Jon Rahm described his bogey-free eight-under 63 as feeling 'almost effortless' after setting the pace at the $25 million 54-hole LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf and Country Club. The Spaniard, still seeking his first individual LIV Golf title, leads by two strokes over Mexico's Abraham Ancer and American Andy Ogletree. Rahm's Legion XIII team tops the leaderboard by one stroke over Smash GC, HyFlyers GC, and Fireballs GC. Friday's round marked the 29th time Rahm has completed a LIV Golf event, with him finishing in the top five in 13 of those rounds, including sharing the lead after the first round in Jeddah. He has achieved a top-10 finish in each of his nine tournaments, currently ranking second behind Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in the season-long individual points standings.
"Nothing much to say obviously but good things," Rahm commented, having entered the week tied for seventh at The Open Championship, his best major result of the year. "Played really good golf all day. With days like this, it almost feels effortless." Rahm played alongside his teammate and former Ryder Cup partner Tyrrell Hatton, and another Legion XIII player, Caleb Surratt, as LIV Golf captains were grouped with their top two teammates for the first round. Rahm's eight-under score matched his lowest LIV Golf round relative to par, while Hatton shot 66, recovering from an opening double bogey. The duo propelled Legion XIII to a 12-under total, which included a counting score of 72 from Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII has won three team titles in its inaugural season and ranks second in the team points standings behind Crushers GC.
"It was the first time I played with any teammates in LIV Golf," said Rahm, who had six birdies in his final nine holes to pull away from the pack. "I wasn't sure how that was going to go. I was a little curious." Ancer, who won earlier this year in Hong Kong via a playoff, finished strongly with four birdies in his last five holes during a superb putting round where he led the field. Ogletree's best finish in his first full LIV Golf season is a tie for third in Adelaide, battling a wrist injury that may necessitate offseason surgery and has forced him to adjust his swing to manage the pain. On a course unfamiliar to most players and expected to yield low scores reluctantly, 35 of the 54 players broke par, with a stroke average of more than one shot under par. Dubai-based players Adrian Meronk (Cleeks GC) and Anirban Lahiri (Crushers GC) shot rounds of 68 and 69 respectively. The Cleeks GC and Crushers GC are both tied ninth on five under par. The Team Event sees the best three scores counting in the first two rounds with all four scores counting in the final round on Sunday.
