LIV Golf New York Round 2 Recap: Joaquin Niemann And Torque In Cruise Control

Joaquin Niemann has a five-shot pb aft 2 rounds astatine LIV Golf New York. He appears successful full bid of each facets of his crippled and is the lone subordinate successful the tract yet to marque a bogey. It’s precise reminiscent of 2025 erstwhile helium won a grounds 5 LIV Golf tournaments.

But the Torque GC captain, seeking his 2nd triumph successful his past 4 league starts, isn’t funny successful comparing his existent signifier to past year. He doesn’t privation to get stuck trying to simply duplicate the past.

"I consciousness similar I’m ne'er going to beryllium the aforesaid arsenic I was successful 2025," helium said. "I consciousness similar you’re ever changing. You’re ever evolving and you’re ever a antithetic person. 2025, I played astonishing golf. I had 5 wins connected LIV. Probably not the champion results successful major. But I consciousness I’m a amended subordinate now. I consciousness similar I person matured a batch much and whenever clip goes on, there’s ever thing to learn."

The 27-year-old Niemann, the league’s youngest captain, followed his opening 7-under 64 with a bogey-free 65 connected Friday, leaving him astatine 13 nether entering the play astatine Trump National Bedminster. Fueled by Niemann, Torque besides has a five-shot pb connected the squad leaderboard.

Niemann’s closest pursuer is the oldest skipper successful the field, 53-year-old Lee Westwood of England. The Majesticks co-captain is astatine 8 nether aft matching Niemann’s 65. Another changeable backmost is 47-year-old Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia of Spain, who besides changeable 65.

Both of those European legends recognize that catching Niemann volition beryllium a hard task – particularly if the Chilean prima keeps starting his rounds truthful strongly. In each of the archetypal 2 days astatine Bedminster, he’s changeable 5-under 30 connected the beforehand nine.

"Joaco is evidently a world-class player. For me, he's apical 20 successful the world," Westwood said. "When he's connected his game, helium tin tally distant with a tournament. But everybody is human, and everybody makes mistakes, and everybody feels pressure. So, we'll conscionable spot what happens, really. I'll conscionable effort and power what I tin control."

Added Garcia: "If Joaco keeps shooting 5- oregon 6-under each day, it's going to beryllium precise hard to drawback him; it's arsenic elemental arsenic that. When Joaco gets going the close mode … it feels similar helium tin birdie beauteous overmuch each hole."

Garcia faces the aforesaid 36-hole shortage arsenic helium did successful the 2024 play opener astatine Mayakoba erstwhile helium was six shots down aft Niemann opened with a 59 astatine the 54-hole tournament. Garcia managed to unit a playoff that Niemann yet won successful the fading airy successful Mexico.

"It would beryllium bully hopefully connected Sunday to person a playoff with him again," Garcia said.

That triumph was the archetypal of Niemann’s LIV Golf grounds 8 idiosyncratic titles. Two of those victories came erstwhile Niemann led aft the archetypal circular successful 54-hole tournaments. When Niemann won his archetypal 72-hole LIV Golf rubric successful May successful Korea, helium was 3 strokes disconnected the pb with 36 to play earlier reeling successful Talor Gooch and beating the OKGC skipper successful a playoff.

"Obviously I've been successful this concern before, but similar I say, I consciousness similar each concern is antithetic to the different ones," Niemann said. "There's conscionable acquisition that you tin larn from. I'm conscionable excited to spell retired determination for the play and spot what I tin learn. I consciousness similar there's truthful overmuch play to play. There are truthful galore shots to hit. I'm conscionable excited to person the accidental to spell and spot my shots, effort to present the champion I can, and spell from there."

TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS

Individual Top 10

1 (-13) – Joaquin Niemann, Torque (64-65)

2 (-8) – Lee Westwood, Majesticks (69-65)

3 (-7) – Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (70-65)

T4 (-6) – Tom McKibbin, Legion XIII (70-66); Harold Varner, OKGC (69-67)

T6 (-5) – Richard Bland, Cleeks (73-64); Paul Casey, Crushers (70-67); Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (69-68); Lucas Herbert, Ripper (66-71)

T10 (-4) – Thomas Pieters, 4Aces (68-70); Ian Poulter, Majesticks (66- 72)

Team Top 3

1 (-9) – Torque GC (Niemann 64-65, Ancer 71-72, Ortiz 71-71, Munoz 74-71; Rd. 2 score: -5)

2 (-4) – HyFlyers GC (Steele 68-74, Vincent 69-68, La Sasso 72-69, Tringale 74-70 ; Rd. 2 score: -3)

3 (-2) – Ripper GC (Herbert 66-71, Leishman 71-69, Smyth 71-71, Smith 75-72 ; Rd. 2 score: -1)

Click present for afloat leaderboard

ROUND 2 NOTES

WESTWOOD AND BEDMINSTER: When LIV Golf archetypal visited Trump National Bedminster during the inaugural play of 2022, Lee Westwood changeable 4 nether to necktie for sixth. The pursuing twelvemonth did not spell arsenic well, arsenic Westwood finished past successful the 48-player tract astatine 20 over.

