Round 1 of LIV Golf Chicago at Bolingbrook GC: top pros chase the early lead in intense shotgun start.
Round 1 of LIV Golf Chicago played out on Friday, August 8, 2025, at Bolingbrook Golf Club with a dramatic shotgun start that saw the stars of the league launching their campaigns simultaneously. Legendary five-time major champion Brooks Koepka delivered a standout performance, posting 68 (−3) to tie for third and immediately stake his claim among the early contenders. Similarly, long-hitting fan favorite Bryson DeChambeau matched that score—68 (−3)—also in a share of third place.
Moving atop the leaderboard, Sergio García and Dustin Johnson both carded impressive 67 (−4) rounds to hold a share of the 18-hole lead. Jon Rahm also posted a strong 68 (−3). Others in close pursuit included Dean Burmester at 68 (−3) and Jose Luis Ballester, Talor Gooch, Charl Schwartzel, Lucas Herbert, and Mito Pereira, all sitting at 69 (−2). Meanwhile, Joaquín Niemann, the season-long points leader, had a challenging start with a 74 (+3), slipping down the leaderboard early on.
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Three here at Bowling Brook. Starting holes not easy at all. One and two both difficult par fours for the players. Next on the team [Music] kick that in this section of the green left for right. Oh, what a shot. Oh man, nice shot. [Music] He has in in recent years. And you know, that’s the sort of thing that spreads to the rest of your game. If you’re not confident that you can get it up and down, it puts more pressure on the longer shots. There’s a beauty, though. Here’s [Music] Jason Kok. He’s off to a good start at six. Who’s started playing some real golf lately when he needed it most? He was looking at relegation square in the Well, we saw Bryson come up short at the second. This is his third shot. Delightful. [Music] set. Who right down left and the green runs to the hole. So, should expect a good shot out of here. That’s a good shot from the It’s a perfect flight for that shot. Go for Birdie up the hill. Collapses in the left edge. [Music] K has joined three others on two under bar in the early going. After this birdie at eight, looks at his 25th. He slipped out of the top 24 after the last event. He’s only 1.33 points. He’s gone up, but that looks like he’s going to land in the right spot. Yep. Very simple from there. Hold up with Looks like he got it there. He’s opening six. Gerald. Yes. [Music] four aces and this got him back to level par. It was a bird. John Ram has only finished outside the top 10 once. He’s had five times and that is beautifully done with his second shot into 11. Very nice. to go bronze cap to get to four under. That was for a third on the greens. That one’s just thrown up high in the air. And Sergio, that’s DJ at 8. Pin’s only on eight yards. Oh boy, does this look good. It was the right distance. That’s McD day walking along in the gallery. It’s good pace on this one. The next nine holes. Give it plenty of air. Oh, it should release a little more. Yeah, that’s a good judge. Great touch. frustrated if he can’t take advantage of it and close that gap heading into Indianapolis times in the future. CJ out of 10 to get it to two under par. Little bit ago. Oh, big [Music] boy. Add it. Hey, he’s gone 12 rounds without carding an underpass score 12. Great shot at 15. Oh, very nice. Thank you very much. Thank you. Lovely. Huge shot. [Music] Oh, it needs to it needs to go. Oh, it got a big bounce forwards off the back of the He landed a bit shorter than he wanted to at 15 trying to hoist that one way up in the air and landed softly. That’s a fantastic shot at 14. The par five skip and then stop. Oh yeah, that’s what Rob was trying to do earlier. Well, it’s early and it could well go down to a showdown in Indianapolis next weekend for the lift golf league title 14 the path five which would lead to birdie fourth [Music] yeah we I didn’t see that. 20 points going into Indianapolis. A lot of golf to be played here in Chicago between now and then. Of course. He’s going to get with this club. Low one. He’s going to try and skip it up. Go. That’s well done. Can he judge the lines? Yes. Patrick Reed in an awkward spot at the first. Great swing out of there, Patrick. Probably going to be Wow. Oh, that’s a great shot. Just a great shot from there. [Music] Go. That’s well done. Down the slope at 17. [Music] Live golf league season for the Fireballs. That was a birdie at nine. Bryson to end with a birdie. Boy, what a weekend. We are set for [Music] however, I mean, you could be That’s a shame. [Music]
