Bryson DeChambeau chipped in for an eagle and a birdie on his option to a 5-under-par 66 and a share of the first-round lead with Germany’s Martin Kaymer at LIV Golf Virginia on Friday in Gainesville, Virginia.
DeChambeau shot up the leaderboard after a short climate delay, eagling the par-5 14th and birdieing every of the subsequent two holes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Membership.
His chip at No. 14 was a tender placement subsequent to a slope, and his ball rolled from proper to left proper into the cup. On the par-4 sixteenth, he missed the inexperienced and chopped his third shot out of some thick tough, solely to look at his ball head straight to the pin and disappear once more.
“Man, what’s good is popping out into some tender circumstances,” DeChambeau mentioned. “That little chip shot grew to become a hell of quite a bit simpler for me. So I simply chipped it out to the precise precisely what I noticed. I do not know when you noticed, however I used to be learning it earlier than I left. I used to be like, this appears good, got here out, nonetheless appears good, hit it precisely the place I wished it to land, and it went proper within the frickin’ gap.”
DeChambeau is tuning as much as defend his title on the U.S. Open subsequent week at Oakmont Nation Membership. He’s one in all a number of LIV members who both had been invited by the USGA or certified for the third main of the 12 months the old style manner.
Marc Leishman of Australia tied for third on the qualifying website in close by Rockville, Maryland, on Monday, grabbing one in all 4 spots out there there. Leishman circled and shot a 67 on Friday.
Leishman is tied for third with Phil Mickelson, who would possibly play in his remaining U.S. Open subsequent week; Jon Rahm of Spain, who will seek for his third profession main win; Joaquín Niemann of Chile, who obtained the USGA’s first particular invite primarily based on LIV efficiency; Anirban Lahiri of India; and Graeme McDowell of Northern Eire.
RangeGoats GC teammates Bubba Watson and Peter Uihlein are tied at 3 underneath with Patrick Reed and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, each of 4Aces. RangeGoats lead the group competitors at 9 underneath par, two pictures higher than 4Aces and DeChambeau’s group, Crushers GC.
