DeChambeau, Howell, Vincent Out Front After Round 1 Of LIV Golf Korea

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Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau and teammate Charles Howell III battled for the idiosyncratic rubric successful LIV Golf’s archetypal sojourn to Korea past twelvemonth extracurricular Seoul, with DeChambeau finishing with 2 precocious birdies for the win.

It’s a antithetic people and determination this week astatine Asiad Country Club, but the 2 again find themselves astatine the apical of the LIV Golf Korea leaderboard aft Thursday’s archetypal circular – lone this clip they person company.

DeChambeau and Howell stock the first-round pb with HyFlyers GC’s Scott Vincent aft each changeable a 5-under 65. Three players are tied for fourth, 1 changeable backmost – Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann, Majesticks GC Co-Captain Ian Poulter (who is playing with a torn meniscus) and 4Aces GC’s Thomas Pieters.

Four much players are tied for seventh astatine 3 nether – Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith, Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia, Southern Guards GC’s Charl Schwartzel and the Majesticks’ Laurie Canter.

Meanwhile, the location favorites Korean Golf Club produced arguably their champion show of the season. Younghan Song and caller summation Doyeob Mun each changeable 68 to articulation a ample radical tied for 11th portion the squad is tied for 5th astatine 3 under.

For DeChambeau, he’s blessed that helium and Howell could rekindle their efforts from past year, erstwhile they shared the pb going into the last 3 holes successful what proved to beryllium a riveting conflict among teammates.

"I conjecture Charles and I emotion Korea," helium said.

Howell was blessed too, though helium knows DeChambeau – already a two-time victor this play connected LIV Golf and 2nd to Jon Rahm successful the season-long points contention – volition beryllium pugnacious to dethrone.

"Team-wise, it's wonderful. Individual-wise, it's terrible," Howell said. "Team-wise, I emotion him up determination astatine the top. Individually, I privation helium was astatine the bottom. Obviously Bryson, much weeks than not, helium plays highly well, and if my sanction is adjacent his, I'm usually doing thing beauteous good."

DeChambeau had the solo pb for astir of Thursday’s circular arsenic helium birdied six of his archetypal 10 holes. But helium fell backmost to the battalion with bogeys astatine the 13th erstwhile helium three-putted aft his attack flew 12 yards excessively long, and the par-5 15th erstwhile helium recovered the water.

"Being 6-under done 10, I felt similar thing peculiar was happening," DeChambeau said. "I simmered disconnected but inactive played immoderate large golf. Surprised that I didn't spell deeper."

Howell’s circular was ignited by an eagle 2 from 108 yards connected the par-4 second. "When the shot disappeared, I thought I had one-hopped it implicit the green, but evidently the cheering said otherwise," helium said. "I'll instrumentality those. They don't hap often."

Vincent posted the lone bogey-free circular of the day, a continuation of a caller surge that started erstwhile helium moved from an autarkic Wild Card to the HyFlyers’ lineup arsenic a replacement for skipper Phil Mickelson. He finished solo 4th successful Mexico City and tied for 8th successful Virginia, the team’s 2 champion idiosyncratic performances this season.

Now helium shares the pb for the archetypal clip aft immoderate circular successful his LIV Golf career.

"I don't cognize what it is, but the 2nd I joined them, my crippled conscionable went up," said Vincent, who earned his spot this play aft winning the 2025 International Series season-long title. "It's been amazing."

The Crushers won the squad rubric past twelvemonth successful Korea and are connected apical of the squad leaderboard aft shooting a cumulative 10 under. The squad is playing without 1 of its regular members, Paul Casey, who suffered an wounded and has been replaced by reserve Travis Smyth. Smyth changeable a 2-over 72 portion Anirban Lahiri changeable a 68.

The precocious rebranded OKGC is solo 2nd astatine 7 under, with the HyFlyers and Fireballs are tied for 3rd astatine 5 under.

TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS

Individual Top 10

T1 (-5) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (65); Charles Howell III, Crushers (65); Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (65)

T4 (-4) – Ian Poulter, Majesticks (66); Joaquin Niemann, Torque (66); Thomas Pieters, 4Aces (66)

T7 (-3) – Cameron Smith, Ripper (67); Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (67); Charl Schwartzel, Southern Guards (67); Laurie Canter, Majesticks (67)

Team Top 3

1 (-10) – Crushers GC (DeChambeau 65, Howell III 65, Lahiri 68, Smyth 72)

2 (-7) – OKGC (Kokrak 68, McDowell 68, Varner III 68, Gooch 69)

T3 (-5) – HyFlyers GC (Vincent 65, La Sasso 68, Steele 70, Tringale 72)

T3 (-5) – Fireballs GC (Garcia 67, Masaveu 68, Puig 70, Ballester 70)

ROUND 1 NOTES

KOREAN GC FUELED BY FANS: After a caller agelong of disappointing results, Korean GC hoped to usage a lineup shuffle and the enactment of their location fans to crook things around. So far, truthful good.

