LIV Golf has returned to England for the fourth straight year, bringing the action to the JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester for the second time. With the regular season winding down, just two events remain before the team championship in Michigan this August. The event, which began on July 25, will see 54 players and 13 teams battle it out until Sunday, July 27. On Friday, there was a new name atop the leaderboard —  Adrian Meronk, who fired a stellar 6-under in the opening round to tie in the lead with Joaquin Niemann and Branden Grace.

Niemann, the season-long individual points leader and Torque GC captain, fired a bogey-free round and made six birdies. Despite missing the cut at The Open last week, Niemann has had stellar performances this season. Meanwhile, Meronk’s start is a welcome resurgence as he scored no points in seven events before LIV Golf Andalucia. He started the season with a bang when he won the first event of the season in Riyadh, but poor finishes since then have placed him 23rd on the individual points standings. Other notable performers after the first round include Lee Westwood, who sits at 5-under, and Bubba Watson is in close pursuit at 4-under. Jon Rahm, who recently cited his frustrations following a dip in the World Rankings, is placed far behind after shooting a level-par round. His team, Legion XIII, entered this week as the leaders on the points table and are also leading the team event in Rocester. With the leaderboard tight and competitive, the stakes are high as the weekend unfolds. 

While the weekend will showcase elite talent, it will also offer one of the sport’s most lucrative prize purses. The total prize fund for this event stands at a staggering $25 million, consistent with all other regular-season LIV Golf events in 2025. The individual champion will walk away with $4 million, while second and third place will earn $2.25 million and $1.5 million, respectively. Even players finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard are guaranteed payouts, with the lowest-placed competitors receiving $50,000. This fail-safe structure means every one of the 54 players in the field benefits financially, regardless of performance.

In addition to the individual payouts, there’s a $5 million purse dedicated to the team competition. The winning team will split $3 million evenly among its four members, while second place earns $1.5 million and third receives $500,000. Let’s take a look at how the prize money will be distributed:

Individual payouts:

Team event payouts:

Now that we have the prize money distribution out of the way, let’s take a look at the changes to the course this year that could ultimately shape the outcome of the tournament.

Course upgrades add new challenges to the 2025 LIV Golf UK

This time, players face a course that looks and plays differently than it did during last year’s tournament, thanks to a series of upgrades made based on player and team feedback. JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald has emphasized the commitment to improving the course, saying, “We did listen to feedback from both the LIV team and the players, and we’ve made a big investment over the last 12 months. We’ve made a lot of modifications and improvements to the golf course, and we really do value the relationship we have with LIV.” These new additions have now made the course slightly longer and more demanding.

Sam Horsfield, who resides five minutes from the course, praised the adjustments and spoke on behalf of the players. “They added some new tee boxes for us to make it a little bit longer and a little bit more challenging. Yeah, they made some great changes. They took all the feedback that us as players told them and obviously did something with it, which is awesome to see from a player’s side,” he said. One of the most notable changes addresses a major complaint from last year: the par-5 third hole. The left side of the fairway had such a severe slope that good tee shots often rolled into the water on the right. In response, trees were removed and the hillside was softened, not only improving playability but also giving players a clearer view of the green on their second shots. Similar attention was given to the 13th hole, with refinements aimed at making the course both more playable and visually appealing.

Other adjustments include repositioned tee boxes on holes 12 and 14 to optimize both play and fan access, and selective tree removal near the pond on 18 to open up the landing area. With these collaborative changes between the course staff and the players, LIV Golf UK by JCB promises to deliver a more exciting and challenging test for competitors and an elevated experience for spectators.