A 107-minute weather delay late Friday afternoon was the perfect jumpstart to Bryson DeChambeau’s opening round at LIV Golf Virginia presented by Maaden.
The Crushers GC captain’s first shot after the resumption of play at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club was a chip-in for eagle at the par-five 14th. He followed with a birdie at the 15th and then chipped in again for birdie at the 16th en route to a five-under 66 and a share of the lead with Cleeks GC Captain Martin Kaymer.
“You come back from a rain delay and usually think you’re going to try and slowly get into a flow,” said DeChambeau, who was one under and tied for 18th when play was suspended. “I came out hot.”
DeChambeau has been hot all season, with a win at LIV Golf’s most recent event in Korea, and top-five finishes in each of his last five starts, including the season’s first two Majors. He’s looking to maintain that form heading into next week’s title defence at the US Open.
Kaymer, meanwhile, has been seeking a competitive form for most of this season, with five of his seven results outside the top 40. But he was solid all day Friday while grabbing a share of the lead for the first time after any LIV Golf round since last year’s opening round in Houston. He hit 50% of his fairways, which tied for 10th best in the field at a challenging driving course, and he tied for the field best in putting average.
“I know I’m good enough. I know I can play good golf,” said the two-time Major winner, who had two separate streaks of three consecutive birdies on Friday. “I’ve proven many, many times in my career. But you need to continue hitting fairways, and that was the downside for me the past few months. I was missing so many fairways. Today, the game is there.”
The game was certainly there for Ollie Schniederjans in a spectacular performance as a reserve player for RangeGoats GC.
RangeGoats starter Matthew Wolff was forced to withdraw with an injury after playing his first eight holes at even par. Schniederjans immediately took his spot to finish the round. His first hole was a birdie at the 18th, and he added two more birdies and an eagle in his final nine holes
The Wolff/Schniederjans score only counts for the team, but the 67 was the RangeGoats’ best score as they grabbed a two-shot lead in the team competition at nine under. Captain Bubba Watson and teammate Peter Uihlein pitched in with 68s, while Ben Campbell shot 72 in his first start after missing Korea with a wrist injury.
Chasing the leaders are six players tied at four under: captains Jon Rahm (Legion XIII), Joaquin Niemann (Torque GC) and Phil Mickelson (HyFlyers GC), along with Smash GC’s Graeme McDowell, Ripper GC’s Marc Leishman and Crushers GC’s Anirban Lahiri.
“I think I should be pleased with how comfortable and how well I played today,” said Rahm, the reigning LIV Golf individual champion.
Mickelson shot his lowest opening round relative to par in his last 16 LIV Golf starts as he continues to enjoy his best form since joining the league as an original member.
“I’m having a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s really fun. I’m starting to play well.”
McDowell produced one of just two bogey-free rounds on the day. “Solid day,” he said. “I’ve been working pretty hard on my game the last few weeks. I’ve really been feeling it trending in the right direction.”
South Africans and Stinger GC teammates Dean Burmester and Charl Schwartzel began with rounds of one-under 7o to share 16th.
Few players are trending better than DeChambeau, who acknowledged that his hot finish was helped by the softer conditions after the resumption of play.
“That little chip shot became a helluva lot easier for me,” he said of his eagle. “I was studying it before I left. It was like, this looks perfect. Came out, still looks perfect. Hit it exactly where I wanted it to land, and it went right in the frickin’ hole.”
Photo: LIV Golf
