Joaquin Niemann walked into Club de Golf Chapultepec with a title to defend, and wasted no time making a statement during the shotgun start of Thursday’s opening round.
The 27-year-old Niemann’s first shot of the day ended up in the cup, thanks to an incredible 161-yard tee shot that landed on the green and spun into the hole.
The hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth was the 16th ace in LIV Golf history.
A league facing questions about its financial future, LIV was in desperate need of a highlight-worthy moment and the defending Mexico City champ delivered.
The problem? The event’s YouTube stream hit a snag less than 10 minutes into the tournament’s coverage.
“Please standby technical issues,” the screen read for two-plus hours.
“We know many of you were tuning in, and we’re sorry for the disruption. We’re experiencing technical difficulties due to local power outages which is impacting our broadcast feed,” LIV Golf posted on X at 5:42 p.m. ET. “We’re working on a resolution and hope to be back on air as soon as possible.”
🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 16, 2026
😱 @joaconiemann makes a hole in one on his opening shot!#LIVGolfMexicoCity | @TorqueGC_ pic.twitter.com/2Gf4Kg1Oq8
LIV confirmed the stream was working again at 6:08 p.m. ET.
The opening round’s shotgun start was set for 3:15 p.m. ET and went off at the expected time.
Niemann currently sits at even, seven shots off co-leaders Jon Rahm and Victor Perez.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil called reports of funding cuts “rumors” and “false,” telling players and personnel in an email that the league is fully funded through the rest of the season.
“Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil said in the email.