TORQUE TIED FOR FIFTH AFTER FIRST ROUND IN JEDDAH
KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia – Torque GC remains in striking distance of capturing the No. 1 seed for next week’s Team Championship in Miami.
Joaquin Niemann’s team is tied for fifth after Friday’s opening round of LIV Golf Jeddah presented by ROSHN. Torque is 4 under after getting counting scores from Niemann (2-under 68), Mito Pereira (68) and Sebastián Muñoz (70).
That leaves Torque just two strokes off the lead held by Ripper GC and Crushers GC at 6 under.
Torque is currently projected to remain in third place in the season-long team standings. But if the team can win in Jeddah, it would force the 4Aces and Crushers to place well enough to keep their positions at No. 1 and No. 2.
Torque remains in good shape to maintain a top-four spot and a quarterfinal bye next Friday.
Pereira, meanwhile, will continue his pursuit of finishing in the bonus-paying third place position in the Individual Champion race.
Pereira needs to win this week and hope Bryson DeChambeau finishes outside the points and Patrick Reed finishes no better than third. If that happens, Pereira would move into the No. 3 spot and claim the $4 million bonus.
Pereira started Friday’s round with two birdies in his first three holes but leveled off after that.
Niemann was 1 over through 11 holes before consecutive birdies at the par-4 17th and par-5 18th moved him into red figures.
Muñoz had a rollercoaster round with five birdies and five bogeys.
David Puig, coming off his first professional win at the International Series Singapore, shot a 1-over 71.