Fleetwood, Scott and Rose confirmed for Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

RIYADH: Cleeks GC’s Adrian Meronk faced some tense moments on the back nine Saturday night at LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Ma’aden.

On the other hand, Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII spent the final round mostly in cruise control, their substantial lead never seriously threatened on the team leaderboard.

In the end, both Meronk and Legion XIII emerged as wire-to-wire champions in LIV Golf’s first tournament under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club.

The 31-year-old from Poland won his first individual title since joining LIV Golf prior to last season, shooting a 1-under 71 to finish at 17 under, two strokes ahead of Rahm and Torque GC’s Sebastian Muñoz.

Dean Burmester (Stinger GC) and Lucas Herbert (Ripper GC) tied for fourth at 14 under. 

“Super special,” said Meronk, a former DP World Tour Player of the Year.

“I was nervous all day. I played quite good in the beginning, then it was a fight at the end. But super happy that I crossed the line. It was very satisfying, definitely.” 

Legion XIII won the LIV Golf season opener for the second consecutive season, having captured the title last year in Mayakoba when making their debut as LIV Golf’s first expansion team.

They began Saturday’s final round with an 11-shot lead, which ended up as their winning margin. Their winning total of 50 under for the week was just three shots off the record low by any team in a LIV Golf event, with Riyadh being the first tournament in which all four scores counted for every round. 

Legion XIII won the LIV Golf season opener for the second consecutive season, having captured the title last year in Mayakoba when making their debut as LIV Golf’s first expansion team. They won three more times in 2024 and now have five wins in their first 15 LIV Golf tournaments. 

Rahm led his team Saturday with a 5-under 67, with Tyrrell Hatton shooting 70 and Caleb Surratt 71. Tom McKibbin, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland, shot even par to finish at 10 under and tie for 15th in his LIV Golf debut for Legion XIII. 

“Luckily we had a nice cushion going into today and we could afford to not have our best day as a team,” Rahm said, “But still, it was a decisive win and very happy we got to start the year again like this.” 

The All-Australian Ripper GC, the reigning LIV Golf Team Champions, prepared for their return to Adelaide this week as defending tournament champions by finishing tied for second at 39 under with RangeGoats GC. 

With Legion XIII draining the final round of drama on the team leaderboard, Meronk appeared to be doing the same in the individual competition. Entering the round with a two-shot lead, he extended it to four shots at the turn. 

But then he missed a short par putt at the 10th hole and followed with an errant tee shot at 11 that set up a second consecutive bogey. At the par-5 13th, his short birdie putt circled the cup 360 degrees before lipping out. Muñoz, playing in the same group, made birdie to tie Meronk for the lead. 

“The lip-out at 13, that was just so ugly,” Meronk said. “But it happens.” 

He steadied his nerves and delivered the decisive blow at the par-4 16th when his second shot from 167 yards settled 4 feet from the pin for the go-ahead birdie. He then closed it out with two pars. “The birdie on 16 was really huge,” Meronk said. “...It was probably the biggest shot for me this round.” 

Rahm, the defending LIV Golf individual champion was six shots back to start the day. He produced five birdies in a six-hole stretch early in his round and spent the back nine threatening to join the leaders. But he missed a 3-foot birdie putt at 15 that could’ve moved him to within a shot. 

“I think I played good enough to win,” he said. “Obviously it just maybe wasn’t my week.” It was definitely his team’s week, though. Their dominance under the lights left no doubt.  

ALULA: Saudi equestrian Muhannad Alsalmi topped the 120-kilometer Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup in AlUla on Saturday, beating 200 riders from 64 countries around the world, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Alsalmi completed the race in 13 hours, 8 minutes, and 15 seconds, for an average speed of 23.6 kilometers per hour, according to the report.

Taking the second spot was Emirati rider Abdullah Al-Amri, who clocked 13 hours, 8 minutes, and 43 seconds. Another Emirati rider, Saif Al Mazrouei, was third with a time of 13 hours, 9 minutes, and 29 seconds.

The winners received their prizes from Prince Abdullah bin Fahd bin Abdullah, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation and head of the Sports Sector at the Royal Commission for AlUla, during the award ceremonies.

Held at AlFursan Equestrian Village in AlUla, the event took place amid a fiercely competitive atmosphere. Recognized as one of the premier endurance races globally, the competition boasted a total prize pool of SAR15 million, the largest of its kind in this category.

The championship continues on Sunday, with 100 riders competing in the 160-kilometer Al-Mutadil Endurance race for a SAR5 million prize pool.

Last month, the picturesque ancient city located in Saudi Arabia's western region of Madinah hosted the AlUla Trail Race, with some 1,450 athletes from around the world competing.