Crowded LIV Singapore standings has Colombian Munoz in the lead by a stroke
Sebastian Munoz lead the field by one shot after the opening day of LIV Golf Singapore at the Sentosa Golf Club but had the pack breathing down his neck by the end of play.
- May 3, 2024,
- Updated May 3, 2024 8:18 PM IST
Leading the way in hot and humid conditions, Sebastian Munoz of Torque GC held a one-shot advantage thanks to an opening 6 under par 65 at LIV Golf Singapore on the Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course on Friday with a bunch of six hard on his heels.
The group included Smash captain and 2023 PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka, Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer, Iron Heads GC captain Kevin Na, the RangeGoats’ Thomas Pieters, Cameron Tringale of the HyFlyers and Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer. A further group of eight were on 4 under 67 including Muñoz’s captain and individual points leader Joaquin Niemann.
It was much the same story in the team competition with Smash GC and the Fireballs locked together on 11 under totals and a further three, Cleeks GC, the RangeGoats and Stinger GC sharing third place. Just three strokes covered the top eight, an indication of how tight the Sunday battle could be.
The league-leading Crushers GC however, had a disappointing first day at Sentosa and shared last place alongside Majesticks GC with a 1 under total. Paul Casey (2 under 69) and Anirban Lahiri (70) were in red figures for the 2023 team champions, while skipper Bryson DeChambeau and Charles Howell III added a 73 and 76 respectively.
Lahiri mixed five birdies with four dropped shots to share 29th place while Casey was tied for 22nd alongside Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia and four others.
The all-Australian Rippers, still recovering from the emotional high of their maiden team win on home soil in Adelaide last week, it was a low-key start in Singapore, down in shared seventh place alongside Rahm’s Legion XII though Lucas Herbert and Marc Leishman were in a tie for eighth place on 4 under 67s.
For Muñoz, Friday’s round was a relief after a poor start in Adelaide where his opening 71 was a fourth over par total in the last five rounds. “Kind of hit me hard,” Muñoz said on Friday. But his Torque teammates came together to lift his spirits last week. “We kind of had a deep talk. Just having good, solid teammates can help you a lot. “Really happy where the game is right now and kind of trending,” the Colombian added.
Koepka, headed to Valhalla for the year’s second major in mid-May where he is defending champion, celebrated his 34th birthday with a reawakened putter which has been mostly cold so far this season. He racked up five birdies in his first seven holes, made a good par save when his first putt rolled off the green and the only blemish being a three-putt on a par-4 hole.
“Thought I putted OK,” Koepka said. “Speed was off, but the ones that I needed to make, I felt like I made. You know it's going to be hot. It's all about your prep going into it and what you're doing the night before. I've got that handled.”
Though wife Jena and son Crew are also in Singapore, Koepka said there were no plans for a big celebration yet. “I'm very boring in the weeks that I play,” he pointed out. “Try to go back, try to see if I can hang out with Jena and Crew for a bit, but I'll be kind of busy. We're just going to go out to dinner tonight, and that's it.”
Ancer, who won a first individual LIV Golf title at Hong Kong in March also extended his good form, recovering well from an early bogey to card six birdies and no further damage to his card. After finishing 47th out of 48 players in Singapore last year, Ancer was happy with the start on Friday. “I was not in the same spot with my swing last year,” the Mexican star said. “Not playing confident at the time. Feel a lot better today. Big difference.” Day one scores
T1. Fireballs GC -11 (Ancer 66, Chacarra 67, Garcia 69) T1. Smash GC -11 (Koepka 66, Gooch 68, McDowell 68) T3. RangeGoats GC -10 (Pieters 66, Wolff 68, Uihlein 69) T3. Cleeks GC -10 (Kaymer 66, Meronk 67, Bland 70) T3. Stinger GC -10 (Burmester 67, Oosthuizen 67, Grace 69) 6. Torque GC -9 (Muñoz 65, Niemann 67, Ortiz 72) T7. Ripper GC -8 (Herbert 67, Leishman 67, Smith 71) T7. Legion XIII -8 (Hatton 68, Vincent 68, Rahm 69) 9. HyFlyers GC -7 (Tringale 66, Steele 68, Mickelson 72) 10. Iron Heads GC -5 (Na 66, Vincent 70, Lee 72) 11. 4Aces GC -4 (Johnson 67, Reed 71, Varner III 71) T12. Crushers GC -1 (Casey 69, Lahiri 70, DeChambeau 73) T12. Majesticks GC -1 (Poulter 70, Horsfield 71, Westwood 71)
Leading the way in hot and humid conditions, Sebastian Munoz of Torque GC held a one-shot advantage thanks to an opening 6 under par 65 at LIV Golf Singapore on the Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course on Friday with a bunch of six hard on his heels.
