LIV Golf Virginia presented by Maaden Rd. 1: DeChambeau, Kaymer co-lead; RangeGoats ahead by 2

GAINESVILLE, Va. – A 107-minute weather delay late Friday afternoon was the perfect jumpstart to Bryson DeChambeau’s opening round at LIV Golf Virginia presented by Maaden.

The Crushers GC captain’s first shot after the resumption of play at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club was a chip-in for eagle at the par-5 14th. He followed with a birdie at the 15th and then chipped in again for birdie at the 16th en route to a 5-under 66 and a share of the lead with Cleeks Golf Club Captain Martin Kaymer.

“You come back from a rain delay and usually think you’re going to try and slowly get into a flow,” said DeChambeau, who was 1 under and tied for 18th when play was suspended. “I came out hot.”

DeChambeau has been hot all season, with a win at LIV Golf’s most recent event in Korea, and top-5 finishes in each of his last five starts, including the season’s first two majors. He’s looking to maintain that form heading into next week’s title defense at the U.S. Open.

Kaymer, meanwhile, has been seeking a competitive form for most of this season, with five of his seven results outside the top 40. But he was solid all day Friday while grabbing a share of the lead for the first time after any LIV Golf round since last year’s opening round in Houston. He hit 50% of his fairways, which tied for 10th best in the field at a challenging driving course, and he tied for the field best in putting average.

“I know I’m good enough. I know I can play good golf,” said the two-time major winner, who had two separate streaks of three consecutive birdies Friday. “I’ve proven many, many times in my career. But you need to continue hitting fairways, and that was the downside for me the past few months. I was missing so many fairways. Today, the game is there.”

The game was certainly there for Ollie Schniederjans in a spectacular performance as a reserve player for RangeGoats GC.

RangeGoats starter Matthew Wolff was forced to withdraw with an injury after playing his first eight holes at even par. Schniederjans immediately took his spot to finish the round. His first hole was a birdie at the 18th, and he added two more birdies and an eagle in his final nine holes

The Wolff/Schniederjans score only counts for the team, but the 67 was the RangeGoats’ best score as they grabbed a two-shot lead in the team competition at 9 under. Captain Bubba Watson and teammate Peter Uihlein pitched in with 68s, while Ben Campbell shot 72 in his first start after missing Korea with a wrist injury.

Chasing the leaders are six players tied at 4 under: captains Jon Rahm (Legion XIII), Joaquin Niemann (Torque GC) and Phil Mickelson (HyFlyers GC), along with Smash GC’s Graeme McDowell , Ripper GC’s Marc Leishman and Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri.

“I think I should be pleased with how comfortable and how well I played today,” said Rahm, the reigning LIV Golf Individual Champion.

Mickelson shot his lowest opening round relative to par in his last 16 LIV Golf starts as he continues to enjoy his best form since joining the league as an original member. “I’m having a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s really fun. I’m starting to play well.”

McDowell produced one of just two bogey-free rounds on the day. “Solid day,” he said. “I’ve been working pretty hard on my game the last few weeks. I’ve really been feeling it trending in the right direction.”

Few players are trending better than DeChambeau, who acknowledged that his hot finish was helped by the softer conditions after the resumption of play.

“That little chip shot became a helluva lot easier for me,” he said of his eagle. “… I was studying it before I left. It 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.”

TEAM SCORES

LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. (Click here for more on the new format). Here are the results and scores for each team after Friday’s Rd. 1 of LIV Golf Virginia presented by Maaden.

1. RANGEGOATS GC -9 (Wolff/Schniederjans 67, Watson 68, Uihlein 68, Campbell 72)

T2. CRUSHERS GC -7 (DeChambeau 66, Lahiri 67, Howell III 71, Casey 73)

T2. 4ACES GC -7 (Pieters 68, Reed 68, Johnson 69, Varner III 72)

4. SMASH GC -6 (McDowell 67, Gooch 70, Kokrak 70, Koepka 71)

5. TORQUE GC -3 (Niemann 67, Muñoz 70, Ortiz 71, Pereira 73)

6. CLEEKS GC -1 (Kaymer 66, Meronk 71, Kjettrup 72, Bland 74)

7. STINGER GC E (Burmester 70, Schwartzel 70, Grace 72, Oosthuizen 72)

8. IRON HEADS GC +1 (Lee 69, Jang 70, Kozuma 71, Na 75)

T9. RIPPER GC +3 (Leishman 67, Smith 70, Herbert 75, Jones 75)

