This Friday marked the start of the tournament at the Robert Trent Jones GC in Virginia, where LIV Golf kicks off the second half of the season. An event with many attractions that began with mixed feelings for the Spaniards. Jon Rahm (-4) was the highlight, with a very good round of 67 strokes that places him tied for third in the standings; while the downside was Sergio García (+4), who found himself in the third-to-last position after signing a card of 75 strokes.
The player from Barrika, starting in one of the featured matches of the first round, quickly moved up the leaderboard. With three birdies in his first five holes, he shared the tournament lead for a few minutes. And although he could have taken the lead alone with a birdie putt from just under four metres on the 6th hole, which refused to drop after touching the edge of the hole, a bogey on the par-four 7th, with a first putt of almost 18 metres, took him out of a first place he could not regain.
.@JonRahmOfficial comes close on 3, he taps in the birdie to move 2-under through 2 📈
📺: #LIVGolfVirginia LIVE now on FOX
📱: Stream on the LIV Golf App pic.twitter.com/tjaC95AllS— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) June 6, 2025
Jon returned to three under par on the 10th, a short par-four where he attacked the green from the tee with a tremendous drive and first putted for eagle. And after a nearly two-hour suspension due to thunderstorms with lightning, he returned to action with another birdie on the par-five 14th, where he recovered from a ball in the fairway bunker by playing his approach intelligently to find the slope of the green and leave himself a short putt to gain one last stroke on the course.
The Basque golfer is tied for third place with five other players, including illustrious names such as Phil Mickelson (-4), Joaquín Niemann (-4), and Marc Leishman (-4). Ahead of him are only two opponents: Bryson DeChambeau (-5) and Martin Kaymer (-5), who share the lead after delivering cards of 66 strokes (four birdies, an eagle, and a bogey for the American, six birdies and a bogey for the German). Jon, as usual, is determined not to drop out of the top 10 while seeking his first victory of the season to close the gap in the overall circuit standings.
For Sergio García (+4), this Friday was one to forget. Everything happened to him, including an incredible double ricochet. But in just five holes, he was already four over par with two bogeys and a double bogey. His only two birdies of the day were cancelled out by two more bogeys, dropping him to the lower part of the leaderboard, from which debutant Josele Ballester (+3) is trying to escape, having made his professional debut with a round of 74 strokes with four birdies, five bogeys, and a double bogey.
Have you ever seen anything like this? 👀@TheSergioGarcia hits all the balls on the green 😮#LIVGolfVirginia @fireballsgc_ pic.twitter.com/3rvFgse9ON
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) June 6, 2025
Luis Masaveu (PAR), whom Josele replaces in the starting lineup of the Fireballs, but who is playing this week as a substitute for the injured David Puig, managed a good round of 71 strokes, level with the course, with four birdies and four bogeys to finish tied for 25th place. A strange Friday in Virginia, with good weather in the early hours of competition, heavy rain with a mid-afternoon interruption, and even an injured player, Matthew Wolff, who withdrew on the 8th hole and was immediately replaced by Ollie Schniederjans. The quirks of LIV Golf…
In the team standings, the RangeGoats GC (-9) led by Bubba Watson are ahead by two strokes over the Crushers GC (-7) of Bryson DeChambeau and the 4Aces GC (-7) of Dustin Johnson. The Legión XIII (+3) of Jon Rahm is far behind, while the Fireballs GC (+5) of the Spaniards, captained by Sergio García, are second to last.
