Rahm showcases ‘effortless’ form to lead LIV Golf UK at the JCB Golf & Country Club

Jon Rahm said his bogey-free eight-under 63 felt ‘almost effortless’ after setting the pace in the $25 million 54-hole LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf and Country Club.

The Spaniard, still looking for his first individual title in LIV Golf, has a two-stroke lead over Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and American Andy Ogletree.

Rahm’s Legion XIII tops the team leaderboard by one stroke over Smash GC, HyFlyers GC and Fireballs GC. Friday’s round was the 29th that Rahm has completed in LIV Golf. He’s been inside the top five after 13 of those rounds, including a tie for the lead after the first round in Jeddah. Six other times, he’s been inside the top 10.

In each of his nine tournaments (he had to withdraw in Houston due to a foot infection) he has produced a top-10 result, and he’s currently second behind Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in the season-long points individual standings.

“Nothing much to say obviously but good things,” said Rahm who entered the week off a tie 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 in the same group with his teammate and former Ryder Cup partner Tyrrell Hatton, along with another Legion XIII player, Caleb Surratt, as the LIV Golf captains were grouped with their top two teammates for the first round.

Not only did Rahm go low – the eight-under score matches his lowest LIV Golf round relative to par – but Hatton shot 66, bouncing back from an opening double bogey.

The duo fueled Legion XIII’s 12-under total which also included a counting score of 72 from Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII has won three team titles during its inaugural season and is second in the points team 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, the winner via a play-off earlier this year in Hong Kong, finished with a flourish. The Fireballs star birdied four of his last five holes during a brilliant putting round where he led the field.

Ogletree’s best finish during his first full LIV Golf season is a tie for third in Adelaide. He’s battled a wrist injury that may require offseason surgery and forced him to make some swing adjustments to alleviate the pain.

On a course that was unfamiliar to most players and expected to give up low scores grudgingly, 35 of the 54 players in the field 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.

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