Niemann might win this tournament too. He played very well on Thursday.

Niemann started with a birdie and had a great round. He is two shots ahead of Lucas Herbert and Ian Poulter.

Niemann made many good putts and hit the ball well. He is happy with his game and hopes to keep playing well.

Niemann remembers his best round, a 59. He has won many tournaments, including one in Korea this year.

Niemann is excited to be leading. He says his putts are going in, which is great. He is looking forward to the next round.

To stay ahead, Niemann will have to play well against Lucas Herbert, who is playing very well lately.

Herbert won a tournament two weeks ago with a record score. He has only had one bogey in his last 63 holes.

Herbert says he is in good form and it's fun to play well. He didn't feel as comfortable on Thursday but still played well.

Ian Poulter is also playing well. He has had three top 20 finishes in his last four tournaments.

Poulter was bogey-free on Thursday. He hopes to win the tournament like his former teammate Henrik Stenson did in 2022.

Poulter likes the golf course and thinks it's a great test. He hopes his team, Majesticks, can win.

Majesticks finished second in this tournament before. They will start Friday in fourth place.

Torque, Niemann's team, has been consistent this season. They haven't won since last year but hope to win this week.

Niemann says his team is playing great and it's just a matter of time before they win. They are trying their best to get the win.

The top 10 players are led by Niemann. Herbert and Poulter are tied for second.

The top teams are led by Torque. Ripper GC and HyFlyers GC are tied for second.

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, the top two players in the season standings, did not play well on Thursday.

DeChambeau needs a big week to catch Rahm. He must get within 200 points of Rahm to have a chance.

Rahm is likely to win his third season title. DeChambeau is the only player who can still catch him.

Ian Poulter has been playing well despite a knee injury. He has managed the pain and found his form.

Poulter's surgeon says he can operate, but Poulter is trying to avoid surgery. He needs to be careful and not do things that might hurt his knee.

Poulter has his family with him this week. His son Luke is a good golfer and is ranked 5th in the world.

Poulter is happy to have his family watching him. It inspires him to keep playing well.

Dean Burmester became the third player to have 18 pars in a round. This is a rare achievement in LIV Golf.

HyFlyers GC has improved since Scott Vincent joined the team. Brendan Steele is now the oldest player on the team.

The HyFlyers have a young player, Michael La Sasso. The older players are helping him and providing guidance.

The team is collaborative and helps each other. They work together and support each other.

The league is also open to helping each other. Players can talk to each other and get advice.

The second round will start earlier on Friday. The gates and fan village will open at 8:30 am.

Bryson DeChambeau had the longest drive on average. Josele Ballester had the longest drive of the day.

Younghan Song and Tyrrell Hatton were the most accurate drivers. They hit 13 of 14 fairways.

Joaquin Niemann was the best at hitting greens. He hit 15 of 18 greens.

Lucas Herbert was perfect at scrambling. He saved every par he needed to.

Lucas Herbert had the fewest putts. He only needed 23 putts to complete his round.

Four players had bogey-free rounds. They were Niemann, Poulter, Herbert, and Burmester.

This article was written by Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.