Poland’s Adrian Meronk shot a 1-under-par 71 under the lights in the final round Saturday and went wire-to-wire for a two-shot victory at the season-opening LIV Golf Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
It was the first career LIV victory for Meronk, who finished at 17-under 201 over the three-day event, and his first victory of any kind since the Irish Open in 2022 on the DP World Tour.
“With golf, you never know when you get a good form and perform, and that’s what happened for me this week, so I’m super happy that it happened in the first tournament,” Meronk said. “I will continue to work on my game, and hopefully I can bring more trophies.”
Spain’s Jon Rahm (67) and Colombia’s Sebastián Muñoz (71) each finished tied for second at 15 under. Dean Burmester (65) of South Africa and Lucas Herbert (70) of Australia were tied for fourth place at 14 under.
Rahm helped Legion XIII to the team victory at 50 under, 11 shots better than Ripper GC. Tyrrell Hatton (70) of England, Caleb Surratt (71) and Tom McKibbin (72) of Northern Ireland all contributed to the Legion XIII cause.
Meronk opened his final round 2 under through eight holes and was able to counter bogeys at the par-5 10th hole, as well as the par-4 11th hole by recording a birdie at the par-4 16th.
“I kept telling myself that I’m still in it, I’m still tied for first, I still have six holes to go, I’m still playing well, so one shot at a time, and that’s what I did,” Meronk said of the consecutive bogeys near the middle of his round. “I was nervous; I’m not going to lie. But I think it’s normal, and I think as soon as you accept it, you can release it and then play your best, and that’s what happened.”
Rahm charged into second place with his third consecutive round at 5-under par. Rahm had a pair of bogies along with seven birdies, including two over his final six holes.
Rahm’s Legion XIII won the season-opening event for the second consecutive season.
“Every day I’ve made, I would say, two big mistakes that I think were avoidable,” Rahm said. “… If I could at least clean that up and clean up a couple very, very fixable mistakes, it would have been better.”
Muñoz, who opened the final round two shots off the lead and in second place, remained there despite a roller-coaster closing round that included five bogeys and six birdies.
Five players finished tied for sixth place at 13 under, including Bryson DeChambeau and Spain’s Sergio Garcia. Also in that group were David Puig of Spain, Marc Leishman of Australia and Hatton.
The field played under the lights for the first time in order to fit the broadcast window for LIV Golf’s new U.S. TV partner, Fox Sports.
“I wouldn’t say [we are] the night kings,” Rahm said of the team’s success at night. “I think if we come next year and win, then maybe we can start talking about that, but one week doesn’t really prove anything.”
