Surratt, Meronk start hot at PIF Saudi International

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Legion XIII's Caleb Surratt and Cleeks Golf Club's Adrian Meronk rekindled their magic with Riyadh Golf Club in Round 1, shooting a pair of 9-under 62s to share the lead in the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.

They hold a one-shot lead over 4Aces GC's Thomas Pieters who shot an 8-under 63 while Kiradech Aphibarnrat from Thailand shot a 64 in the final event of the season on The International Series, and the third from last stop on the Asian Tour calendar.

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In all, 43 LIV Golf players are in the field and eight are in the top 10 after Round 1. Both Surratt and Meronk have history at this venue. Last year, Surratt shot a course-record 61 in the third round before going on to lose in a playoff while Meronk claimed the LIV Golf Riyadh title here in February.

Surratt, who was beaten by Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in the playoff 12 months ago, was comfortably on course to break his course record. After starting on No. 10, he played the back nine in 7-under 29.

Starting on the back nine, Surratt made six consecutive birdies on hole Nos. 11-16, and added another on No. 18 as he made the turn. He then added two more birdies on Nos. 1-2 which put him on 59 watch. He made bogey on No. 4 but finished his round with a birdie on No. 9, his final hole of the day.

“It was a great day,” Surratt said. “I've been working really, really hard the last few weeks. This is my fifth week traveling, so I've learned a lot. I've had to fight a lot of battles, so it was kind of nice to win today's battle. I'm very pleased, but it's just the start of the tournament.”

The 21-year-old from North Carolina joined the LIV Golf League soon after turning professional to play for Jon Rahm’s team.

Surratt has yet to win but has come close several times. As well as tying for second here last year he also tied for second in The International Series England earlier in 2024 and tied for third in the International Series Morocco before that.

“It’s been a much better year," Surratt said. "I believe I'm one of the best players, and I truly have shown myself that, especially towards the back half of the year. I'm really starting to learn my process, learn what I need to do to play well. ... I think it's an everlasting process to learn how to be more consistent. I feel like my good golf is more than good enough, but what makes all these great players so good is they can bring it nearly every week.”

Meronk’s victory here at the start of the season was his first on the LIV Golf League – which he debuted on last year.

“I don't know, it just seems like it [Riyadh Golf Club] suits my game,” Meronk said. “I really like it. I think I kind of know how to play this course already, and I like the greens. They roll nicely. I see the break nicely. Yeah, I just enjoy playing here. Excited to be here again.”

Pieters birdied the last two holes to close in at the end. He arrived here in encouraging form after top-10 finishes in both the Link Hong Kong Open and the Moutai Singapore Open.

“I putted unbelievable today," Pieters said. "I think I had 24 putts. Usually, I don't make a lot of putts from 10 to 15 feet, and today I made all of them. ... I was putting on Sunday night on my putting green at home, and I was just kind of messing about with different models and stuff. I always like to tinker with putters. This one is an old one that I got eight, nine years ago, never used it, but it did a good job today.”

Kiradech Aphibarnrat, the Asian Tour Order of Merit winner in 2013, also clearly likes the course, as he was tied for third in the Saudi Open presented by PIF early last year.

“I'm quite pleased with the way I'm playing the past couple months," Aphibarnrat said. "Starting really good, just can't get everything going through the weekend. But I just keep knocking on the door, and hopefully everything is coming together. ... I've been playing here not often, but this is my third time playing in this place, and I would say the green conditions is one of the best compared with the last two I played before.”

Stinger GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen and Crushers GC's Paul Casey are tied for fifth following 65s, along with Korean Seonghyeon Kim and Torque GC's Sebastian Munoz.

Defending champion Niemann has work to do after a 72, while Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith, who was also in the playoff last year, came in with a 71.

The race to finish in the top two on The International Series Rankings to secure a place on the LIV Golf League moved one step closer.

The leading three players in the rankings, Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe, Yosuke Asaji from Japan, and Filipino Miguel Tabuena were paired in the same group.

Vincent and Tabuena both carded 67s, while Asaji fired a 72.

Vincent leads the Rankings, with 325.59 points, ahead of Asaji in second, on 285.3, with Tabuena third, having earned 232.28 points.

However, with the winner this week set to earn 324 points, the race is wide open, meaning players further down on the Rankings also have a chance to grab one of the places at the very end.

(Photos courtesy of Asian Tour)