Niemann wins LIV Golf Adelaide; Fireballs GC claims team title

ADELAIDE, South Australia – Joaquin Niemann began Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf Adelaide three strokes off the lead. That left him with a fairly straightforward objective.

“Do something special,” the Torque GC captain said.

Task completed.

Niemann produced the day’s only bogey-free round, shooting a 7-under 65 to eventually reel in Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer, who led the majority of the day until suffering three bogeys on his final five holes. Niemann’s 13 under total was good enough for a three-shot victory over Ancer and Torque teammate Carlos Ortiz, who each shot 71.

RELATED: Final leaderboard

It's the second straight LIV Golf season in which Niemann has posted an early victory. A year ago, he won the first and third events of the season and led the season-long points standing until finishing second to Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm in the Individual Championship.

Two months ago, Niemann won the PIF Saudi International presented by SoftBank Investment Advisers and also won the season-long International Series championship. He said his current form is better than a year ago – and that he’ll only keep improving.

“Days like today makes me grow as a player,” said Niemann, who won for the second time in his career in Australia, having captured the Australian Open in 2023. “There is a lot I have to take from today and learn from it because today was a really good day. If I could have these Sundays more often, chasing leaders, it would be really good for my game.”

Ancer, also a former Australian Open champ, was still able to celebrate atop the Adelaide podium, with the Fireballs claiming the team title by six strokes over Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII, with Torque finishing third.

“Obviously the last two holes were rough to finish with bogey-bogey, having a chance to win the tournament,” said Ancer, who’ll enter LIV Golf’s next tournament in Hong Kong as the defending champion. “It's always tough, but I think it's just fuel for the rest of the season. I feel like my game is trending in the right direction. I like where things are headed.”

Ancer shared the 36-hole lead with Ortiz and Majesticks GC’s Sam Horsfield but took command early with birdies in his first two holes. He remained bogey-free until finding the bunker at the par-3 14th and failing to get up-and-down.

Niemann, playing in the group ahead of Ancer, posted his sixth birdie of the day at the 15th to grab the solo lead. His iron play was terrific Sunday, as he hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation. His 65 tied for the low round of the day with Riyadh winner Adrian Meronk.

“The way I played today, I feel like it talks a lot on how I've been working, how I've been practicing,” Niemann said. “Being able to see those little steps forward all the time, it's always satisfying.”

The Fireballs certainly were satisfied after winning their fifth tournament in club history, four of them on different continents. They’re also the only team to have won at least one team title in all four LIV Golf seasons. Captain Sergio Garcia and David Puig each shot 5-under 67s, while Ancer and newcomer Luis Masaveu, the 22-year-old, shot 71s.

“Bittersweet with Abe, the way he played,” Garcia said. “He was there the whole day, and it would have been nice to get the double. But super proud of the way they all fought.”

For Masaveu, Sunday’s champagne celebration in front of the massive Adelaide crowd was part of his indoctrination into LIV Golf. “I asked what I needed to do because it was the first time,” he said. “But I think I did it all right.”

Smiled Garcia: “Quick learner.”

TEAM SCORES

LIV Golf’s new scoring format now counts all four scores in every round in the team competition. (Click here for more on the new format). Here are the final results and scores for each team after Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf Adelaide.

1. FIREBALLS GC -21 (Garcia 67, Puig 67, Ancer 71, Masaveu 71; Rd. 3 score: -12)

2. LEGION XIII -15 (Hatton 72, McKibbin 69, Rahm 70, Surratt 71; Rd. 3 score: -6)

3. TORQUE GC -13 (Niemann 65, Ortiz 71, Muñoz 71, Pereira 71; Rd. 3 score: -10)

4. CRUSHERS GC -12 (Lahiri 69, Casey 73, DeChambeau 71, Howell III 68; Rd. 3 score: -7)

T5. HYFLYERS GC -9 (Mickelson 68, Steele 69, Tringale 69, Ogletree 71; Rd. 3 score: -11)

T5. 4ACES GC -9 (Pieters 68, Varner III 69, Reed 72, Johnson 70; Rd. 3 score: -9)

T5. MAJESTICKS GC -9 (Westwood 71, Stenson 71, Poulter 72, Horsfield 75; Rd. 3 score: +1)

