Bryson DeChambeau chipped in for an eagle and a birdie on his way 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 brief weather delay, eagling the par-5 14th and birdieing each of the next two holes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
His chip at No. 14 was a soft placement next to a slope, and his ball rolled from right to left right into the cup. At the par-4 16th, he missed the green and chopped his third shot out of some thick rough, only to watch his ball head straight to the pin and disappear again.
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“Man, what’s nice is coming out into some soft conditions,” DeChambeau said. “That little chip shot became a hell of a lot easier for me. So I just chipped it out to the right exactly what I saw. I don’t know if you saw, but I was studying it before I left. I 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.”
DeChambeau is tuning up to defend his title at the U.S. Open next week at Oakmont Country Club. He is one of several LIV members who either were invited by the USGA or qualified for the third major of the year the old-fashioned way.
Marc Leishman of Australia tied for third at the qualifying site in nearby Rockville, Maryland, on Monday, grabbing one of four spots available there. Leishman turned around and shot a 67 on Friday.
Leishman is tied for third with Phil Mickelson, who might play in his final U.S. Open next week; Jon Rahm of Spain, who will search for his third career major win; Joaquín Niemann of Chile, who received the USGA’s first special invite based on LIV performance; Anirban Lahiri of India; and Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland.
RangeGoats GC teammates Bubba Watson and Peter Uihlein are tied at 3 under with Patrick Reed and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, both of 4Aces. RangeGoats lead the team competition at 9 under par, two shots better than 4Aces and DeChambeau’s team, Crushers GC.
