DeChambeau leads at LIV Golf Mexico as his Crushers and Ripper GC share top spot on team leaderboard
Bryson DeChambeau led the way with a dominant 8 under par round on day one of LIV Golf Mexico City at the Club de Golf Chapultepec on Friday with his Crushers GC sharing top spot on the team leaderboard alongside the all-Australian Ripper GC outfit.
- Apr 26, 2025,
- Updated Apr 26, 2025 10:32 PM IST
An all-round performance from team captain Bryson DeChambeau with good support from Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III and Paul Casey saw Crushers GC hold the individual lead as well as a share of the top spot in the team event on day one of LIV Golf Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec on Friday.
Hammering the ball into thin air of Mexico City at almost 8,000 feet, DeChambeau held the solo lead after an entertaining opening round on 8 under par 63 while also driving his team into a tie for the lead alongside the all-Australian Ripper GC on 15 under par with two days to go.
DeChambeau was backed well by Lahiri who returned a 3 under 68 that contained six birdies and three dropped shots, and a pair of 69s from Howell and Casey. DeChambeau birdied his final hole, the 396-yard par-4 first, by driving the green and two-putting from 35 feet, to hold an outright one-stroke lead ahead of fellow team captains Cameron Smith of the Rippers and Jon Rahm of Legion XIII. The birdie provided the finishing touches to his DeChambeau’s 63, leaving the Crushers skipper a satisfied man.
“It was fun hitting the ball far,” DeChambeau said later of his lowest LIV Golf round. “Fun to finish off with a nice bang on the last hole. There were a lot of moments where I felt like I was going to get it to 9-, 10-under and there were moments where I'm like, man, I could be 3-under or 2-under easily if I don't get my act in shape. It's a teeter-totter golf course.”
On the team leaderboard, the Crushers and Ripper GC were six shots ahead of Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC (9 under) and seven up the road from the 4Aces led by Dustin Johnson.
DeChambeau, who has not won an individual LIV Golf title in the last two years, averaged 367 yards on his 14 drives on Friday, including two drives of 400-plus yards. His final drive at the first hole travelled 372.9 yards but the day’s longest hit was a searing 435 yards by Koepka on the 11th hole.
In all, 11 drives of 400 yards or longer were recorded at the 7,900-foot-high venue and a further 66 between 370 and 399 yards, giving the Mexico City fans much to cheer for during LIV Golf’s debut appearance in the nation’s capital.
Said 2022 Mexican Open winner Rahm of Spain – paired with Mexico’s Carlos Ortis on Friday -- who has been adopted by locals as one of their own, “Even though playing with Carlos, I'm not quite on the same level, obviously, but the crowd was heavily for me, as well.”
Added RangeGoats captain Bubba Watson, sole fourth after a 5-under 66, “It’s always been exciting around here. They love their sports. I’m glad they come out to watch us play golf and watch some of these guys hit it pretty far.”
DeChambeau opened on Friday by driving the 316-yard par-4 second hole and sinking a 22-foot putt for eagle. He followed with birdies on the next two holes, and also a birdie at the par-5 seventh with a 379-yard drive to move to 5 under after six holes. But any thoughts of another sub-60 round – the Holy Grail of golf – disappeared during the next eight holes all of which were parred.
Rahm, the 2024 LIV Golf individual champion, had three consecutive birdies to start with and was 5 under through seven before suffering a pair of bogeys. He played the back nine in a bogey-free 4 under and briefly held the solo lead after draining a 39-foot birdie putt at the 13th. “Good way to start it than with three birdies in a row,” he said. “That just set the tone. I felt really comfortable on the greens all day. Couldn’t really have asked for a much better score.”
Behind him, Ortiz, playing in front of his countrymen, bounced back from two opening bogies to shoot a 3-under 68, leaving him in an eight-way tie for sixth. “A slow start, definitely,” said the native of Guadalajara.
