hit a field-best 16 of 18 greens and made several par putts from 5-7 feet after an early bogey.

“I’m just happy that on my first start I have a chance to win. It’s that simple,” Rahm said.

“After having as much time off as I did, I’m always confident in myself, but I wasn’t sure I was going to come out, and to start this way, I’m very, very pleased.”

Burmester’s 5-under 66 tied for low round of the day. Like Niemann, he’s celebrated a team win last year as a member of the Stinger GC but not an individual win.

He’ll be in the final group off the first tee with Niemann and Rahm.

“Look, he’s the guy to catch,” Burmester said of Niemann. “There’s no better place to be than right behind him and watch what he’s doing because that can dictate what you need to do sometimes.”

Handy lead

Niemann’s Torque leads the team competition at 15 under, five strokes ahead of Rahm’s Legion XIII.

Smash GC, with their revamped lineup that includes 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch, had the lowest team score (-8) on Saturday and moved into solo third.

For the first time in LIV Golf’s regular season, all four rounds will count towards the team scores on Sunday, thanks to a format change for the 2024 season.

Torque will be looking for a fifth team victory overall, having won a league-leading four times last season.

“There’s a lot of golf to play,” Niemann said. “There’s four scorecards we’ve got to post tomorrow, which makes it more interesting.”

Format changes for the season include adjustments for the final round for all regular-season tournaments.

In the previous 20 regular-season events dating back to the inaugural 2022 beta season, just the top three scores counted for each team in the final round. (courtesy livgolf.com)

Team counting scores

1.Torque GC: -15 (Niemann 70, Muñoz 70, Ortiz 71; Rd. 2 score -2)

2. Legion XIII: -10 (Rahm 67, Surratt 70, Hatton 70; Rd. 2 score -6)

3. Smash GC: -9 (Koepka 68, Kokrak 68, Gooch 69; Rd. 2 score -8)

4. Stinger GC: -8 (Burmester 66, Oosthuizen 69, Schwartzel 76; Rd. 2 score – 2)

5. Crushers GC: -7 (Howell III 69, Casey 69, Lahiri 73; Rd. 2 score -2)

6. Ripper GC: -6 (Smith 70, Herbert 70, Jones 73; Rd. 2 score E)

7. Fireballs GC: -4 (Garcia 70, Chacarra 70, Puig 73; Rd. 2 score E)

T8. Majesticks GC: -2 (Poulter 68, Horsfield 69, Westwood 70; Rd. 2 score -6)

T8. Cleeks GC: -2 (Meronk 70, Bland 74, Samooja 75; Rd. 2 score +6)

10. 4Aces GC: -1 (Johnson 71, Reed 73, Varner III 76; Rd. 2 score +7)

11. Iron Heads GC: E (Na 70, Lee 73, Vincent 73; Rd. 2 score +3)

T12. RangeGoats GC: +1 (Watson 69, Pieters 72, Wolff 73; Rd 2 score +1)

T12. HyFlyers GC: +1 (Steele 66, Tringale 70, Mickelson 77; Rd. 2 score E)

Also read: Neimann sets record pace as LIV Golf’s 2024 season tees off