ROCESTER: Jon Rahm is used to being in contention after most of his LIV Golf rounds this season. But it was the first time since he entered the league that he led directly.
Thanks to a bogey-free 8-under 63, Rahm has a two-stroke lead over Abraham Ancer and Andy Ogletree after the first round at JCB's LIV Golf UK. Meanwhile, his Legion XIII is on top of the team by one stroke over Smash GC, HyFlyers GC and Fireballs GC.
Friday's round was Rahm's 29th at LIV Golf. He is tied for 5th after 13 of those rounds, including a tie for first after the first round in Jeddah.
Six other times, Rahm finished in the top 10. In each of his nine tournaments — he had to pull out of Houston due to a foot ailment — he's produced top-10 finishes, second only to current GC Captain Torque. Joaquin Niemann in the season scoring list.
It's a consistent performance that Rahm hopes will carry over to his first LIV Golf title this week at JCB Golf & Country Club.
“There's nothing to say but positive things,” said Rahm, who entered the week tied for seventh at The Open Championship, the biggest result of the year. “Played very good golf all day. On a day like this, it's almost effortless. “
Rahm played in the same group with his teammate and former Ryder Cup teammate, Tyrrell Hatton, along with another Legion XIII player, Caleb Surratt, as the captain of the LIV Golf has teamed up with its first two partners in the first round.
Not only was Rahm under par – his 8-under par tied for LIV Golf's lowest round for par – but Hatton shot a 66, falling from two high bogeys. times. The duo torched Legion XIII's total of 12 under which included a 72 from Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII has won three team titles in its inaugural season and is second in the points standings behind Crushers GC.
“It's my first time playing with a partner at LIV Golf,” said Rahm, who had six birdies in the final nine holes to break away from the pack. “I'm not sure how it's going to go. I'm just a little curious.”
Hatton said: “We've shared some great stages over the last few years and we generally play well when we play together. So, we both enjoyed a good round of golf and had some time on the weekend. “
Ancer, a playoff winner earlier this year in Hong Kong, finished with a flourish. The Fireballs star birdied four of his last five holes during a brilliant round that led the field.
Ogletree's best finish during his first LIV Golf season was third in Adelaide. He's been battling a wrist injury that may require offseason surgery and forced him to undergo a swing adjustment to ease the pain.
“I've had a lot of days where I've played 13 and 14 holes really well and then I've held myself back in bad times,” said the HyFlyers member. “Today I was in it all day and played solid golf.”
Hatton and Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith are tied for fourth, while a group of seven players – including Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka and local resident Sam Horsfield of Majesticks GC – are four strokes clear of the sixth number.
On a course that most players were unfamiliar with and expected to lose a low score to their heart's content, 35 of the 54 players on the course broke par, with an average of over one over. under par.
This did not surprise Rahm. “You can't say how amazing it is when the best players in the world show up for the game,” he said.
Standings and scoring for Friday's opening round:
The best three scores from each team count in the first two rounds while the top four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest combined points after three rounds wins the team title.
1. LEGION XIII -12 (Rahm 63, Hatton 66, Vincent 72)
T2. FIREBALLS GC -11 (Ancer 65, Garcia 68, Puig 69)
T2. SMASH GC -11 (Koepka 67, McDowell 67, Gooch 68)
T2. HYFLYERS GC -11 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 67, Mickelson 70)
T5. RIPPER GC -9 (Smith 66, Herbert 69, Jones 69)
T5. RANGEGOATS GC -9 (Wolff 67, Uihlein 68, Watson 69)
7. STINGER GC -8 (Oosthuizen 67, Burmester 68, Schwartzel 70)
8. TORQUE GC -6 (Munoz 68, Niemann 69, Pereira 70)
T9. CRUSHERS GC -5 (Casey 67, Lahiri 69, Catlin 72)
T9. CLEEKS GC -5 (Meronk 68, Bland 69, Samooja 71)
11. MAJESTICKS GC -4 (Horsfield 67, Stenson 70, Westwood 72)
12. 4ACES GC -1 (Varner 69, Johnson 71, Reed 72)
13. LOHA VY GC Even (Na 70, Vincent 70, Kozuma 73)
