Bryson DeChambeau and Talor Gooch shared their lead with 7 shots at Liv Golf, South Korea at the opening ceremony on Friday.
DeChambeau bogey-free at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea, put a birdie putt on the last hole to complete the first round of the rankings, next to Gooch is the 2023 individual champion, the 2023 individual champion on the racing field, and has since fallen into a late form.
Gooch rode three consecutive three birdies on the eight-hole stretch and helped Smash GC take the team’s lead. Brooks Koepka-led crew scored 10 in one shot, leading DeChambeau and Crushers GC.
“Yes, it’s a tough start,” Gucci said. “This game is very rusty. The past few games have shown some life and got good golf again. Hopefully this season’s start is a great time for the whole season and we can play some of the 2023 season again.”
Dechambeau described his tour as “hard” but he waved a hot putt to make up for what he thought was shaky iron.
“I’m excited for the weekend,” Dechambeau looked at his 65th first-round shot, a 10-foot putt, to find the bottom of the cup. “It’s going to be a fun battle.”
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen tied for third. He shot 66 on Thursday, with his Stinger GC ranked fourth.
Also under 6 is Richard Bland of England. They were two shots from Chile’s Mexico-Champion Joaquín Niemann (Torque GC), who was part of his fifth four-pointer.
Two players were on a hole on Friday: South Africa’s Dean Burmester was 13 in 208 yards and Australia’s Marc Leishman was 172 yards and the fifth hole in 3.
