BEDMINSTER RECAP: NIEMANN POSTS BEST RESULT AS TEAM FINISHES 7TH
BEDMINSTER, N.J. – After winning in Greenbrier for a league-leading fourth time this season, Torque GC arrived at LIV Golf Bedminster with plenty of momentum and hoping to overtake 4Aces GC at the top of the team standings.
But on a course that was completely different in feel and scoring conditions, Torque struggled to gain any traction, eventually finishing in seventh place.
Torque had set a LIV Golf record with a team counting score of 49 under at Greenbrier. But at Bedminster, the quartet of captain Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz and David Puig combined for a counting score of just even par.
The team did well to finish in the points (top 8) after an opening counting score of 5 over. The trio of Niemann, Pereira and Puig produced the counting scores for both the second and final rounds, with the captain having his best individual points finish of the year.
Torque left Bedminster still in second place in the team standings with 163 points, nine points behind the league-leading 4Aces with two regular-season tournaments remaining. It was the 10th time in 11 tournaments this season that Torque has finished with points, and the team has virtually sewn up one of the top four spots that will receive first-round byes at the Team Championship in October.
Here’s a recap of Torque’s individual performances at LIV Golf Bedminster:
JOAQUIN NIEMANN (-2, 7th place)
The captain opened with a 1-under 70, followed with a second-round 72 and then closed out a productive performance with a 2-under 69 for a total of 2 under.
In finishing seventh, Niemann posted his best result of the year, and his fourth top-10 points finish in the last seven tournaments. He’s now 21st in the individual standings.
MITO PEREIRA (+1, 20th place)
Pereira followed his runner-up result in Greenbrier with his eighth top-20 points finish of the season. After opening with a 73, he shot 1 under on the weekend.
Pereira was dialed in from tee to green, ranking T6 in the field in fairways hit and fifth in greens in regulation.
Pereira remains Torque’s top-ranked player in the season-long standings at 6th place.
DAVID PUIG (+3, 28th place)
Puig bounced back from a rough opening round of 75 to shoot 1 under on the weekend. His best stretch came early in his final round in which he birdied four of the first nine holes and was bogey-free for his first 11 holes.
He was once again one of the field’s top putters, ranking T3 in fewest putts with 82 for the week.
Puig is 29th in the season-long points standings and within striking distance of the top 24 that will be guaranteed spots in next year’s LIV Golf League.
SEBASTIÁN MUÑOZ (+7, 39th place)
Munoz could never get untracked, failing to break par in any of his three rounds. He ranked T43 in greens in regulation for the week, normally a strength of his game.
The 39th place points finish ends a string of four consecutive points finishes.
STAT REVIEW
Field ranking in parentheses
Fairways Hit
Pereira – 30 (T6)
Niemann – 28 (T16)
Muñoz – 26 (T29)
Puig – 24 (T34)
Driving Distance Avg.
Puig – 310.5 (6)
Niemann – 303.3 (11)
Muñoz – 294.5 (32)
Pereira – 294.7 (T31)
Greens in Regulation
Pereira – 40 (5)
Niemann – 38 (T10)
Puig – 31 (T40)
Muñoz – 28 (T43)
Total Putts
Puig – 82 (T3)
Muñoz – 83 (5)
Niemann – 91 (32)
Pereira – 93 (T38
Total Birdies
Puig – 10 (T16)
Pereira – 9 (T20)
Muñoz – 9 (T20)
Niemann – 7 (T37)