Chicago Rd. 1 News and Notes: HyFlyers have plenty to play for

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. – Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson share the individual lead after the first round of LIV Golf Chicago, while Stinger GC is on top of the team leaderboard. Here are some other news, notes and stats from the first round.

Related: Leaderboard | Round 1 recap | Full Round 1 highlights

LIV GOLF CHICAGO ROUND 1 NOTES

HYFLYERS POSSIBILITIES

Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC are among the many teams that are juggling lots of different goals down the stretch this season.

Mickelson wants to finish inside the top 10 in the season-long points race for the first time in his LIV Golf career. Cameron Tringale is currently 25th in points; he wants to finish inside the top 24, which would move him into the Lock Zone and guarantee his spot for next year.

Brendan Steele and Andy Ogletree are dangerously close to the Drop Zone, which involves relegation for next season.

“Everybody is feeling a little bit of pressure,” Mickelson said. “Everybody is in pursuit of something.”

Oh, and the HyFlyers as a team are hoping to finish strong and make an impact at the season-ending team Championship.

“We're all pursuing our own personal goals,” Mickelson said, “but as a team, we would really like to get our first win.”

LONG-SHOT BRYSON

Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau has a longshot mathematical chance to win the Individual Championship that will require winning each of the last two regular-season events while points leader Joaquin Niemann and his closest pursuer Jon Rahm struggle down the stretch.

DeChambeau shot a 3-under 68 and is just one shot off the lead. He’s in a six-way tie that also includes Rahm, while Niemann is tied for 45th.

“Joaco has played pretty bad golf before in the first round and come back and almost won tournaments,” DeChambeau said. “He's incredible out here. I think he'll do fine the next couple days.

“For me, I'm just going to focus on playing the best golf I can. … Going to continue to work hard to keep that ball in play and make some good putts when I need to. If I win this week, I'm one step closer to getting that title. But I want to win for the Crushers as well and see where our team stacks up.”

DeChambeau was the only player in the field to successfully scramble 100% of the time, as he was nine for nine in that category. DeChambeau leads the league in scrambling this season at 65.75%.

STINGERS’ BIG DAY

Stinger GC had a tremendous day off the tee, gaining nearly a stroke on the rest of the teams as the South Africans shot a cumulative 6 under. Dean Burmester led the way with a 3-under 68, while Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel contributed 69s. Captain Louis Oosthuizen shot a 72.

DJ AND AUSTIN

After missing the week at LIV Golf UK by JCB, Dustin Johnson 's brother and caddie, Austin, made his return to the 4Aces GC's Captain's bag. After shooting a 4-under 67 to share the first-round lead, Dustin Johnson expressed how happy he was to have his brother back.

“He’s been on the bag for a long time now, so when he's not on the bag, it's a little bit different,” Johnson said. “[Gareth Lord] did a good job but prefer having A.J. on the bag.”

SERGIO’S PUTTER

Sergio Garcia has experimented with a handful of putters this season, but this week at Bolingbrook, he's gone back to a putter he first debuted in the late 1990s. The Titleist-Scotty Cameron Del Mar 3.5 engraved with the name "Sergio Garcia" is also engraved with "J.A.T" which stands for "Just A Thought" and was commonly found on that line of putters from Scotty Cameron.

"I do like those putters that Scotty made for me in the late '90s, early 2000s," Garcia said after shooting a 67 to tie for the lead.

Garcia also revealed that he'd be debuting a new putter within the next three weeks. "I have a putter coming soon that I'm working with a company in Switzerland, Golfyr, that I should be able to have it within the next probably three weeks or so, and I'm excited about it,” he said. “I like the way it feels, and I like the way it looks."

PEREIRA’S MOVE

Torque GC’s Mito Pereira has been in the Drop Zone all season, but an opening 2-under 69 leaves him in a tie for ninth. He’s now projected to move into the Open Zone – and avoid relegation. The Chilean is projected to move to 46th in the standings. That would push Majesticks GC Co-Captain Henrik Stenson into the Drop Zone.

LIV GOLF CHICAGO ROUND 1 STATS LEADERS

Driving accuracy: Brooks Koepka, Anirban Lahiri, Cameron Smith, Charles Howell III, Louis Oosthuizen, 78.57% (11 of 14 fairways hit)

Driving distance average (for measured holes 1 and 14): Dean Burmester, 357.0 yards avg.

Longest drive (among measured holes 1 and 14): Lucas Herbert, 412.8. yards, 14th hole

Greens in regulation: Thomas Pieters, 83.33% (15 of 18 greens)

Scrambling: Bryan DeChambeau (9 of 9), 100%

Putting: Sergio Garcia, Andy Ogletree, 1.28 putts per hole

Bogey-free rounds: none