GAINESVILLE, Va. — After a 107-minute weather delay, the star players took advantage of a soft golf course during the first round of LIV Golf Virginia.
Bryson DeChambeau, who debuted his new set of custom LA Golf irons this week, was chief among them. The Crushers GC captain immediately chipped his third shot on the par-5 14th in for eagle, vaulting him up the leaderboard. But he wasn’t done yet. DeChambeau made birdies on holes 15 and 16, with the latter coming in the form of another chip-in from the deep greenside rough. The surge at the end of the round gave him a share of the first-round lead at 5 under.
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Martin Kaymer, who hasn’t held a first-round lead since LIV Houston last year, made birdies on 16, 17 and 18 to tie the lead before ending his day with a par on the tough par-4 first hole.
The late-round birdie barrage after the delay was not limited to DeChambeau and Kaymer. After finishing strong, Jon Rahm, Anirban Lahiri, Phil Mickelson, Graeme McDowell, Joaquin Niemann and Marc Leishman make up the group that are tied for second place at 4-under par.
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Prior to the delay, McDowell held the solo lead, carding a bogey-free 4-under 67. The 45-year-old Irishman hit every green in regulation and was one of three players who went bogey-free on the round. Joining McDowell in the bogey-free club were a pair of 4Aces GC teammates, Thomas Pieters and Reed.
On the team side of the competition, Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC lead by two at 9 under, followed by the Crushers and 4Aces who share second place at 7 under.
TEAM SCORES
LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Friday’s Round 1 of LIV Golf Virginia.
1. RANGEGOATS GC -9
T2. CRUSHERS GC -7
T2. 4ACES GC -7
4. SMASH GC -6
5. TORQUE GC -3
6. CLEEKS GC -1
7. STINGER GC E
8. IRON HEADS GC +1
T9. RIPPER GC +3
T9. LEGION XIII +3
11. HYFLYERS GC +4
12. FIREBALLS GC +5
13. MAJESTICKS GC +12
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.
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