Niemann cards 59 to lead LIV Golf Mayakoba
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann fired 10 birdies and an eagle in a 12-under par 59 on Friday (Saturday in Manila) in the first round of the LIV Golf season-opening event at Mayakoba in Mexico.
Niemann stole the spotlight from Masters champion Jon Rahm, the newest recruit to the upstart league entering its third season amid ongoing negotiations to bring it together with the PGA and DP World Tours.
In LIV’s shotgun start format, Niemann teed off on the second hole of the par-71 El Camaleon course, opening with a par before he birdied seven of his next eight holes.
At the par-four 11th, his second shot from the fairway found the green and hopped into the cup for an eagle, and he added birdies at 13, 15 and 17 — where he landed a shot from the rough within 5 feet.
Niemann parred his last three holes to notch the second sub60 round ever on the LIV Golf circuit. Bryson DeChambeau carded a 58 to win the LIV Golf Greenbrier title in August.
“It was obviously an amazing round,” Niemann said. “I played solid [from] the beginning, and I never stopped playing good.
“It was good to hit good tee shots on the last couple holes where they’re kind of tricky, especially 16, 18 and No. 1. I gave myself a few chances also the last couple holes to go even lower, but yeah, still really, really happy.” Niemann said he knew early on that a low score was on the cards, but as the birdies piled up, he didn’t do the calculations on whether he was heading toward something under 60. Sub-60 rounds remain rare. There have been 12 on the US PGA Tour, one on the LPGA Tour and one on the European Tour. Niemann had a five-shot lead over American Patrick Reed with Spain’s Sergio Garcia in third on sixunder.
World No. 3 Rahm was in a tie for fourth on five-under par and called it a “successful” start to his LIV career.
He said he “would have bet a lot of money against a 59 here this week” because of the tight fairways and tricky rough.