“I feel like I did a good job because I actually did not put myself in good positions after those two bogeys, and I kept it somehow, and then I started playing some good golf and finished strong. I'm really happy with the way I played today.” LIV Golf’s other Mexican player – Fireballs GC’ captain Abraham Ancer – returned a 1-over 72.
An all-round performance from team captain Bryson DeChambeau with good support from Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III and Paul Casey saw Crushers GC hold the individual lead as well as a share of the top spot in the team event on day one of LIV Golf Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec on Friday.
Hammering the ball into thin air of Mexico City at almost 8,000 feet, DeChambeau held the solo lead after an entertaining opening round on 8 under par 63 while also driving his team into a tie for the lead alongside the all-Australian Ripper GC on 15 under par with two days to go.
DeChambeau was backed well by Lahiri who returned a 3 under 68 that contained six birdies and three dropped shots, and a pair of 69s from Howell and Casey. DeChambeau birdied his final hole, the 396-yard par-4 first, by driving the green and two-putting from 35 feet, to hold an outright one-stroke lead ahead of fellow team captains Cameron Smith of the Rippers and Jon Rahm of Legion XIII. The birdie provided the finishing touches to his DeChambeau’s 63, leaving the Crushers skipper a satisfied man.
“It was fun hitting the ball far,” DeChambeau said later of his lowest LIV Golf round. “Fun to finish off with a nice bang on the last hole. There were a lot of moments where I felt like I was going to get it to 9-, 10-under and there were moments where I'm like, man, I could be 3-under or 2-under easily if I don't get my act in shape. It's a teeter-totter golf course.”
On the team leaderboard, the Crushers and Ripper GC were six shots ahead of Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC (9 under) and seven up the road from the 4Aces led by Dustin Johnson.
DeChambeau, who has not won an individual LIV Golf title in the last two years, averaged 367 yards on his 14 drives on Friday, including two drives of 400-plus yards. His final drive at the first hole travelled 372.9 yards but the day’s longest hit was a searing 435 yards by Koepka on the 11th hole.
In all, 11 drives of 400 yards or longer were recorded at the 7,900-foot-high venue and a further 66 between 370 and 399 yards, giving the Mexico City fans much to cheer for during LIV Golf’s debut appearance in the nation’s capital.
Said 2022 Mexican Open winner Rahm of Spain – paired with Mexico’s Carlos Ortis on Friday -- who has been adopted by locals as one of their own, “Even though playing with Carlos, I'm not quite on the same level, obviously, but the crowd was heavily for me, as well.”
Added RangeGoats captain Bubba Watson, sole fourth after a 5-under 66, “It’s always been exciting around here. They love their sports. I’m glad they come out to watch us play golf and watch some of these guys hit it pretty far.”
DeChambeau opened on Friday by driving the 316-yard par-4 second hole and sinking a 22-foot putt for eagle. He followed with birdies on the next two holes, and also a birdie at the par-5 seventh with a 379-yard drive to move to 5 under after six holes. But any thoughts of another sub-60 round – the Holy Grail of golf – disappeared during the next eight holes all of which were parred.
Rahm, the 2024 LIV Golf individual champion, had three consecutive birdies to start with and was 5 under through seven before suffering a pair of bogeys. He played the back nine in a bogey-free 4 under and briefly held the solo lead after draining a 39-foot birdie putt at the 13th. “Good way to start it than with three birdies in a row,” he said. “That just set the tone. I felt really comfortable on the greens all day. Couldn’t really have asked for a much better score.”
Behind him, Ortiz, playing in front of his countrymen, bounced back from two opening bogies to shoot a 3-under 68, leaving him in an eight-way tie for sixth. “A slow start, definitely,” said the native of Guadalajara.
“I feel like I did a good job because I actually did not put myself in good positions after those two bogeys, and I kept it somehow, and then I started playing some good golf and finished strong. I'm really happy with the way I played today.” LIV Golf’s other Mexican player – Fireballs GC’ captain Abraham Ancer – returned a 1-over 72.