The group included Smash captain and 2023 PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka, Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer, Iron Heads GC captain Kevin Na, the RangeGoats’ Thomas Pieters, Cameron Tringale of the HyFlyers and Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer. A further group of eight were on 4 under 67 including Muñoz’s captain and individual points leader Joaquin Niemann.
It was much the same story in the team competition with Smash GC and the Fireballs locked together on 11 under totals and a further three, Cleeks GC, the RangeGoats and Stinger GC sharing third place. Just three strokes covered the top eight, an indication of how tight the Sunday battle could be.
The league-leading Crushers GC however, had a disappointing first day at Sentosa and shared last place alongside Majesticks GC with a 1 under total. Paul Casey (2 under 69) and Anirban Lahiri (70) were in red figures for the 2023 team champions, while skipper Bryson DeChambeau and Charles Howell III added a 73 and 76 respectively.
Lahiri mixed five birdies with four dropped shots to share 29th place while Casey was tied for 22nd alongside Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia and four others.
The all-Australian Rippers, still recovering from the emotional high of their maiden team win on home soil in Adelaide last week, it was a low-key start in Singapore, down in shared seventh place alongside Rahm’s Legion XII though Lucas Herbert and Marc Leishman were in a tie for eighth place on 4 under 67s.
For Muñoz, Friday’s round was a relief after a poor start in Adelaide where his opening 71 was a fourth over par total in the last five rounds. “Kind of hit me hard,” Muñoz said on Friday. But his Torque teammates came together to lift his spirits last week. “We kind of had a deep talk. Just having good, solid teammates can help you a lot. “Really happy where the game is right now and kind of trending,” the Colombian added.
Koepka, headed to Valhalla for the year’s second major in mid-May where he is defending champion, celebrated his 34th birthday with a reawakened putter which has been mostly cold so far this season. He racked up five birdies in his first seven holes, made a good par save when his first putt rolled off the green and the only blemish being a three-putt on a par-4 hole.
“Thought I putted OK,” Koepka said. “Speed was off, but the ones that I needed to make, I felt like I made. You know it's going to be hot. It's all about your prep going into it and what you're doing the night before. I've got that handled.”
Though wife Jena and son Crew are also in Singapore, Koepka said there were no plans for a big celebration yet. “I'm very boring in the weeks that I play,” he pointed out. “Try to go back, try to see if I can hang out with Jena and Crew for a bit, but I'll be kind of busy. We're just going to go out to dinner tonight, and that's it.”
Ancer, who won a first individual LIV Golf title at Hong Kong in March also extended his good form, recovering well from an early bogey to card six birdies and no further damage to his card. After finishing 47th out of 48 players in Singapore last year, Ancer was happy with the start on Friday. “I was not in the same spot with my swing last year,” the Mexican star said. “Not playing confident at the time. Feel a lot better today. Big difference.” Day one scores
T1. Fireballs GC -11 (Ancer 66, Chacarra 67, Garcia 69) T1. Smash GC -11 (Koepka 66, Gooch 68, McDowell 68) T3. RangeGoats GC -10 (Pieters 66, Wolff 68, Uihlein 69) T3. Cleeks GC -10 (Kaymer 66, Meronk 67, Bland 70) T3. Stinger GC -10 (Burmester 67, Oosthuizen 67, Grace 69) 6. Torque GC -9 (Muñoz 65, Niemann 67, Ortiz 72) T7. Ripper GC -8 (Herbert 67, Leishman 67, Smith 71) T7. Legion XIII -8 (Hatton 68, Vincent 68, Rahm 69) 9. HyFlyers GC -7 (Tringale 66, Steele 68, Mickelson 72) 10. Iron Heads GC -5 (Na 66, Vincent 70, Lee 72) 11. 4Aces GC -4 (Johnson 67, Reed 71, Varner III 71) T12. Crushers GC -1 (Casey 69, Lahiri 70, DeChambeau 73) T12. Majesticks GC -1 (Poulter 70, Horsfield 71, Westwood 71)