LIV players Surratt and Meronk share the lead at the PIF Saudi International, while Martin Kaymer sits mid-field after round one.
The Asian Tour teed off its final International Series event of the season on Wednesday at the Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia. The PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers offers the top two players in the International Series Order of Merit a coveted spot in the 2026 LIV Golf League. A strong LIV presence was felt in the field, with 43 players from the Saudi-backed league competing, including stars like Tyrrell Hatton, Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey, and Martin Kaymer, along with his LIV teammate Adrian Meronk. The tournament winner also earns 324 LIV Golf points.
LIV Golfers Lead the Leaderboard
Caleb Surratt and Adrian Meronk, both LIV Golf members, share the lead after round one. Surratt opened with a stellar 62, carding ten birdies and a single bogey on the fourth hole. Meronk matched the score with a solid round, collecting three birdies on the front nine and six more on the back, finishing bogey-free. Both players sit at nine-under-par, just one shot ahead of Belgium’s Thomas Pieters.
Pieters, also a LIV golfer, fired a 63 with eight birdies to claim solo third. England’s Tyrrell Hatton, a 2024 LIV signee and Ryder Cup champion, is tied for ninth at five-under-par alongside six others.
Kaymer Mid-Pack, Other Germans Trail
Martin Kaymer sits T42 after an opening round of 68, with three birdies and one bogey leaving him two-under-par. Fellow Düsseldorfer Maximilian Rottluff, currently on the DP World Tour, posted an even-par 70 with four birdies and three bogeys, placing him at T64.
Dominic Foos, who claimed his first professional win on the Asian Tour in Macau in October 2025, struggled with four bogeys and just one birdie, finishing with a 74 to land at T106, three-over-par.