Adrian Meronk held off Jon Rahm to win LIV Golf’s season opener in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 31-year-old Cleeks player, who jumpstarted his tournament with a 10-under 62 on Thursday, closed in 71 under the lights to finish at 17 under, two shots ahead of Legion XIII’s Rahm (67) and Torque’s Sebastian Munoz (71). The victory is Meronk’s first since joining LIV prior to last season, which Meronk capped by finishing 17th on the points list.
Legion XIII won the team title at 50 under, 11 shots clear of Ripper and RangeGoats.
Rahm birdied five of his first seven holes but couldn’t get within fewer than two shots of Meronk, who shrugged off back-to-back bogeys, at Nos. 10 and 11, to birdie the par-3 16th. Munoz, though, tied Meronk with a birdie at the par-4 15th before a bogey at the par-3 17th ended his threat.
Stinger’s Dean Burmester and Ripper’s Lucas Herbert tie for fourth at 14 under. Another shot back, Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton tied for sixth with Crushers’ Bryson DeChambeau, Ripper’s Marc Leishman, and Fireballs teammates Sergio Garcia and David Puig.
LIV’s next event is Feb. 14-16 in Adelaide, Australia.
