Lucas Herbert and Bryson DeChambeau picked up right where they left off at Royal Birkdale, while Graeme McDowell and Tom McKibbin found the going tough as LIV Golf returned after a 48-day absence.
McDowell sits tied for 31st after a level-par 72 that featured three birdies and three bogeys, while McKibbin is a shot further back having double bogeyed his final hole – the 15th.
There were no such struggles for Herbert, however. The Ripper GC star fired an 11-under 61 in the opening round at JCB Golf and Country Club, a bogey-free effort that broke the course record of 62 set four years ago at a Legends event when the layout also played to a par of 72.
It’s the lowest score relative to par in his LIV Golf career and a continuation of a stretch that’s seen Herbert become one of the hottest players in the game. Herbert won in Maaden LIV Golf Virginia, had the 36-hole lead and the tied all-time major scoring record at The Open Championship and now has shot 11-under in the first round at JCB.
Herbert made the turn in 5-under 31 and kept the foot down with a 6-under back nine, missing a chance at something even more special when a putt on 17 for a shot at 59 just missed.
“Of course it was” on his mind, Herbert admitted afterward. “You could see in my reaction there on 17, when that didn’t go in, I was like, that was my chance. But if you were going to pick days you were going to shoot 59, I wouldn’t have thought today would have been the day. The golf course is a little firm, which makes it play a little tougher and a bit of breeze out there that kind of moved around. I’m pretty incredibly happy with 61 still.”
He credited his recent run of results for a new level of belief. “I think once you’ve been there and done that a little bit, you have the confidence that you know you can do it,” he said. “I feel like I’m getting a new taste for being out there at the top of the leaderboard.”
Right behind him, DeChambeau continued his own hot streak with an 8-under 64, continuing the pace he carried through the first two rounds at Royal Birkdale before his T14 finish there last week. The Crushers GC captain made the turn in 5-under 31, highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 4th, and added a 3-under back nine despite a late bogey at the 16th that briefly cooled his momentum. DeChambeau sits alone in second and squarely in position to chase Herbert all week.
The two Ripper GC and Crushers GC stars also carried their teams to the top of the team leaderboard. Ripper GC leads at 19-under, with Marc Leishman (68) and Cameron Smith (69) providing solid support and Travis Smyth turning in a respectable 71. Crushers GC sits second at 15-under, with Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri both carding 68s alongside DeChambeau’s 64.
Behind the two co-leaders, Tyrrell Hatton and Harold Varner III shared third individually at 6-under 66, with Hatton also anchoring Legion XIII into a tie for third on the team leaderboard at 8-under.
It was a solid start for the home favorite, who will carry plenty of crowd support into the weekend. The Majesticks GC contingent, playing in front of its home fans, were led by Ian Poulter who carderd a 4-under 68 to sit inside the top 10 individually, while Lee Westwood added a 1-under 71. Laurie Canter and Sam Horsfield each posted 1-over 73s on a course that bit back in the afternoon breeze, leaving Majesticks tied for sixth as a team at 3-under — plenty of ground to make up, but far from out of it with three rounds still to play.
Elsewhere, Caleb Surratt joined the group at 4-under 68, Peter Uihlein and Cameron Smith both sat at 3-under 69, and Thomas Detry opened with a 3-under 69 of his own.
With Herbert and DeChambeau setting a blistering pace up top, the rest of the LIV Golf UK field will need something special over the next three days to catch them.
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