Smith, Niemann, Uihlein tied at top after Round 2 of PIF Saudi International
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith, Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann and RangeGoats GC 2024 member Peter Uihlein asserted their authority on the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers on Thursday and are tied for the lead after Round 2.
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The trio is 11 under through two days at Riyadh Golf Club along with Logan McAllister from the United States. Smith shot a 7-under 64, Niemann posted a 5-under 66 and Uihlein carded a 6-under 65. McAllister's 8-under 63 set a course record.
Legion XIII's Tyrrell Hatton is a stroke further back after tying the course record with a 63, along with Steve Lewton (65) and Jason Kokrak (68), who played for Smash GC in 2024.
The cream rose to the top today in the season-ending event on the Asian Tour and The International Series. Smith spent the last two weeks in Australia, where he finished second at the Australian PGA, and arrived here jet-lagged but welcomed this morning’s calm conditions.
“Just played really solid,” said the 2022 Open champion and leader of Ripper GC, which won the Team Championship in Dallas this season. “I didn’t really do too much wrong. Bogey-free game was nice. It was just really quite an easy round of golf, which is obviously nice. ... It was nice getting out there this morning and no wind. With a bit of jet lag, being off early I think it kind of actually worked out in our favor.”
Smith won individual titles twice on the LIV Golf League in 2023 and was runner-up on three occasions this season, which included losing in a playoff in Hong Kong.
“A win would be great," Smith said.
Niemann is also pumped for a potential victory this week.
"I’ve been playing great," Niemann said. "I feel like I’ve been missing that (final) round the last couple tournaments that I’ve played. I’ve been having a chance to win all of those weeks, but I just didn’t have that good Sunday. ... Right now, my form has been the best, a really good first two rounds. There’s still a lot of golf to play, and I’m looking forward to that.”
With the course having been lengthened this week and a number of changes made, the rounds from McAllister and Hatton counted as a new course record. Hatton did the bulk of the work on the back nine, which was his second half as he started on No. 10, birdieing five of nine.
“It’s kind of similar tee-to-green as yesterday,” Hatton said. “Obviously a few putts bounced their way in, which was nice. Then we ended up with a decent score.”
Stingers GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen (9-under overall) and Ripper GC's Matt Jones (9-under overall) are the other LIV Golf players who are in the top 10, however a host of LIV Golf players from 2024 are withing striking distance, including Eugenio Chacarra, Jinichiro Kozuma, Kevin Na, Thomas Pieters, Cameron Tringale, Dean Burmester, Kieran Vincent and Patrick Reed, who are all in the top 26.
For more information on PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, visit www.internationalseries.com.
(Photo courtesy of Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour)