Another player making his LIV Golf debut, Elvis Smylie of Ripper GC, ended the day at 6-under, one shot back of the lead. The 23-year-old lefty showed no signs of nervousness as he had only one bogey on the round to go with seven birdies.
Detry, Uihlein and Smylie are in a good position after Round 1, but some of LIV Golf’s biggest stars will be breathing down their necks for three more rounds. Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton (-5), Smash GC Captain Talor Gooch, Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm (-4), Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau (-4) and Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann (-4) are tight on their heels.
DeChambeau was happy with his round, despite making a double-bogey on the 2nd hole.
“I hit a perfect drive off the first and made double on the second, so great start to the year,” he said after the round. “I played good coming in, despite the double, and a couple missed opportunities on the par 5s and one on 18, or it could have been an 8-, 9-under round. Pretty pleased with how everything went.”
Along with Hatton and Gooch, Korean Golf Club Captain Byeong Hun An, Torque GC’s Sebastian Munoz and Southern Guards GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen got in the clubhouse at 5-under, three shots back of the lead. Eight total players sit at 4-under.
The team competition is also off to a riveting start, with Torque GC getting out of the gates quickly, combining for a score of 15-under. The new look Southern Guards GC shot 11-under, while Smash GC led by their captain Gooch are in solo third place at 10-under.
The overall scoring average for Round 1 was –2.00. The fifth hole played the toughest with an average score of +0.14 while the 565-yard par-5 15th played the easiest with an average score of –0.78.