Graeme McDowell and Tom McKibbin kept their opening rounds together, as five players finished tied for the lead at the wind-disrupted LIV golf Andalucía at Valderrama.
Friday’s round started under breezy but manageable conditions, but the wind speed increased throughout the afternoon as the direction changed. At 5:07 p.m. local time, just over four hours after the shotgun start, the horn blew. Tournament officials were hopeful for a resumption, but the forecast was not favorable and included the potential of dangerous conditions. Most players have five holes to play in their rounds.
McDowell mixed three bogeys with a solitary birdie to sit two-over-par, three shots off the lead with McKibbin a shot further back on three-over-par, but after the brutal conditions, both are well in contention heading into the weekend.
Cameron Smith was one of just five players under par when the horn blew to suspend play. He shares the overnight lead at one-under-par with Smash GC’s Talor Gooch, the individual winner at Valderrama in 2023; Majesticks GC Co-Captain Lee Westwood; Stinger GC’s Branden Grace , and Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann, the current Individual points leader seeking his fifth win of the season.
“You can play this golf course with no wind, and it’s brutal,” Smith said. “When you get 30 mile-an-hour gusts, it’s definitely not an easy place to get around.”
“It’s easy to feel frustrated, particularly when I doubled 15 and then bogeyed 16 as well,” Smith said. “I was trotting along pretty good before that.
“But it’s golf. Golf isn’t fair, at the end of the day. Were the conditions fair? Probably not for a little bit, but it is what it is. We’ll get on with it. I’m sure we’ll make a good tournament out of it.”
Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau and Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm are one stroke back – the only other players who did not leave the course Friday over par.
The Crushers, seeking their fourth consecutive team title, are tied for first with Legion XIII and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC on the team leaderboard at 5 over.
Play will resume Saturday at 8 a.m. local time, with the second round expected to start at 10:30 a.m. once all players complete their first rounds. Players have between three and five holes remaining in their opening rounds.
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