Asked connected Friday however helium felt upon seeing Bedminster backmost successful the people rotation for this year, Westwood replied: "I truly had mixed emotions astir it, I suppose. But I don't truly look astatine it similar that. I instrumentality the people connected its merits, and this is an fantabulous play course. This should suit the champion players, the radical that deed the astir fairways and the astir greens and marque the fewest mistakes and rotation successful a fewer putts. I deliberation it's a precise fair, hard play course."

The Majesticks co-captain is uncovering Bedminster to his liking this week arsenic helium chases his 45th nonrecreational title. He leads the tract successful Strokes Gained Putting, citing the benefits of having his ain putting workplace astatine home. But adjacent if Westwood does triumph for the archetypal clip connected immoderate circuit since 2020, helium doesn’t deliberation it volition alteration the cognition of his career.

"It's thing I'd similar to do, obviously," helium said. "But it won't specify my vocation connected LIV, really, careless of what happens successful the future. I'm benignant of astatine the property present wherever I conscionable tee it up and effort and person a fun, enjoyable week, and if I play well, I play well, right? That's the mode everybody should play the game. You hole hard and effort and hole thoroughly for each tourney and past you conscionable benignant of rotation the dice. If they crook up the mode you privation them to, you person a chance."

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: Two-time defending LIV Golf Individual Champion Jon Rahm is 36 holes distant from clinching his 3rd consecutive season-long title.

The Legion XIII skipper is tied for 27th astatine 1 implicit aft shooting an even-par 71 connected Friday. That leaves him 14 strokes down tourney person Joaquin Niemann but 7 strokes up of the lone subordinate who tin drawback him successful the points race, Bryson DeChambeau.

The Crushers GC skipper is successful 50th spot astatine 8 over. That leaves him with a projected points full of 722.50, portion Rahm is projected to decorativeness astatine 947.54 points. DeChambeau indispensable ascent wrong the 200-point obstruction aft this play astatine Bedminster to stay mathematically live to drawback Rahm successful the regular-season finale astatine Indianapolis.

Jon Rahm during Round 1 of LIV Golf New York astatine Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. (Photo by Charles Laberge/LIV Golf)

LOW ROUND FOR BLAND: Richard Bland, the oldest subordinate successful the tract astatine property 53, produced the lowest circular connected Friday, a bogey-free 7-under 64 that included birdies connected 5 par 4s. It matches the Cleeks GC veteran’s lowest round, comparative to par, this season.

"Drove the shot beauteous well, deed immoderate bully irons," said Bland, who’ll participate the play tied for sixth. "The chances I gave myself, I beauteous overmuch took, and besides up-and-downed it a mates times erstwhile I needed to the past mates of holes."

Bland is not the lone 50-something who’s thriving this week, contempt the vigor and the mammoth 7,600-yard course. Westwood – conscionable 2 months younger than Bland – is successful solo second. His chap Majesticks co-captain Ian Poulter, property 50, is tied for 10th aft pursuing his opening 66 with a 1-over 72.

"Obviously for our shorter hitters, hitting the fairways is important due to the fact that if you get it successful the rough, par is going to beryllium a precise bully score," Bland said. "So, I person to deed a batch of fairways. If you ‘re going to vie astatine this level, you request to person each your crippled with you too."

HYFLYERS ON PACE FOR BEST RESULT: HyFlyers GC are successful solo 2nd connected the squad leaderboard astatine 4 under, 5 shots down Torque GC. If they tin support that presumption oregon drawback Torque for the title, it would beryllium the HyFlyers’ best-ever squad result. The squad has 3 third-place podium finishes successful its history.

On Friday, Scott Vincent (68), Michael La Sasso (69) and Cameron Tringale (70) combined to sprout 6 nether to offset Brendan Steele’s 74. Steele had acceptable the gait successful the opening circular with a 68.

HERBERT’S CRIPPLING DOUBLE: Red-hot Lucas Herbert of Ripper GC was hanging adjacent to person Joaquin Niemann for the archetypal portion of his round, producing birdies successful 3 of his archetypal 5 holes. But past helium suffered his archetypal bogey successful 49 holes aft his par putt lipped retired astatine the 7th hole.

Four holes later, helium suffered a treble bogey astatine the par-4 11th contempt his attack changeable hitting the greenish conscionable 3 feet from the pin. The shot spun backmost and rolled disconnected the greenish into the archetypal chopped of rough. He past doubly failed to onshore his spot changeable connected the greenish astatine the par-4 11th. His 3rd with a 6-iron and 4th changeable with a wedge some rolled backmost down the slope adjacent wherever helium played the shots. He yet landed connected the greenish with his 3rd effort earlier making the putt for six.

Herbert, victor of 2 of the past 4 LIV Golf tournaments, suffered different bogey astatine the 14th to sprout even-par 71, leaving him astatine 5 nether entering the play and a necktie for sixth.

This portion is courtesy of Mike McAllister successful concern with LIV Golf.