Mexico City – After a powerful lash in the thin air in Liv Golf Mexico City, Bryson Dechambeau Pumped Bark Arms, celebrated with his fans and took the righteous lead after the entertaining opening round on Friday in Golf Chapultepec Golf Club.
The Crussers GC Captain Birdied his last hole, the 396-Yard Par-4 first, by controlling the green and two-putting from 35 feet, making the last touch on an 8-under 63 that leaves him one stroke for two other captains, Legion XIII ‘Jon Rahm and Ripper GCon Smith.
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The Crushers and Rippers are bound for the team leader at 15 below, six shots free from Smash GC.
DCCHAMBEAU, looking for his first LIV Golf victory since 2023, on average 367 yards on his 14 discs on Friday, including two drives of 400 plus meters. His last ride on the first hole traveled 372.9 meters. The 63 is his lowest opening round in Liv Golf.
“It was nice to get the ball far,” said Dechambeau. “Nice to close with a nice bang on the last hole.”
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In total, the field produced 11 discs of 400 yards or longer in the 7,900 foot height, with Smash Captain Brooks Koepka with the longest ride on 435 Yards on the 11th Hole. There were still 66 discs between 370 and 399 Yards, making the fans of the Mexico City enough to cheer during the debut performance of Liv Golf in the capital of the country.
“It has always been exciting here,” said Rangeats GC captain Bubba Watson, who is in solo after 5 -under 66. “They love their sport. I am happy that they go out for dinner to see us play and watching the sub of these guys who got pretty far.”
Dechambeau started to control his day by controlling the 316-Yard par-4 second and throwing a 22-foot putt for Eagle. I followed with Birdies on the following two holes, and also a birdie on the par-5 seventh (with a 379-Yard Drive) to move to 5 after six holes.
But all thoughts of another sub-60 round disappeared during the next eight holes in which he even played par.
“There were many moments when I felt that I went to 9, 10 and there were times when I like I, man, I could easily be 2 -below if I didn’t get my act in shape,” said Dechambeau. “It’s a spray golf course.”
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Rahm, the 2024 Liv Golf Individual Champion, opened with three consecutive birdies and was 5 under seven before he suffered from a few bogeys. He played the back nine in a bogey-free 4 and briefly held the solo lead after draining a 39-foot Birdie Putt on the 13th.
“What a better way to start it than with three birdies in a row,” he said. “That just set the tone. Felt very comfortable on the greens all day. Couldn’t really have asked for a much better score.”
Smith, who has been looking for his first Liv Golf victory since 2023, such as Dechambeau, also started with three consecutive birdies. He had six Birdies in his first eight holes in route to 64, his lowest round of the season.
“I put myself in a really good place after the round,” said Smith, Whue Rippers won the previous Liv Golf tournament in Miami, with his teammate Marc Leishman who claimed the individual title. “Hopefully I go outside at the weekend and give it everything and hopefully walk away with a trophy.”
After being on the first hole on Friday, DECHAMBEAU now starts his second round on the same gap on Saturday as part of the leadership group that Rahm and Smith comprises. With course conditions, long disks must remain in abundance.
“It will be firm and fast here,” said Dechambeau. “Be very nice this weekend.”
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Team scores
The new score format from Liv Golf this season now all four scores that are now counted in the team competition in every round. Here are the results and scores for each team after Friday round 1 of Liv Golf Mexico City.
T1. Ripper GC -15 (Smith 64, Herbert 68, Jones 68, Leishman 69)
T1. Crushers GC -15 (Dechambeau 63, Lahiri 68, Casey 69, Howell III 69)
3. Smash GC -9 (Kokrak 68, Gooch 69, Koepka 69, McDowell 69)
4. 4 Eack -6 (Reed 68, Varner III 68, Johnson 71, Pieters 71)
5. Legion XIII -5 (Rahm 64, Hatton 67, Surratt 73, McKibbin 75)
6. Couple GC -4 (Niemann 68, Ortiz 68, Muñoz 72, Pereira 72)
7. Majestees GC -2 (Poulter 69, Horsfield 70, Westwood 71, Stenson 72)
8. Rankgats GC -1 (Watson 66, Wolff 69, Campbell 73, Uihlein 75)
T9. Fire balls GC +2 (Masaveu 70, Puig 70, Ancerer 72, Garcia 74)
T9. Hyflyers GC +2 (Steele 69, Mickelson 71, Ogletree 73, Tringale 73)
11. Cleeks Golf Club +4 (Kjettup 70, Bland 71, Kaymer 72, Meronk 75)
12. Stinger GC +5 (Schwartzel 70, Burmester 71, Grace 74, Oosthuizen 74)
13. Iron Heads GC +11 (Kozuma 72, Jang 73, after 74, Lee 76)
Wild cards: Kim 71, C. Lee 71
This piece is thanks to Mike Mcallister in collaboration with Liv -Golf.
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