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Lucas Herbert and Bryson DeChambeau picked up where they left off at Royal Birkdale.
Herbert, who has been the hottest Ripper GC in recent weeks, fired an 11-under 61 in the opening 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 at an event where the layout also played to a par of 72.
It’s the lowest score for par in his LIV Golf career and a continuation of a stretch that has seen Herbert become one of the hottest players in the game, starting with a win at LIV Golf Virginia in May. He then held the 36-hole lead at The Open Championship, shooting 62 in the second round to tie the all-time scoring record.
Now he has shot 11 under in the first round at JCB.
Herbert made the turnaround in 5-under 31 and kept his foot down with a 6-under back nine, missing a chance for something even more special when a putt on 17 for a shot of 59 just missed.
“Of course it was,” Herbert said when asked if he thought about the 59. “You could see in my reaction there on 17 when it didn’t go in, I thought it was my chance. But if you had to pick days to shoot 59, I wouldn’t have thought today would have been the day. The golf course is a little firm out there, which makes it a little bit more fun to play out there, and that makes it a little more fun to play. I’m pretty incredibly happy with 61 still.
He credited his recent results with a new level of faith.
“I think when you’ve been there and done it 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 rankings.”
Right behind him is DeChambeau, who 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 turned in a 5-under 31, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5-4, and added a 3-under back nine despite a late bogey on the 16th that briefly cooled his momentum. DeChambeau sits alone in second place and in prime position to chase Herbert all week.
The two Ripper GC and Crushers GC stars also led 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 is tied for second at 15 under with Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri both carding 68s along with DeChambeau’s 64.
Behind the two co-leaders, Tyrrell Hatton and Harold Varner III tied for third place individually with 6-under 66, with Hatton also anchoring Legion XIII to a tie for third on the team standings at 8-under.
It was a solid start for the home favorite who will carry plenty of crowd support into the weekend. The Majesticks Golf Club contingent, playing in front of their home fans, were led by Ian Poulter, who carded 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 shot back in the afternoon team, which put 6 under the team’s breeze to 6th – 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 3-under 69 of his own.
With Herbert and DeChambeau setting a blistering pace at the top, the rest of the LIV Golf UK field will need something special over the next three days to catch them.
LIV Golf UK Round 1 Leaderboard
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 was published by Mike McAllister in association with LIFE Golf.
