Fresh off his U.S. Open championship victory Nashville greeted Bryson DeChambeau on Friday with deafening cheers at the Grove in the first round of the LIV Golf Nashville event near Franklin.
With skydivers landing in the fairway, fireworks exploding all around and AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” blaring in the background, fans braved the sweltering heat and crammed into the public observation deck to watch DeChambeau in the shotgun start on the No. 1 tee.
They cheered wildly when the 30-year-old sensation was introduced and again when he teed off on the 421-yard hole followed by Carlos Ortiz and Jon Rahm, with whom he was paired.
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Fans shouted “Great Shot, Bryson,” “Lets go, DeChambeau” and “Time to break out the Walmart clubs, Bryson,” in the huge gallery that lined the first hole. DeChambeau played to the crowd, waving and flashing big smiles.
After DeChambeau’s approach landed a couple of feet off the green, he putted to within inches of the pin and parred the first hole.
Rahm chipped onto the green a couple of feet from the pin for par along with Ortiz.
Fans pressed against the ropes hoping for fist bumps and high-fives from DeChambeau and Rahm as they walked uphill toward the No. 2 tee.
There was no sign of DeChambeau’s U.S. Open trophy, which he had proudly carried with him to many of the pre-tournament events.
The rest of DeChambeau’s team included Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira and Sebastián Muñoz.
The event continues through Sunday.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville LIV Golf 2024: Bryson DeChambeau gets big welcome