T9. LEGION XIII +3 (Rahm 67, Hatton 72, McKibbin 73, Surratt 75)

11. HYFLYERS GC +4 (Mickelson 67, Tringale 70, Steele 72, Ogletree 79)

12. FIREBALLS GC +5 (Ancer 69, Masaveu 71, Ballester 74, Garcia 75)

13. MAJESTICKS GC +12 (Westwood 70, Horsfield 73, Poulter 75, Stenson 78)

Wild Cards: Kim 73, C. Lee 75

ROUND 1 NOTES

MICKELSON’S SHORT GAME: HyFlyers GC captain Phil Mickelson credited the return of his vaunted short game as one key reason why he’s having his best season on LIV Golf. On Friday, Mickelson was four of six scrambling on the day and made some difficult up-and-downs to save par to shoot a 4-under 67, his best opening round on LIV Golf in more than a year.

The 54-year-old has struggled around the green since the beginning of the 2024 season. In 2024, he ranked 39th in scrambling, averaging –0.13 strokes to the field per round. This year, he’s been better, gaining an average of +0.16 strokes per round, but the results still aren’t up to his lofty standards.

“It's always been the best part of my game. It's always been the easiest part of my game. Last few years I've really struggled with it. Because I've never had to think about it or analyze it, I've been able to force myself to look at what it is I'm really doing, what am I missing?” Mickelson explained.

“I figured it out, and it feels great. … Very first hole, I hit a poor drive. I was able to get the ball in front of the green. I'm 43 yards away, and I'm able to get it down there three, four feet away, and I make par. Last hole I hit a bad drive. I was able to get it up by the green in the rough and hit a great shot to tap in. Saving those shots are critical. I've been costing me strokes, I've been losing strokes lately around the green. Now I'm gaining strokes, and it feels great”

OLLIE TO THE RESCUE: Reserve player Ollie Schniederjans stepped up when RangeGoats GC needed it most, taking the baton from an injured Matthew Wolff to give the team a 4-under 67. Schniederjans was summoned after Wolff completed his eighth hole at even par and played the remaining 10 holes in 4 under as the RangeGoats grabbed a two-shot lead over Crushers GC and 4Aces GC.

Schniederjans’ score will only count towards the team leaderboard and not the individual leaderboard for the remainder of the tournament. He will continue playing for the RangeGoats unless Wolff is able to return prior to either of the next two rounds.

NIEMANN’S BOUNCE-BACK: Points leader Joaquin Niemann got off to a rough start with a double-bogey on his first hole of the day and followed it with a bogey on the 2nd, leaving him 3-over early in his round. Despite the rough start, Niemann, who’s won three LIV Golf events this season, battled back. He made birdies on holes 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15 and 16 to get into the clubhouse at 4 under.

107 MINUTE DELAY: Weather issues forced a suspension in play at 3:58 p.m. ET with the field still having 4 to 5 holes left in the first round. Play resumed 107 minutes later. Bryson DeChambeau wasn’t the only player to take advantage of the softer course conditions. Co-leader Martin Kaymer also produced three straight birdies late in his round. “It’s never easy coming back from a break,” Kaymer said. “You don’t know what to expect. On 16, I hit a really poor tee shot and got extremely lucky and hit it to 6, 7 feet.”

BALLESTER’S PRO DEBUT: Fireballs GC’s newest acquisition, young Spanish star Josele Ballester, made his pro debut Friday, shooting a 3-over 74. He posted his first pro birdie at the par-4 18th.

ROUND 1 STATS LEADERS

Driving accuracy: Danny Lee, 71.43% (10 of 14 fairways hit)

Driving distance average (for measured holes 13 and 14): Andy Ogletree, 349.2 yards avg.

Longest drive (among measured holes 13 and 14): Andy Ogletree, 357.6. yards, 14th hole

Greens in regulation: Graeme McDowell, 94.44% (17 of 18 greens)

Scrambling: Thomas Pieters (2 of 2), Jon Rahm (2 of 2), Graeme McDowell (1 of 1), 100%

Putting: Martin Kaymer, Bubba Watson, Abraham Ancer, 1.44 putts per hole

Bogey-free rounds: Graeme McDowell (67), Thomas Pieters (68)