In his first round since winning the US Open, a worn-out Bryson DeChambeau continued to thrive off the energy of his growing fan base, shooting a four-under 67 on Friday at LIV Golf Nashville.
Meanwhile, a rejuvenated Abraham Ancer continued to ride the form that’s already led to one LIV Golf victory this season, as he grabbed the first-round lead at The Grove with a bogey-free seven-under 64.
With Ancer leading the way, Fireballs GC leads the team competition by four shots over DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, with Torque GC another shot back in third. The Fireballs, captained by Sergio Garcia, are seeking their first team title this season after trying for second in each of the previous two tournaments.
South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel began with a round of 69 that included five birdies and three bogeys, with Stinger GC teammates Dean Burmester, Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen all carding 68.
Ancer opened his round with a birdie, and then took the lead on his final nine with four birdies in a five-hole stretch. He finished by getting up-and-down on his last hole to keep his scorecard clean.
“Extremely happy the way I fought today,” said Ancer, the winner at LIV Golf Hong Kong earlier this year in a playoff. “Even the last hole, I put myself in a tough spot and then made a longish putt for par, which was really nice. You don’t want to finish on a bogey.”
One shot back is Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton, the only player this season to finish inside the top 24 in points in each of the first eight tournaments. Hatton leaned heavily on his putter during a round in which he needed just 24 putts.
“The big thing that I was most pleased with today was just the putter,” Hatton said. “Feel like I holed out really well from inside 10 feet.”
In solo third is John Catlin, a reserve player who is filling in for injured Crushers veteran Charles Howell III for the second consecutive LIV Golf tournament. Catlin’s five-under 66 was highlighted by a stretch of four birdies in five holes around his turn.
No reserve player has finished inside the top five of a LIV Golf tournament, but Catlin, a 13-time winner in his professional career and currently second in the International Series standings, is confident he can continue to make noise this week.
“I feel like if I can go out and play my game, I’m capable of anything,” he said.
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DeChambeau is in a four-way tie for fourth with Torque’s Sebastián Muñoz, Fireballs’ Eugenio Chacarra and Majesticks GC’s Sam Horsfield.
The last few days have been a whirlwind for the Crushers captain after winning his second US Open with a clutch up-and-down on the 72nd hole at Pinehurst. A media tour in New York followed the next day before he traveled to Nashville for this week’s tournament.
“I’m a zombie right now. I’m a dead man walking,” he said.
But the crowd support Friday helped keep him going, and he acknowledged them at every opportunity – including at the par-three 15th party hole when he made birdie, then cupped his ear to hear the fans cheer.
“It’s quite an honour to be out here and have so much support,” DeChambeau said. “It’s fantastic. This is what LIV is all about.”