LIV Golf Virginia: DeChambeau dazzles after the rain at RTJ
- LIV Golf
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
RangeGoats lead team competition
BY LIV GOLF STAFF
GAINESVILLE, Va. – A 107-minute weather delay late Friday afternoon was the perfect jumpstart to Bryson DeChambeau’s opening round at LIV Golf Virginia presented by Maaden.
The Crushers GC captain’s first shot after the resumption of play at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club was a chip-in for eagle at the par-5 14th. He followed with a birdie at the 15th and then chipped in again for birdie at the 16th en route to a 5-under 66 and a share of the lead with Cleeks GC Captain Martin Kaymer.
“You come back from a rain delay and usually think you’re going to try and slowly get into a flow,” said DeChambeau, who was 1 under and tied for 18th when play was suspended. “I came out hot.”
DeChambeau has been hot all season, with a win at LIV Golf’s most recent event in Korea, and top-5 finishes in each of his last five starts, including the season’s first two majors. He’s looking to maintain that form heading into next week’s title defense at the U.S. Open.
Kaymer, meanwhile, has been seeking a competitive form for most of this season, with five of his seven results outside the top 40. But he was solid all day Friday while grabbing a share of the lead for the first time after any LIV Golf round since last year’s opening round in Houston. He hit 50% of his fairways, which tied for 10th best in the field at a challenging driving course, and he tied for the field best in putting average.
“I know I’m good enough. I know I can play good golf,” said the two-time major winner, who had two separate streaks of three consecutive birdies Friday. “I’ve proven many, many times in my career. But you need to continue hitting fairways, and that was the downside for me the past few months. I was missing so many fairways. Today, the game is there.”
The game was certainly there for Ollie Schniederjans in a spectacular performance as a reserve player for RangeGoats GC.
RangeGoats starter Matthew Wolff was forced to withdraw with an injury after playing his first eight holes at even par. Schniederjans immediately took his spot to finish the round. His first hole was a birdie at the 18th, and he added two more birdies and an eagle in his final nine holes
The Wolff/Schniederjans score only counts for the team, but the 67 was the RangeGoats’ best score as they grabbed a two-shot lead in the team competition at 9 under. Captain Bubba Watson and teammate Peter Uihlein pitched in with 68s, while Ben Campbell shot 72 in his first start after missing Korea with a wrist injury.
Chasing the leaders are six players tied at 4 under: captains Jon Rahm (Legion XIII), Joaquin Niemann (Torque GC) and Phil Mickelson (HyFlyers GC), along with Smash GC’s Graeme McDowell, Ripper GC’s Marc Leishman and Crushers GC’s Anirban Lahiri.
“I think I should be pleased with how comfortable and how well I played today,” said Rahm, the reigning LIV Golf Individual Champion.
Mickelson shot his lowest opening round relative to par in his last 16 LIV Golf starts as he continues to enjoy his best form since joining the league as an original member. “I’m having a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s really fun. I’m starting to play well.”
HyFlyers GC captain Phil Mickelson credited the return of his vaunted short game as one key reason why he’s having his best season on LIV Golf. On Friday, Mickelson was four of six scrambling on the day and made some difficult up-and-downs to save par to shoot a 4-under 67, his best opening round on LIV Golf in more than a year.
The 54-year-old has struggled around the green since the beginning of the 2024 season. In 2024, he ranked 39th in scrambling, averaging –0.13 strokes to the field per round. This year, he’s been better, gaining an average of +0.16 strokes per round, but the results still aren’t up to his lofty standards.
“It's always been the best part of my game. It's always been the easiest part of my game. Last few years I've really struggled with it. Because I've never had to think about it or analyze it, I've been able to force myself to look at what it is I'm really doing, what am I missing?” Mickelson explained.
“I figured it out, and it feels great. … Very first hole, I hit a poor drive. I was able to get the ball in front of the green. I'm 43 yards away, and I'm able to get it down there three, four feet away, and I make par. Last hole I hit a bad drive. I was able to get it up by the green in the rough and hit a great shot to tap in. Saving those shots are critical. I've been costing me strokes, I've been losing strokes lately around the green. Now I'm gaining strokes, and it feels great”
McDowell produced one of just two bogey-free rounds on the day. “Solid day,” he said. “I’ve been working pretty hard on my game the last few weeks. I’ve really been feeling it trending in the right direction.”
Few players are trending better than DeChambeau, who acknowledged that his hot finish was helped by the softer conditions after the resumption of play.
“That little chip shot became a helluva lot easier for me,” he said of his eagle. “… I was studying it before I left. It was like, this looks perfect. Came out, still looks perfect. Hit it exactly where I wanted it to land, and it went right in the frickin’ hole.”
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