BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY: Joaquin Niemann’s dominant start to LIV Golf New York 2026 shows no signs of slowing down.

The Chilean fired a 6-under 65 on Friday to reach 13-under through 36 holes, extending his lead to five shots without a single bogey on his card through two rounds at a Trump National Golf Club Bedminster layout that has given fits to many in the field.

At the halfway stage, Niemann ranks first in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (+2.79) and first in Strokes Gained: Approach (+8.28). The ball-striking masterclass has left the rest of the field with a lot of work to do to catch the all-time wins leader in LIV Golf history. 

Lee Westwood put together his own statement round to move into solo second. The 53-year-old carded a 6-under 65 to reach 8-under through the first two rounds. Westwood credited a patient, methodical approach on a demanding golf course.

“It’s a major championship style golf course,” Westwood said. “You break it down into small pieces. It just starts off with teeing it up and trying to get it in the fairway.” 

He also pointed to his putter as the difference-maker over the first two days. “I’m pleased with the way I’ve played, and delighted with the way I’ve putted. I’m seeing the lines and rolling the ball well, starting it right where I’m aiming a lot of the time.”

Sergio Garcia matched Westwood’s 65 on Friday, climbing to 7-under and into solo third heading into the weekend. Garcia switched to a broomsticker putter this week, which is paying dividends thus far. It is his iron play, however, that has been most impressive. The Fireballs GC captain ranks second in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach (+6.10). 

Tom McKibbin and Harold Varner III both moved into a share of fourth at 6-under, with McKibbin backing up his opening 70 with a 66 and Varner following his 69 with a 67.

Richard Bland had the round of the day, a bogey-free 7-under 64 that vaulted him into a tie for sixth at 5-under. The Cleeks GC veteran pointed to a complete performance tee to green.

“Everything really, drove the ball pretty well, hit some good irons, the chances I gave myself I pretty much took,” Bland said. “Also up and downed it a couple times when I needed to the last couple of holes, couple important up and downs there. Just trying to keep the momentum going into tomorrow, so I was happy.”

On the team side, Niemann’s Torque GC continue to run away with it, extending their cumulative score to 9-under after a second straight low round as a team. Abraham Ancer added a 72 and Carlos Ortiz posted 71, keeping the supporting cast steady around Niemann’s individual dominance.

HyFlyers GC held onto second at 4-under, with Scott Vincent’s second straight sub-70 round (68) leading the way. Lucas Herbert’s Ripper GC sit third at 2-under despite a quieter round from Herbert himself (71).

Westwood’s Majesticks Golf Club climbed to fourth at 1-under, with Laurie Canter’s 70 backing up Westwood’s 65 as the team continues to make its push in front of the Bedminster crowd.

In his 3,700-word article, headlined The Silence that Meets the Rape of Palestinians, Kristof wrote that “there is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes. But in recent years they have built a security apparatus where sexual violence has become, as a United Nations report put it last year, one of Israel’s ‘standard operating procedures’ and ‘a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians’.”

The New York Declaration is the outcome of an international conference held in July at UN Headquarters, organized by France and Saudi Arabia, which resumes later this month.

The General Assembly comprises all 193 UN Member States and 142 countries voted in favour of a resolution backing the document.

Israel voted against it, alongside nine other countries – Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States – while 12 nations abstained.

‘Roadmap’ for the future

Prior to the vote, French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont recalled that the New York Declaration “lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-State solution”.

This involves an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian State that is both viable and sovereign.

The roadmap further calls for the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, normalization between Israel and the Arab countries, as well as collective security guarantees.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said that “this one-sided Declaration will not be remembered as a step toward peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens this Assembly’s credibility.” 

He said that “Hamas is the biggest winner of any endorsement here today” and will declare it “the fruit of 7 October”.

The high-level international conference in July was held against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and deteriorating prospects for the two-State solution.

In remarks to the opening segment, UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that “the central question for Middle East peace is implementation of the two-State solution, where two independent, sovereign, democratic States – Israel and Palestine – live side-by-side in peace and security.” 

The US says it will deny or revoke visas for Palestinian officials wishing to travel to New York next month to attend the UN General Assembly session.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed them for undermining peace efforts and for seeking “the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state”.

The decision is unusual – the US, as host country, is expected to facilitate travel for officials of all countries wishing to visit the UN headquarters.

The ban comes as France spearheads international efforts to recognise a state of Palestine at the GA session. Donald Trump’s administration has fully backed Israel in voicing opposition to such a move.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has constantly rejected the idea of a two-state solution – the long-time international formula to resolve the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. It envisages an independent Palestinian state being created alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Netanyahu says recognition of a Palestinian state would amount to rewarding “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 63,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Hamas has been running the Gaza Strip for years, with its rival Fatah in charge in the West Bank.

Both are supposed to be governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas is also in charge of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – the umbrella organisation which represents Palestinians at international fora. The PLO has had observer status at the UN since 1974. It can participate in meetings but not vote on resolutions.

In his announcement on Friday, Rubio said: “Before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism – including the October 7 massacre – and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO.”

He said they must also end efforts to bypass negotiations by pursuing legal cases against Israel at international courts.

