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Lucas Herbert and Bryson DeChambeau picked up where they left off at Royal Birkdale.
Herbert, who has been the hottest GC Ripper in recent weeks, shot an 11-under 61 in the first round of the LIV Golf United Kingdom presented by JCB at JCB Golf & Country Club. The bogey-free effort broke the course record of 62, set four years ago in an event where the layout also played to a par of 72.
It was the lowest score relative to par of his career at LIV Golf and the continuation of a streak that saw Herbert become one of the game’s hottest players, beginning with a victory at LIV Golf Virginia in May. He then held the 36-hole lead at the Open Championship, where he shot a 62 in the second round to tie the all-time major scoring record.
Now he shot 11 under in the first round at JCB.
Herbert made the turn at 5-under 31 and kept his foot on the ground with a back nine at 6-under, missing a chance for something even more special when a putt on 17 for a shot at 59 just missed.
“Of course it was,” Herbert said when asked if he was thinking about 59. “You could see in my reaction on the 17th, when it didn’t go in, I was like, that was my luck. But if you had to pick the days you were going to shoot 59, I wouldn’t have thought today would be the day. The golf course is a little firm, which makes the game a little harder and a little breeze moves through. I’m incredibly happy with 61 again.”
He attributes his recent run of results to a new level of confidence.
“I think once you go out there and do that a little bit, you have the confidence that you know you can do it,” he said. “I feel like I have a new taste of being at the top of the rankings.”
Just behind him is DeChambeau, who continued his own streak with an 8-under 64, continuing the pace he set in the first two rounds at Royal Birkdale before finishing T14 there last week.
The Crushers GC captain made the turn at 5-under 31, highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 fourth, and added a back nine at 3-under despite a late bogey at the 16th that briefly cooled his momentum. DeChambeau is alone in second position and fully capable of chasing Herbert all week.
The two stars of Ripper GC and Crushers GC also took their teams to the top of the team rankings. Ripper GC leads at 19 under, with Marc Leishman (68) and Cameron Smith (69) providing strong support and Travis Smyth turning in with a respectable 71. Crushers GC sits in second place at 15 under, with Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri both carding 68 alongside DeChambeau’s 64.
Behind the two co-leaders, Tyrrell Hatton and Harold Varner III shared third place individually at 6-under 66, with Hatton also putting Legion XIII into a tie for third place in the team standings at 8-under.
It was a good start for the local favorite, who will enjoy crowd support throughout the weekend. The Majesticks Golf Club contingent, playing in front of their home fans, was led by Ian Poulter who carded a 4-under 68 to move into the individual top 10, while Lee Westwood added a 1-under 71. Laurie Canter and Sam Horsfield each posted 1-over 73 on a course that slowed the afternoon breeze, leaving the Majesticks tied for sixth as a team at 3 under – plenty of ground to make up, but far from being the case. comes out with three rounds still to play.
Elsewhere, Caleb Surratt joined the group at 4-under 68, Peter Uihlein and Cameron Smith both at 3-under 69, and Thomas Detry opened with a 3-under 69 of his own.
With Herbert and DeChambeau setting a blistering pace at the front, the rest of the LIV Golf UK field will need something special over the next three days to catch up with them.
LIV Golf UK Round 1 Ranking
1. Lucas Herbert (-11)
2. Bryson DeChambeau (-8)
T-3. Tyrrell Hatton (-6)
T-3. Harold Varner III (-6)
T-5. Byeong Hun An (-5)
T-5. Richard T. Lee (-5)
T-7. Abraham Ancer (-4)
T-7. Björn Hellgren (-4)
T-7. Charles Howell III (-4)
T-7. Anirban Lahiri (-4)
T-7. Marc Leishman (-4)
T-7. Luis Masaveu (-4)
T-7. Ian Poulter (-4)
T-7. Caleb Surratt (-4)
T-7. Scott Vincent (-4)
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIVGolf.
