LIV Golf Invitational Series 2022: Lopez-Chacarra, Bland, Grace Tied for Round 1 Lead
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, Richard Bland and Branden Grace all have a share of the lead following the first round of the LIV Golf International Series event in Bangkok, Thailand.
The trio all posted a seven-under 65 on the opening day, claiming a one-shot edge on Marc Leishman and Ian Poulter.
On the team side, 4 Aces GC's four-event winning streak might be coming to an end. They sit 10th in the team leaderboard, six shots behind Fireballs GC in first.
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LIV Golf Bangkok Leaderboard
T1. Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (-7)
T1. Richard Bland (-7)
T1. Branden Grace (-7)
T4. Marc Leishman (-6)
T4. Ian Poulter (-6)
T6. Sihwan Kim (-5)
T6. Jediah Morgan (-5)
T6. Brooks Koepka (-5)
T6. Harold Varner III (-5)
T6. Kevin Na (-5)
Full leaderboard is available at LIVGolf.com
Lopez-Chacarra, Bland and Grace all played bogey-free on Friday.
Grace was the last of the three still on the course, and a late flourish catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard. Birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 put him one shot off the lead heading onto No. 5, his final hole of the round. He was money with his birdie putt to join Lopez-Chacarra and Bland.
Brooks Koepka, who's looking for his first LIV series win, got off to a strong start. He opened with an eagle on No. 6 and was four under at the halfway mark.
The four-time major champion cooled off from there and only had one more birdie for the remainder of his round. Still, a two-shot gap on the leaders is far from insurmountable over the next 36 holes.
Like Grace, Poulter improved his standing down the home stretch. He birdied three of his final four holes, the last of which required a putt from some distance.
It didn't take long for Cameron Smith to feel settled on the LIV series. He tied for fourth in the LIV Golf Invitational Boston, his maiden voyage with LIV, and then won the LIV Golf Invitational Chicago.
A significant turnaround will be required to earn a similar result in Bangkok. An even par 72 put Smith in a tie for 41st.
Dustin Johnson had a round similar to that of Koepka. He was three under through his first four holes and moved to four under before getting his back nine started.
Johnson immediately bogeyed No. 11 and another bogey on the 17th hole dropped him to two under, where he presently sits in a tie for 21st. A second LIV victory probably isn't in the offing.
The second-round is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. local time (11:15 p.m. ET). By the time you wake up Saturday morning, the leaderboard could look a lot different.
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