The last time Joaquin Niemann held the solo lead after the first round of a LIV Golf tournament, he finished the week with a victory. That was 2-1/2 years ago when he opened with an historic 59 in the 2024 season opener at Mayakoba.
Based on Niemanns impressive performance Thursday at LIV Golf New York, dont be surprised if he duplicates that feat this week at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
The Torque GC captain opened with a bogey-free 7-under 64 to grab a two-shot lead over Ripper GCs Lucas Herbert and Majesticks GC Co-Captain Ian Poulter. Niemann also was the primary contributor as Torque grabbed a three-shot advantage on the team leaderboard.
Niemann made approximately 140 feet of putts while leading the field in Greens in Regulation as he tied for his lowest round, relative to par, in his 41 LIV Golf rounds in 2026. He led the field on Thursday in Strokes Gained Off the Tee and Strokes Gained Approach. Asked if it was his best round this season, Niemann replied: “I have a pretty bad memory, so I’ll say yes.”
He did remember his 59 at Mayakoba, one of just three rounds under 60 in league history. That set up the first of his league-record eight individual tournament wins, the most recent coming earlier this year in Korea. Last season when he won five times, he shared the first-round lead twice, converting one of those into a win.
“I’m just excited right now for the chance to be leading in the first round,” said Niemann after a round that started with a 20-foot birdie putt and included a 40-foot putt from off the green, a 52-foot birdie putt and an 18-foot putt late in his round to save par and keep his scorecard clean. “The putts are going in, which is nice. It’s nice to see that. I’m just excited for what’s coming next.”
To stay atop the leaderboard, however, hell likely have to fend off the leagues hottest player in Herbert, who won his second tournament of the season two weeks ago at LIV Golf United Kingdom presented by JCB with a record 30-under total.
Herbert opened with a bogey-free 61 in England and finished with another bogey-free round, a 62, to win by six shots. On Thursday, he was bogey-free again, escaping out of trouble by successfully scrambling all eight times. Herbert has suffered just one bogey in his last 63 holes and will appear in the final group on Friday for the fifth consecutive round.
“Been in very good form lately,” said the 30-year-old Australian. “Its been fun to ride that wave. I didnt feel quite as comfortable today as I did at JCB but thats understood because that was some of the best golf Ive ever played there, so high expectations.”
While Poulter cant match Herberts result, the 50-year-old Englishmans form has improved significantly in his recent appearances. He has three top 20s in his last four LIV Golf starts, including a season-best T15 in the UK, and he also finished solo fourth in his senior major debut at the U.S. Senior Open.
Like Niemann and Herbert, Poulter was also bogey-free on Thursday. Hes hoping to duplicate the feat of his former Majesticks teammate Henrik Stenson, who won the individual title at Bedminster in 2022 when the course hosted its first LIV Golf event.
“I hope there’s a lovely little bit of mojo going on at this place,” Poulter said. “It would be great for us to have one of the boys and obviously me have a win. That would be amazing. It’s great to play a golf course like this laid out in as perfect a condition as it is. It’s going to be a great test, and obviously I’m hoping Majesticks can be on the board come Sunday.”
The Majesticks as a team finished second that week, their best-ever team result. The all-English team will start Friday in solo fourth behind Torque, with Ripper GC and HyFlyers GC tied for second.
Torque has been one of the leagues most consistent teams this season, with three podium results and eight finishes of fifth or better. But the all-Latin American team has not won since