Rubio said Palestinian representatives at the UN mission in New York could attend the meetings in accordance with the UN Headquarters Agreement – the document that regulates issued regarding the operations of the UN in the US.

It is unclear, however, if the US move to deny or revoke visas complies with that document, which outlines that foreign officials’ attendance in New York shall not be impeded by the US “irrespective of the relations” between their respective governments and the US.

Apart from France, the UK, Canada and Australia have also announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the GA meeting next month.

The state of Palestine is currently recognised by 147 of the UN’s 193 member states.

But with no recognised borders, Israeli settlers controlling large parts of the West Bank – illegal under international law – and calls to do the same in Gaza, any recognition of a Palestinian state would not change much on the ground.

Kit Taylor/BBC

Provided

‘Lightbulb moment’

Kit Taylor/BBC

Kit Taylor/BBC

The US does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran but a private meeting with Musk provided a workaround, allowing Iran to avoid a meeting with an American official, according to the New York Times.

The newspaper also said that Musk requested the meeting with the ambassador, and that it was described by Iranian officials as “positive” and “good news”.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said “We do not comment on reports of private meetings that did or did not occur.”

The Iranian mission to the UN and the White House declined a request for comment from CBS News.

During his first term as president, Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, brokered in 2015 during Barack Obama’s presidency, and reinstated harsh economic sanctions which largely prohibit US companies from doing business in Iran.

Trump also ordered the air strike which killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

The president-elect is also a strong supporter of Israel, which has been at war with the Iranian-backed groups Hamas and Hezbollah since Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel last year.

Musk was recently appointed joint head of Donald Trump’s new cost cutting department, which will advise on government cost cutting but will not be an official arm of the government.

The tech billionaire and Tesla boss also joined Trump in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and has played a key role in providing communications to Ukraine’s military via his Starlink satellite internet system.

This marks just one of many meetings the two young New Yorkers took, as part of the long to-do list that constitutes the Assembly President’s day.

The concept of being PGA for a Day is simple: two students from the public school system come to UN Headquarters to shadow President Francis in his role as leader of the General Assembly.

They will engage in the meetings he has planned, participate in the same interviews, and even take lunch when he does.

The day will be long, but the students are up to the task – both excited at the prospect of being right at the centre of world diplomacy.

Mr. Ponomarev and Ms. Akter are both incoming 10th graders involved with the Global Leader’s Academy, a programme that focuses on bringing together multilingual immigrant students to build their leadership capacity while also encouraging them to involve themselves with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Passion for progress

They were chosen after participating in a six-week workshop, impressing their teachers with passionate essays on SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and SDG5: Gender Equality, respectively.

“The next generation has our own ideas,” Mr. Ponomarev states confidently. “We are ambitious and with our ambition, we can make a lot of progress.”

To start their day, the students meet UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, Felipe Paullier, to discuss their ambitions, concerns, and questions regarding the role of younger people in shaping policy.

“It’s great to hear about how they are bringing this into their own perspectives,” Mr. Paullier said. “I’m happy that young people have access and opportunities to be part of the SDGs, as their participation is crucial.”

The students then made another stop to bounce more youth engagement ideas off Daniel del Valle Blanco, Deputy Permanent Observer of the Central American Integration System (SICA), Chair of the Youth Advisory to UN Habitat and former Ambassador of the International Youth Organization to the UN, before heading to the President of the General Assembly’s Office.

Presidential trio

Right before meeting Mr. Francis for the first time, their excitement is palpable.

Not only is this a big moment for their personal development, but it’s also a first for the Office with the launch of the new programme.

The first thing the three “presidents” do together is conduct an impromptu press conference in the Press Briefing Room where spokesperson Monica Grayley is currently preparing to speak with the press.

Mr. Ponomarev and Ms. Akter sit with President Francis on the podium, fielding questions from correspondents on future suggestions for the Presidency, what they will tell their friends about the UN and more.

Throughout the day, the students will continue to gain other important insights, including the chance to speak to Dezhi Xu of CGTN America (off the record, of course) after his interview with President Francis. They also get to sit in on a meeting with the new Permanent Representative of Kenya, Ambassador Ekitela Lokaale.

The UN has long acknowledged and respected the rights of young people to participate effectively in social change, economic growth and technological innovation.

Focus on youth – and the future

The current PGA is no different – he has worked hard to centre youth as indispensable changemakers throughout the course of this year’s 78th session.

He notably conducted a #AskPGA: Conversation with Youth event during the General Assembly’s first-ever Sustainability Week in April, praised young business leaders from West and Central Africa at the ECOSOC Youth Forum and attended a Networking Night in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, for environmentally conscious young people.

President Francis says that he not only found the experience gratifying, but hopes that his successors will be able to continue this programme in the years ahead after he leaves his post next month.

He also wants Mr. Ponomarev and Ms. Akter to have walked away from the day more illuminated and excited about the work of the United Nations.

As for the students? They will be working hard on some summer homework – a reflection on what they took away from their day at the UN, personally assigned to them by President Francis – and likely dreaming about a future back at the UN on a more permanent basis.