Chile’s Joaquin Niemann will take a narrow one-shot lead into Saturday’s final round of the PIF Saudi International Powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers after firing a six-under 65 on Friday to move to 17 below par. He leads American duo, Peter Uihlein (66), who is heading The International Series rankings list and has proven his winning pedigree with two victories already this season, and 20-year-old Caleb Surratt who smashed the course record at Riyadh Golf Club with a 10-under 61 on Friday.
Behind them lurk a host of world-class talents and proven winners, including Britain’s three-time European Ryder Cup player, Tyrrell Hatton (66), who shares a joint fourth spot with two more Americans – Jason Kokrak and Logan McAllister – on 15-under. It is still anyone’s guess who will emerge as Saturday’s winner at the Golf Saudi event, and Niemann said afterwards that he only knew that he would need to be on the top of his game again to take away the handsome silver trophy. “I don’t know what score would do it,” he said afterwards. “All I know is that it will have to be lower than the others.”
So far, the Chilean has been the model of consistency this week, sandwiching first and third rounds of 65 with a 66 on Thursday. On Friday, he needed to stay patient having to wait 10 holes before he added another birdie to his opening two at the first couple of holes. His round really caught fire on the par-five 15th with an eagle three and he finished off in style with a birdie at the last to take the slimmest of leads.
Earlier, the focus had been firmly on American Surratt, who is just 20 years old and only turned professional at the start of the year but has already shown considerable promise in his first handful of tournaments.
That rich potential was translated into a string of eight birdies and an eagle at the long 12th hole to leave him 16-under par for the tournament on 197.
The young prospect from Indian Trail, North Carolina, who has yet to win a professional tournament, could hardly believe his own sizzling form, especially on a course that he had never played until this week. He said: “The course is beautiful. I was blown away by how good a condition the course is in considering how hot it is here but everything is as plush as can be and perfect.” His score could have even been lower but his chip just off the green for birdie at the par-four 18th hit the pin and rolled just a couple of inches away.
He said he planned to keep his approach as relaxed as possible for the final round on Saturday. “It would mean everything (if I win). I don’t have half the experience a lot of these guys do so I need to keep my head together and play like it’s with my friends back home. I can’t afford to get ahead of myself and start looking at the leaderboard.” Saturday’s final round should be a feast of thrilling golf for the sellout crowds at Riyadh Golf Club. The par 71 7,411-yard course has been recently lengthened and improved but the record score was lowered to 63 on Thursday before Surratt’s fantastic performance 24 hours later so more low-scoring can confidently be predicted.
The conditions have been ideal throughout an event that has swiftly established itself among the leading tournaments in the Middle East and the climax of the Asian Tour since its launch in 2019. All the players competing, including a slew of Major title winners, have warmly praised Golf Saudi, the organisers of the event and the body responsible for the remarkable growth of the sport in the Kingdom, for the first-class organisation of the tournament and exemplary condition of the course.
After the final putt dropped, the thousands of golf fans were joined by music lovers for another wonderful evening of entertainment at Riyadh Golf Club with the ‘Queen of Emotion’ Ellissa headlining the stage adjacent to the 18th green.
