Crushers captain Bryson DeChambeau (left) looks on as Torque counterpart Joaquín Niemann tees off in the first round of LIV Golf New York at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.
From a Correspondent
Bedminster, New Jersey: Joaquín Niemann set the tone at a brutal Trump National Golf Club Bedminster with a bogey-free 7 under par 64 for the outright opening round lead of LIV Golf New York on Thursday.
The last time the Chilean held the sole first-round lead in LIV Golf was two-and-a-half years ago, when he opened with a 59 at Mayakoba in February of 2024 before going on to win.
He shared the Round 1 lead twice last season but never held it alone until Thursday, when he turned in 30 on the front en route to his two-shot cushion.
Right behind him, Ian Poulter continued the best stretch of golf he’s played all year.
The Englishman carded a 5 under 66 to sit tied for second, extending a run that’s seen him post a fourth-place finish at the US Senior Open and a T15 at LIV Golf UK — his best LIV result of the season.
Poulter birdied his first two holes of the day and leaned on a gritty par save late to keep the card clean, all while battling the heat.
“It was so hot out here, it was outrageous. I’ve got a pounding headache,” Poulter said. “Hydrate, eat, do no practice, and just try to conserve some energy for the weekend.”
Record run
Joining Poulter was Lucas Herbert, who shows no signs of slowing down his historic run.
Fresh from a wire-to-wire win at 30-under in the UK with the most birdies in tournament history, a record-tying 62 at the Open Championship, and victory at LIV Golf Virginia, Herbert opened with another strong round at Bedminster to sit squarely in the mix.
Thomas Pieters and Brendan Steele fired 3 under 68s to sit four shots behind Niemann’s lead.
On the team side, Niemann’s Torque GC took control early, sitting at 4 under behind his individual lead, with Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer both shooting even-par 71s while Sebastián Muñoz shot a 3 over 74.
HyFlyers GC were second at 2 under, powered by Steele’s 68 and Scott Vincent’s 69. Herbert’s Ripper Golf Club are third at 1-under.
Niemann made approximately 140 feet of putts while leading the field in Greens in Regulation as he tied for his lowest round, relative to par, in his 41 LIV Golf rounds in 2026.
He led the field on Thursday in Strokes Gained Off the Tee and Strokes Gained Approach. Asked if it was his best round this season, Niemann replied: “I have a pretty bad memory, so I’ll say yes.”
Rare feat
He did remember his 59 at Mayakoba, one of just three rounds under 60 in league history.
That set up the first of his league-record eight individual tournament wins, the most recent coming earlier this year in Korea.
Last season when he won five times, he shared the first-round lead twice, converting one of those into a win.
“I’m just excited right now for the chance to be leading in the first round,” said Niemann after starting with a 20-foot birdie putt, a 40-foot putt from off the green, a 52-foot birdie putt and an 18-foot putt late in his round to save par and keep his scorecard clean.
“The putts are going in, which is nice. It’s nice to see that. I’m just excited for what’s coming next.”
To stay atop the leaderboard, however, he’ll likely have to fend off the league’s hottest player.
Herbert opened with a bogey-free 61 in England and finished with another bogey-free round, a 62, to win by six shots.
On Thursday, he was bogey-free again, escaping out of trouble by successfully scrambling all eight times. Herbert has suffered just one bogey in his last 63 holes and will appear in the final group on Friday for the fifth consecutive round.
“Been in very good form lately,” said the 30-year-old Australian.
“It’s been fun to ride that wave. I didn’t feel quite as comfortable today as I did at JCB but that’s understood because that was some of the best golf I’ve ever played there, so high expectations.”
While Poulter can’t match Herbert’s result, the 50-year-old Englishman’s form has improved significantly in his recent appearances.
Getting stronger
He has three top 20s in his last four LIV Golf starts, including a season-best T15 in the UK, and he also finished solo fourth in his senior major debut at the U.S. Senior Open.
Like Niemann and Herbert, Poulter was also bogey-free on Thursday. He’s hoping to duplicate the feat of his former Majesticks teammate Henrik Stenson, who won the individual title at Bedminster in 2022 when the course hosted its first LIV Golf event.
“I hope there’s a lovely little bit of mojo going on at this place,” Poulter said.
“It would be great for us to have one of the boys and obviously me have a win. That would be amazing. It’s great to play a golf course like this laid out in as perfect a condition as it is.
“Going to be a great test, and obviously I’m hoping Majesticks can be on the board come Sunday.”
The Majesticks as a team finished second that week, their best-ever team result. The all-English team will start Friday in solo fourth behind Torque, with Ripper GC and HyFlyers GC tied for second.
Torque have been one of the league’s most consistent teams this season, with three podium results and eight finishes of fifth or better.
But the all-Latin American team have not won since the season finale last year in Indianapolis. Niemann hopes a return atop the podium could be in store this week.
“We did it at the last tournament last year, so right now it’s kind of like our momentum. The whole team is playing great,” Niemann said.
“It’s just a matter of time. Obviously, it’s hard to win, especially with the teams right now how they are. They’re pretty strong. We’re definitely trying our best, the four of us, to get the win and celebrate hopefully with the champagne.”
Rahm, DeChambeau falter
Standings leaders Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm and Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau, failed to break par on Thursday.
Rahm shot a 1 over 72, leaving him tied for 24th, while DeChambeau suffered his highest-ever round over par in his LIV Golf career with a 5 over 76 that left him tied for 49th.
DeChambeau, who started the week nearly 220 points behind Rahm, needs a big week to have any chance of preventing the Spaniard from clinching the title this week.
He must climb within 200 points of Rahm going into the final regular-season tournament at Indianapolis.
After round 1, Rahm is now projected to finish with 948.04 points to DeChambeau’s 722.35 and now has a 99% probability chance of winning his third consecutive season-long crown.
DeChambeau is the only player still with a chance to catch Rahm. (courtesy LIV Golf)
Leaderboards
Individual Top 10
1. (-7) – Joaquin Niemann, Torque (64)
T2 (-5) – Ian Poulter, Majesticks (66); Lucas Herbert, Ripper (66)
T4 (-3) – Brendan Steele, HyFlyers (68); Thomas Pieters, 4Aces (68)
T6 (-2) – Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (69); Harold Varner III, OKGC (69); Bubba Watson, RangeGoats (69); Lee Westwood, Majesticks (69)
T10 (-1) – Yosuke Asaji, wild card (70); Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (70); Tom McKibbin, Legion XIII (70); Paul Casey, Crushers (70)
Team Top 3
1. (-4) – Torque GC (Niemann 64, Ancer 71, Ortiz 71, Munoz 74)
T2 (-1) – Ripper GC (Herbert 66, Leishman 71, Smyth 71, Smith 75)
T2 (-1) – HyFlyers GC (Steele 68, Vincent 69, La Sasso 72, Tringale 74)
Day 1 stats
Driving Distance:Bryson DeChambeau, 323.8-yard avg.
Longest Drive:Josele Ballester, 328.9 yards (18th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 15 and 18.
Driving Accuracy: Younghan Song, Tyrrell Hatton, 92.86% (13 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Joaquin Niemann, 83.33% (15 of 18)
Scrambling: Lucas Herbert (8 of 8), Dean Burmester (7 of 7), Ian Poulter (5 of 5), Joaquin Niemann (3 of 3), 100%
Fewest Putts: Lucas Herbert, 23
Bogey-free rounds: Joaquin Niemann (64), Ian Poulter (66), Lucas Herbert (66), Dean Burmester (71)
Also read: Herbert wins LIV UK with record run to complete Aussie sweep
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