Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau on his way into a share of the lead on day one of LIV Golf Korea in Incheon on Friday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.
From a Correspondent
Incheon, South Korea: While Bryson DeChambeau continued his quick-start prowess on Friday, Talor Gooch hopes his opening-round performance at LIV Golf Korea presented by Coupang Play will jump-start his season.
Crushers GC captain DeChambeau rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on his final hole to shoot a bogey-free 7 under par 65 and join Gooch atop the individual leaderboard at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.
It’s the second consecutive week that DeChambeau has held at least a share of the lead after 18 holes, and the fifth time in his last seven worldwide starts – including the recent Masters – in which he’s been in a top-5 position after the opening round.
“It was a tough, gruelling round of golf,” said DeChambeau, who finished tied for fifth last week at LIV Golf Mexico City. “I was proud of the way I stuck in there. I played some great golf today.”
Gooch, in his second season with Smash GC, posted six birdies during an eight-hole stretch to fuel his round of 65.
His stellar iron play looked very familiar to the form he displayed in 2023 when he won three tournaments and the 2023 LIV Golf individual championship while playing with RangeGoats GC.
On the rise
After a disappointing 2024 season and a sluggish start to 2025, his last two starts have been encouraging, with top-15 finishes in Miami and Mexico City. Friday’s round was another positive step.
“Yeah, it was a tough start to the year,” said Gooch, who put together two streaks of three consecutive birdies between the second and ninth holes.
“The game was pretty rusty. It’s been nice these past couple events to show some life and get some good golf going again.
“Hopefully this round kind of kick-starts a good rest of the season and we can kind of channel some of that 2023 season again.”
With Gooch and DeChambeau leading their teams, Smash and Crushers also stand atop the leaderboard.
Smash – captained by Brooks Koepka – shot a cumulative 10 under to lead the Crushers by one shot. The RangeGoats, who have Korean player Minkyu Kim in their lineup this week, are in solo third at 8 under.
Fourth in the team standings are Stinger GC, captained by Louis Oosthuizen, who is tied for third with Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland on the individual leaderboard at 6 under.
Good memories
Ten years ago, Oosthuizen went undefeated at the Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, winning four matches with partner Branden Grace and halving his singles match with another future LIV Golf player, Patrick Reed.
Grace, now one of his Stingers teammates, is out this week with an injury, but Oosthuizen said he still found time to reminisce. “Definitely today on a few occasions I remember shots that I hit back in 2015,” Oosthuizen said. “Just good memories.”
DeChambeau and Gooch each seek to carve out some good memories this weekend in Korea.
Last week in Mexico City didn’t end as well as DeChambeau hoped, and last season certainly didn’t provide many positives for Gooch inside the ropes. But both are feeling upbeat after Friday.
“I’m excited for the weekend,” DeChambeau said. “It’s going to be a fun battle.” (courtesy LIV Golf)
Round 1 scores
1. Smash GC -10 (Gooch 65, Kokrak 69, Koepka 71, McDowell 73)
2. Crushers GC -9 (DeChambeau 65, Lahiri 68, Howell III 70, Casey 76)
3. RangeGoats GC -8 (M. Kim 69, Watson 69, Uihlein 71, Wolff 71)
4. Stinger GC -7 (Oosthuizen 66, Burmester 68, Catlin 73, Schwartzel 74)
5. Cleeks GC -6 (Bland 66, Meronk 69, Kaymer 72, Kjettrup 75)
6. Majesticks GC -4 (Poulter 69, Stenson 69, Horsfield 73, Westwood 73)
7. Torque GC -2 (Niemann 68, Ortiz 71, Muñoz 73, Pereira 74)
8. Iron Heads GC -1 (Kozuma 68, Na 70, Lee 73, Jang 76)
9. Legion XIII E (Hatton 69, Rahm 72, Surratt 73, McKibbin 74)
10. Ripper GC +1 (Herbert 71, Leishman 71, Smith 73, Jones 74)
11. 4Aces GC +3 (Pieters 71, Reed 71, Johnson 72, Varner III 77)
12. Fireballs GC +5 (Puig 71, Ancer 72, Masaveu 73, Garcia 76)
13. HyFlyers GC +8 (Ogletree 72, Steele 73, Mickelson 75, Tringale 76)
Wild Cards: C. Lee 73. A. Kim 79
Round 1 stats
Driving accuracy: Talor Gooch, 100% (14 of 14 fairways hit)
Driving distance average (for measured holes 3 and 16): Mito Pereira, 369.7 yards avg.
Longest drive (among measured holes 3 and 16): Mito Pereira, 422.6 yards, 3rd hole
Greens in regulation: Louis Oosthuizen, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, 83.33% (15 of 18 greens)
Scrambling: Jinichiro Kozuma (6 of 6), Talor Gooch (5 of 5), Bryson DeChambeau (5 of 5), Tom McKibbin (5 of 5), Anirban Lahiri (4 of 4), 100%
Putting: Ian Poulter, 1.22 putts per hole
Bogey-free rounds: Bryson DeChambeau (65), Jinichiro Kozuma (68)
Also read: Shades of 2024 as Neimann, Rahm do battle for LIV honours again
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