Newcomer Doyeob Mun, who presently leads the KPGA Tour successful points this season, changeable a 2-under 68 successful his archetypal LIV Golf circular to drawback a stock of 11th. He was joined determination by teammate Younghan Song, portion skipper Byeong Hun An changeable even-par 70 and Minkyu Kim a 71 arsenic the squad settled into a necktie for 5th – their champion presumption aft immoderate archetypal circular this season.

"The information that I played my archetypal tourney of LIV Golf present successful my location crushed was really, genuinely an honor," Mun said. "Looking astatine the fans, I truly felt little nervous, much comfortable. I truly privation to convey them for coming retired today.

"During the adjacent 3 days I'm truly going to bring my ‘A’ crippled and besides person a batch of fun."

Considering that Korean GC has struggled successful archetypal rounds this season, it was an fantabulous commencement to a precise important week for the club. The squad hopes to present a triumph to their supporters conscionable similar the all-Australian Ripper GC did earlier this twelvemonth successful beforehand of 115,000 fans successful Adelaide.

"I retrieve however immense the oceans of galleries were during the Adelaide tournament," Song said. "Considering we're successful Busan wherever the radical are known for being precise passionate, not lone americium I funny successful playing a bully crippled with my squad members astatine KGC, I'm looking guardant to seeing each those passionate Busan radical travel retired to cheer america on."

POULTER’S TORN MENISCUS: Majesticks GC Co-Captain Ian Poulter produced a 4-under 66 contempt playing with a torn meniscus successful his near limb that helium suffered astatine the erstwhile LIV Golf tourney successful Virginia.

Poulter said helium had conscionable finished a gym league earlier the archetypal circular and was astir to locomotion up a formation of six stairs. He opted to instrumentality 2 stairs astatine a time, and erstwhile helium made the hop up, helium felt thing pop.

"As soon arsenic it happened, I didn't deliberation I was going to play an hr earlier tee-off," Poulter said. "So it was that crazy."

Amazingly, helium finished a season-best T18 successful Virginia, past went for an MRI erstwhile helium returned home. That’s erstwhile helium was diagnosed with the teardrop and told that helium would request country aft the season. He took a week disconnected earlier getting prepared for Korea.

Even so, Poulter said the wounded does not interaction his existent swing.

"Bizarrely, I person nary sensation passim the play plaything that there's thing incorrect with it," said Poulter, who besides began utilizing a caller acceptable of well-performing McLaren irons. "I consciousness it erstwhile I'm walking downhill, steep downhills. I'm conscionable edging it a small bit. But look, I'm going to person to fortify that leg. It's not affecting my play successful immoderate way, signifier oregon form.

"I conscionable person to punctual myself that I can't spell and play paddle tennis oregon bash thing anserine oregon hop up steps similar I did a mates of weeks ago. Walking successful consecutive lines and being super-sensible is not thing I'm utilized to doing.

"Look, I consciousness good. I consciousness great. The assemblage feels good. We'll woody with that astatine immoderate stage."

DIFFERENT TYPE OF COURSES: While Crushers teammates Bryson DeChambeau and Charles Howell III are successful acquainted territory atop the LIV Golf Korea leaderboard, they agreed that this year’s people astatine Asiad Country Club has fewer similarities to past year’s Jack Nicklaus Golf Course Korea successful Incheon.

"This people is simply a spot shorter, a spot much presumption golf," Howell said. "Last twelvemonth was a spot much unfastened disconnected the tee. You could deed a batch of drivers. This place, rather a spot much thinking. If you thrust the shot successful the unsmooth here, it's truly hard to get it adjacent to the flags. The greenish complexes are big, but with each the monolithic slopes successful them, if you miss the fairway, it's either a pugnacious two-putt from 60 feet oregon immoderate benignant of fiddly chip.

Added DeChambeau: "It’s really wholly different. It's funny, we're conscionable coincidentally playing large play here. Yeah, the Jack Nicklaus play people was a antithetic test, and this 1 is rather antithetic than that play people past year.

"It's conscionable a shot striker's play course, and that's what Charles thrives connected and that's what I've been moving towards to get amended at, and it paid disconnected today."

RAHM KEEPS STREAK GOING: Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm, the reigning two-time LIV Golf Individual Champion and existent points leader, entered Thursday connected a streak of 38 consecutive rounds of par oregon amended successful LIV Golf.

That streak was successful jeopardy for astir of the day, arsenic helium was 3 implicit done 13 holes and had yet to station a birdie. But helium ended his circular with 3 birdies successful his last 5 holes, including a birdie putt from 14 feet connected his last hole, to sprout an even-par 70.

Rahm, who has ne'er finished little than 11th successful immoderate LIV Golf tourney that he’s completed, is portion of a 11-way necktie for 27th.