Lucas Herbert wasted no time turning LIV Golf UK into his own highlight reel, and Bryson DeChambeau was right there with him, making the opening round feel more like a sprint than a stroll. Herbert’s 11-under 61 at JCB Golf & Country Club set a new course record and put him alone at the top, while DeChambeau’s 64 kept the pressure high just behind him.
Herbert’s start had all the right ingredients: clean ball-striking, a fearless pace, and no bogeys to slow him down. He reached the turn at 5-under 31, then kept attacking on the back nine with another 6-under stretch, barely missing out on a chance to touch 59 when a putt on 17 stayed out.
That near-miss did not take much shine off the round. It was the lowest score to par of Herbert’s LIV Golf career, and it added another sharp edge to a run that has been building for weeks since his win at LIV Golf Virginia in May.
The Aussie has looked more and more comfortable at the top of leaderboards, and he said the experience has changed the way he sees these moments. “Of course it was,” Herbert said when asked if he was thinking about 59. “You could see in my reaction there on 17, when that didn’t go in, I was like, that was my chance. But if you were going to pick days you were going to shoot 59, I wouldn’t have thought today would have been the day. The golf course is a little firm, which makes it play a little tougher and a bit of breeze out there that kind of moved around. I’m pretty incredibly happy with 61 still.”
He also pointed to confidence as the biggest thing growing in his game. “I think once you’ve been there and done that 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 leaderboard.”
DeChambeau, meanwhile, kept doing what he has done so often lately, which is apply relentless pressure and wait for the field to blink. His 8-under 64 featured an eagle at the par-5 fourth and a strong 5-under front nine, and even a late bogey on 16 could not knock him off the front page of the leaderboard.
He has been riding a hot stretch of his own, building on the strong pace he showed through the first two rounds at Royal Birkdale before finishing T14 there last week. By the end of round one at JCB, he was sitting alone in second and still very much in range if Herbert cools off at all.
The team race got lively too, with Ripper GC and Crushers GC both piling up big numbers in the right direction. Ripper GC grabbed the lead at 19-under, helped by Marc Leishman’s 68, Cameron Smith’s 69, and Travis Smyth’s 71, while Crushers GC sat second at 15-under behind DeChambeau, Charles Howell III, and Anirban Lahiri all posting 68s.
Behind that front-running pair, Tyrrell Hatton and Harold Varner III shared third individually at 6-under 66, and Hatton’s round also helped push Legion XIII into a tie for third on the team board. It was the kind of opening that keeps the tournament feeling wide open underneath the two stars, even if the top of the board already has a serious edge to it.
The home crowd had reasons to stay involved too, with Majesticks Golf Club putting together a respectable opening despite a few players getting tested by the afternoon breeze. Ian Poulter led the way with a 68, Lee Westwood added a 71, and the group still has enough time to make a move if the scorecard turns a little kinder over the next few rounds.
Elsewhere, Caleb Surratt joined the 68 club, Peter Uihlein and Cameron Smith each posted 69s, and Thomas Detry also opened with a steady 69. That kind of depth means there are plenty of players lurking just close enough to make life uncomfortable if the leaders slip even a little.
As the event moves into the second round, Herbert will try to keep the same sharp tempo and DeChambeau will keep hunting for openings. With the way both men started, the rest of the field already has a tough job on its hands at JCB Golf & Country Club.
