RD. 3 NEWS AND NOTES: KIM ‘ENCOURAGED’ DESPITE RESULT

KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia – Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann won the individual competition, while Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC claimed the team title at LIV Golf Jeddah. Here are some other news and notes from the final round at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

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KIM ‘ENCOURAGED’ DESPITE RESULT: Wild Card player Anthony Kim, making his return to professional golf this week after a nearly 12-year retirement, carded his best score of the week on Sunday with a 4-over 74.

Kim, who opened with a pair of 76s in the first two rounds, finished at 16 over for the week, the highest score among the 53 players who completed all three rounds.

While the rust was evident, Kim said he has plenty to build on as he prepares for his next start at LIV Golf Hong Kong.

“I'm very encouraged,” Kim said. “I'm excited about what's coming. My game is starting to shape up. I'm doing things that I used to do before. I'm just looking forward to a great year.”

Kim’s final two rounds resembled each other – tough starts followed by an extended stretch of improved play. On Saturday, he was 6 over on his first seven holes before parring his last 11 holes. On Sunday, he was 4 over on his first seven holes before playing the next 10 holes in 1 under.

“I definitely played a lot better than the score actually showed,” Kim said. “I felt more comfortable today than I did the first two days. I shot 4-over par, but it could have been an under-par round if I had just cleaned up a few things.

“Unfortunately, it's still taking me a couple holes to get comfortable. I think most of my over-par scores are the first six holes. If I can just figure a way to get my mind right before I get out there, I think I'll be in great shape.”

MICKELSON’S BEST FINISH: HyFlyers GC Captain Phil Mickelson produced his best result at a LIV Golf tournament, finishing tied for sixth at 10 under. 

The 53-year-old Mickelson shot rounds of 65, 68 and 67 and was bogey-free on Sunday.

His previous best result was a tie for 8th in 2022 at LIV Golf Chicago.

NIEMANN’S ‘BEAUTIFUL’ SHOT: The 427-yard par-5 15th at Royal Greens is a severe dogleg left. The tee shot is an uncomfortable one for Joaquin Niemann since he normally hits a low fade.

But on Sunday, his tee shot was a perfect low draw that followed the contours of the fairway, leaving him just over 120 yards to the pin. It didn’t result in a birdie, but it was an indication of just how well Niemann is playing at the moment.

“It was beautiful,” Niemann said. “I hit a low beautiful draw, and it was way down there in the middle of the fairway, tight fairway. It was a great tee shot.”

SCHWARTZEL BACK IN FORM: Stinger GC’s Charl Schwartzel completed his bounce-back from a disappointing result last month in Las Vegas, as he tied for second with teammate Louis Oosthuizen at 13 under.

Schwartzel finished last on the individual leaderboard at Las Vegas Country Club, shooting a 10-over 80 during the chilly final round. But with warmer conditions more to his liking at Royal Greens, he produced his best result since winning the inaugural LIV Golf London tournament in 2022.

“It was nice to play well,” Schwartzel said. “I was very happy that I drove it better. Joaco played really good today, and I didn't have enough good chances, but I was very happy the way I drove it. That's a big improvement.”

TOURNAMENT STATS LEADERS: Branden Grace ranked No. 1 in fairways hit (69%) and greens in regulation (83%); Dean Burmester ranked No. 1 in driving distance (334.2 yard average); Burmester and Charl Schwartzel tied for scrambling (88%); and Cameron Smith led in putting average (1.44)

MERONK ASSESSED ONE-STROKE PENALTY: Cleek GC’s Adrian Meronk was assessed a one-stroke penalty in accordance with the LIV Golf League Pace of Play Policy. Meronk received a time exceeded two minutes for his second stroke on the 18th hole. His original score of 4 on the par-5 18th was adjusted to a 5.