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RIYADH: Playing under the lights is unique for most golfers, but Cleeks GC’s Adrian Meronk looked quite comfortable Thursday night at LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Ma’aden.

So did Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team.
 
Meronk shot a bogey-free 10-under 62 to grab the first-round lead in LIV Golf’s first nighttime round at Riyadh Golf Club.

Meanwhile, Legion XIII, fueled by newest member Tom McKibbin, set a first-round scoring record by shooting 24-under as a team, with all four scores counting in the first round thanks to a format change starting this season.

It was just a year ago that Meronk made his LIV Golf debut after signing just before the season opener. The adjustment period resulted in a slow start, but he finished the year in the top 24 Lock Zone. Now he’s looking to make a bigger splash.
 
“Last year was a very stressful beginning of the year for me, definitely, and this year I know what to expect,” Meronk said. “I feel like home, and I love it. I love being on LIV.”

Meronk made a coaching change in the offseason, which also resulted in a couple of swing changes. Those obviously kicked in nicely on Thursday, as he hit all 18 greens in regulation, including a 5-iron second shot from 250 yards at the par-5 sixth that settled 20 feet away for a two-putt birdie. He said his round felt “quite flawless.”

“I’m excited for the future because I really like how my golf game is shaping up,” Meronk said. “It feels much more comfortable, and I can control the ball much easier.”

Legion XIII also made its debut a year ago as LIV Golf’s first expansion team. Unlike Meronk, there was no adjustment period needed.

With Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton a lethal 1-2 punch, Legion XIII won their first event in Mayakoba, and added three more regular-season wins. Inconsistency on the back end of the roster was the team’s only weakness —  and that seems to have been answered with the addition of McKibbin and the continued development of LIV Golf’s youngest player, 20-year-old Caleb Surratt.

On Thursday, McKibbin and Surratt (66) each shot bogey-free rounds, as did Hatton (66). Rahm suffered the team’s only bogey in shooting 67. A year ago, his score wouldn’t have counted.

“I did not expect 5 under to be the worst score of the team,” Rahm said. “But here we are. The young guys have started the year strong.”

Like Meronk a year ago, McKibbin must adjust to life on LIV Golf. But he’s embracing all that his new environment has to offer. He even stopped to watch a mid-round light show — and then proceeded to make an eagle and three birdies in his final nine holes.

“A pretty awesome first day,” he said.

GURUGRAM, INDIA: Ollie Schniederjans completed a remarkable comeback victory at International Series India presented by DLF, in front of a packed audience at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram, just outside Delhi.

The American, lifted by an outrageous chip in for birdie on 13, fired a three-under-par 69 for a four-round aggregate of 10-under.

It gave him a surprise four-shot victory over reigning US Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau, his nearest challenger — in the opening event of the year on the International Series that brought crowds flocking to Gurugram.

The two-time major winner pulled out all the stops with a seven-under par round of 65, but it was not enough to cancel out an eight-shot gap that Schniederjans had built up over him going into the final round, and he finished on six under for the week.

Abraham Ancer of Fireballs GC finished joint third on two under after a level-par final round, alongside reigning International Series Rankings Champion Joaquin Niemann, with only four players finishing under par on the testing Gary Player-designed course.

“It means a lot to me,” said the 31-year-old Schniederjans, ably supported by his brother Ben as caddie this week. “This golf course is very challenging, and back in the day I would have had a hard time out here, so to come out and shoot those scores now, with everything I have been through, my game is a lot better than it ever was. This was proof this week.”

The third round had to be completed this morning, and Schniederjans got off to a great start as he carved out a three-shot lead on seven under.

The field had nine holes to finish after a first shotgun start on Saturday afternoon, and the American birdied his first three holes — 10, 11 and 12 — en route to a 69. He had a five-shot lead at the turn from Kazuki Higa and DeChambeau. That lead became six when he sensationally chipped in for a three on the par-four 13th from a difficult lie to the right of green, where it looked like a bogey would be more likely.

Japan’s Higa (72) had started the final round in second place on four under, but ultimately fell away to T5 on level par after a four-over final round of 76.

The backlog was the result of long delays every day caused by thick fog each morning. In order to complete 72 holes, the organisers switched to shotgun starts for rounds three and four, with players staying in the same pairings.

They started round four immediately after completion of round three and Schniederjans did not let up in pursuit of a morale-boosting victory, with Australian Greg Norman walking the course and watching intently.

And despite a bogey on 17, the American safely made par on 18 to see things out, narrowly missing out on a birdie chip in from the fringe of the green.

Schniederjans’ win is a remarkable one. He had replacement surgery on both hips in 2022 and was out of the game for well over a year.

It was his final attempt to fix a whole host of injury issues which had derailed the career of a player who was ranked the world’s top amateur in 2014 for 41 consecutive weeks. He also won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016, the year after turning professional.

Schniederjans was playing this week by virtue of finishing fourth at last year’s LIV Golf Promotions event, with the top-10 players earning playing rights for The International Series.

He just missed out on winning the event in Saudi, which brings a passage onto the LIV Golf League, but having triumphed today he has made the ideal start to The International Series Rankings race, with the champion also earning a berth on the roster.

Speaking out about his long journey back to victory, he said: “It was a long process, it took a lot of patience. I did a lot to change my body and swing, and had to learn a lot through that process.

“There were setbacks that took me years to get to this point. This year has been good, I have been able to be on the course all year for a year now. I’ve been able to put everything together, and I knew something like this was coming.”

Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra and Higa finished T5 on level par, ahead of Australian Kevin Yuan and Chase Koepka in eighth place on one over.

The next event on the Asian Tour is the New Zealand Open from Feb. 27 — March 2, which will be followed by the International Series Macau (March 20-23), the second elevated event of 10 that offers a pathway onto the LIV Golf League.