8. STINGER GC -6 (Schwartzel 69, Burmester 70, Oosthuizen 71, Grace 74; Rd. 3 score: -4)

9. RIPPER GC -1 (Leishman 70, Smith 70, Jones 73, Herbert 75; Rd. 3 score: E)

10. IRON HEADS GC +5 (Na 69, Jang 71, Lee 74, Ormsby 75; Rd. 3 score: +1)

11. RANGEGOATS GC +6 (Uihlein 69, Campbell 71, Watson 71, Wolff 72; Rd. 3 score: -5)

12. CLEEKS GC +7 (Meronk 65, Bland 66, Kaymer 72, Kjettrup 74; Rd. 3 score: -11)

13. SMASH GC +13 (Koepka 70, McDowell 70, Gooch 76, Kokrak 77; Rd. 3 score: +5)

Wild Cards: Lee 75, Kim 76

ROUND 2 NOTES

FIREBALLS HOUSE: For the third consecutive year at LIV Golf Adelaide, Fireballs GC stayed together at a rental house near the beach. The camaraderie built during the week is vital, and it paid off Sunday with a team victory.

No other team has won a tournament in each of LIV Golf’s first three years, and now the Fireballs have done it for a fourth season.

“Super proud to be able to achieve that, win in every single season,” said captain Sergio Garcia. “It's something that is not easy. A lot of great teams, and every year they seem to get stronger and stronger, but we do, too.

“It's a very proud moment, but that's not where we want to stop. We want to keep getting better and better. I think that we can all improve for sure. I think the sky is the limit for this team. …The atmosphere within the team is just amazing.”

One of the accomplishments this week in Adelaide was teaching 22-year-old newcomer Luis Masaveu to play poker. “It’s been awesome,” said Masaveu.

RIPPERS CHEER ADELAIDE NEWS: Prior to the start of the third round, LIV Golf and the South Australian Government confirmed that Adelaide will be the exclusive home of LIV Golf in Australia with an extension agreement through 2031. The announcement was made at The Watering Hole, with South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil and LIV Golf Board Member and Australian golf legend Greg Norman delivering the news.

Cameron Smith, captain of the all-Australian Ripper GC, welcomed the news. “We all love coming down here.” Smith said. “It's kind of the middle of the country. Everyone travels here, and they've got a really good thing going, so it's exciting for it to just keep coming down here, keep being better and better every year.”

Added teammate Matt Jones: “I just think it speaks volumes for the state, the support they've got here from Peter Malinauskas and the fans that come here and travel here, the way it's received.”

Plans were also announced to redevelop the North Adelaide Golf Course, with the project eventually bringing future LIV Golf 4events to the downtown location. Norman will lead the design.

“I hope he designs it for our game; that would be nice,” said Smith, whose team finished ninth after winning Adelaide in a playoff last year.

ANOTHER TOP 10 FOR RAHM: Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm, the reigning LIV Golf Individual Champion, continued his perfect streak of top-10 finishes in each LIV Golf completed start. Rahm finished solo sixth at 7 under after shooting a 2-under 70 on Sunday. It’s his 14th top-10 LIV Golf finish since joining the league in prior to the 2024 season. Rahm’s only non-top 10 start came in Houston last season when he was forced to withdraw mid-tournament with an injury.

Rahm moved to second behind Riyadh winner Adrian Meronk in the 2025 season-long Individual standings, with Adelaide winner Joaquin Niemann taking over third place with the 40-point victory in Adelaide. Rahm’s Legion XIII, winners last week in Riyadh, remained atop the points standings after their runner-up finish in Adelaide.

LATIN PLAYERS DOMINATE: Of the top six individual finishers in Adelaide, one is from Chile (Niemann), two are from Mexico (Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer, who tied for second), and two are from Spain (David Puig, solo fourth, and Rahm, tied for sixth). Niemann said the top of the leaderboard doesn’t necessarily reflect anything specific about Latin golfers. “All great players,” he said.

TOUGH DAY FOR MAJESTICKS: Entering the final round with the lead for the first time in their LIV Golf existence, the Majesticks were chasing not only their first team trophy but their first podium result in their last 34 starts (including Team Championships). Alas, the Majesticks shot a collective 1-over as a team and finished tied for fifth at 9 under.

ROUND 3 STATS LEADERS

Driving accuracy: Abraham Ancer, 85.71% (12 of 14 fairways hit)

Driving distance: Peter Uihlein, 348.1 yards avg.

Longest drive: Peter Uihlein, 366.8 yards, 17th hole

Greens in regulation: Joaquin Niemann 88.89% (16 of 18 greens)

Scrambling: Joaquin Niemann, 2 of 2 (100%)

Putting: Tom McKibbin, 1.33 putts per hole

Bogey-free rounds: Joaquin Niemann (65)