Editor’s note (Thursday, July 2): Torque GC’s Carlos Ortiz and Cleeks Golf Club’s Adrian Meronk had the best opening rounds of the 10 LIV Golf players in the field this week at the BMW International Open on the DP World Tour.
Ortiz and Meronk shot 5-under 67s on Thursday at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried in Munich, Germany, and are tied for 12th. Both had six birdies and just one bogey on their cards and will enter Friday two off the lead.
Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann and Torque GC’s Sebastion Munoz shot 4-under 68s (T22). Also finishing under par on Thursday were Fireballs GC’s Josele Ballester (3-under 69, T39), Torque GC’s Abraham Ancer (2-under 70, T67) and Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia (1-under 71, T94).
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Also, Majesticks Golf Club Co-Captain Ian Poulter is competing in his first senior major at the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio.
Poulter played well in Round 1 and shot an even-par 70 in difficult scoring conditions.
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PREVIOUSLY REPORTED
This week, 10 LIV Golf players will be in action on the DP World Tour at the BMW International Open at Golfclub München Eichenried in Munich, Germany.
BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN
Golfclub München Eichenried plays as a par 72 at 7,284 yards. Designed by Kurt Rossknecht and opened in 1989, it is a flat, tree-lined course with slow greens. There are streams and ponds that run through the layout, with water in play on 10 holes, two half-island greens, and 90 bunkers. As the course has aged, so have the trees, which has tightened the scoring window considerably over the decades. The difference maker at Golfclub München Eichenried tends to reward the best tee-to-green players and those who can putt well on the slow greens.
BYEONG HUN AN. The Korean Golf Club captain has had a steady if unspectacular 2026 LIV Golf season. A precise ball-striker with a reliable around-the-green game, An could find Eichenried’s tree-lined layout to his liking. He finished T22 in his most recent start at The International Series Morocco.
ABRAHAM ANCER. The Torque GC star enters Munich sitting 11th in the LIV Golf standings and has been a consistent performer this year. Ancer’s ball-striking is among the best in the league and Eichenried’s demand for precision off the tee and sharp iron play fits his profile well.
JOSELE BALLESTER. The 22-year-old Fireballs GC star has had a season full of jaw-dropping moments but is still searching for consistency as he continues his development under the tutelage of Captain Sergio Garcia.
SERGIO GARCIA. Garcia has twice finished runner-up at the BMW International Open and calls it one of his favorite events on the calendar. The Fireballs GC captain will also be in action on Tuesday at West Lancashire for Open qualifying, which means a quick turnaround into a DP World Tour start.
Sergio Garcia hits a tee shot during Round 4 of LIV Golf Andalucia 2026. (Photo by Mateo Villalba/LIV Golf)
MARTIN KAYMER. A return to home soil, in a sense. The former world No. 1 and two-time major champion is a hero in German golf, holding the distinction of being both the youngest winner and the only German champion of this event when he claimed the title in Munich in 2008 at just 23 years old.
ADRIAN MERONK. The Cleeks GC member and first Polish winner on the DP World Tour brings valuable experience to Munich. Meronk has a powerful, reliable ball-striking game and has enjoyed success on tree-lined European layouts in the past.
SEBASTIAN MUÑOZ. The Torque GC man has had an underwhelming season so far in 2026 season after a career-best year in 2025. Muñoz is a reliable tee-to-green performer who consistently puts himself in the mix, but hasn’t finished in the top 10 in any event since LIV Golf Adelaide in February.
JOAQUIN NIEMANN. The Torque GC captain enters the week as the tournament favorite for the second consecutive week. Niemann has been the most in-form player in global golf over the last month — winning LIV Golf Korea in a playoff three weeks ago for his record eighth individual LIV Golf title, then following it with a T7 at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, the best major result of his career. He is making his debut at this event and arrives in Munich riding a wave of form that the rest of the field will have a hard time matching. He should not be underestimated on a course that rewards high GIR and precise iron play.
Joaquin Niemann is seen smiling on the second tee in Round 1 of LIV Golf Andalucia 2026. (Photo by Charles Laberge/LIV Golf)
CARLOS ORTIZ. The Mexican is making his first appearance at the BMW International Open and his first professional event in Germany. Ortiz has been a solid contributor to Torque GC this season, sitting 25th in the LIV standings, and brings reliable ball-striking to a course where consistency is rewarded. He withdrew from Open qualifying at Dundonald Links this week, so Munich has his full focus.
VICTOR PEREZ. The Frenchman is another LIV Golf player trying to make the most of the DP World Tour window. Perez is an accurate driver of the golf ball that can perform well across different conditions.
U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Ian Poulter will be making his senior major championship debut at the 2026 U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. The Majesticks Golf Club co-captain is no stranger to the big stage, having claimed 17 worldwide victories while being known as one of the best Ryder Cup players of all time. Poulter, who turned 50 on Jan. 10, will compete at the event from July 2-5.
PLAYER NEWS
Dustin Johnson will miss The Open Championship for the first time since 2008 after withdrawing from Final Qualifying ahead of Tuesday’s event at Dundonald Links. The two-time major winner is one of just 22 players who’ve made the cut at every major in 2026 but his decision not to make the trip to Scotland curtails his streak of qualifying for 70 consecutive majors, stretching back 18 years. His agent cited logistics as the primary reason behind the decision, with LIV Golf currently on a seven-week break and multiple transatlantic trips required had he qualified. The last Open without Johnson was in 2008, when Padraig Harrington successfully defended the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale.
Bryson DeChambeau broke his silence on his 2026 major season this week, posting a candid 34-minute video to his YouTube channel titled “I’ve missed 3 straight cuts… let’s talk about it.” DeChambeau shot 70-75 at Shinnecock Hills to miss the cut by one shot. In the video, he walked through every shot of both rounds and explained what went wrong. He identified approach play as the core issue, losing nearly two strokes per round on approach despite ranking first in the field off the tee. “Just last year, this time, before the U.S. Open, I was one of the best major championship performers in the world,” he said at the video’s close. “Come one year later, everybody says I’m the worst. It just is what it is. Life, it’s golf. Things don’t always go your way. But guess what — keep going.”
