Frenchman Victor Perez of Cleeks GC on his way into the first round lead of LIV Golf Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec on Thursday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.
From a Correspondent
Mexico City: Victor Perez expected a period of adjustment to start his first season on LIV Golf. New courses to learn. Music during rounds.
Increased energy and enthusiasm from a younger gallery. Night golf in Riyadh. Record crowds in Adelaide and South Africa.
In Thursday’s opening round at LIV Golf Mexico City, the 33-year-old Frenchman showed he’s getting comfortable with his new environment.
Perez, a member of Cleeks GC, carded 11 birdies at Club de Golf Chapultepec, shooting a 9 under par 62 for a three-shot lead over Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm.
Six players were tied for third, including 4Aces GC captain Dustin Johnson and Majesticks co-captain Ian Poulter.
On the team leaderboard, Rahm’s Legion XIII shot a cumulative 9 under for a three-stroke lead over the 4Aces, with the Majesticks and Smash GC another stroke back.
Perez entered Mexico City fresh off his best result in his first five LIV Golf starts, a tie for 12th at South Africa. He acknowledged there was a learning curve in adjusting to life in the league.
“Definitely a different atmosphere, different vibe,” said Perez, who had never been inside the top 10 after any of his previous 20 LIV Golf rounds.
“It’s about getting more comfortable, and I think the first event, I was really struggling with the energy of the place and the music.
Settling down
“I was almost too amped up on the first day and really struggled and it almost got worse through the week. So, it wasn’t good.
“The second event in Adelaide was another 360 from the night golf. I thought I found my feet a little bit in Hong Kong, which was decent. Singapore was a little bit more difficult.
“Then had a decent week in South Africa. So, it’s going in the right direction, which is nice.”
He had seven birdies in his first 11 holes Thursday before three-putting the 17th and having a plugged lie in the bunker at 18, each resulting in a bogey.
But he finished with a flourish with birdies on his final four holes (2-5), his longest made putt from 7 feet during that stretch.
“Very happy to finish with four birdies,” he said, adding, “nice to not have to deal with long putts at the end.”
But in chasing his first LIV Golf title, he’ll likely have to deal with Rahm, the two-time LIV Golf individual champion and current points leader.
Mr Consistent
With a win, three seconds and a fifth in his first five starts this season, Rahm is the league’s most consistent performer.
He showed why again on Thursday with a 6-under 65 in which he was bogey-free until the par-3 18th.
After a disappointing T38 in last week’s Masters, Rahm was happy to get immediately back into a competitive mindset.
“Sometimes after having a bad week and kind of understanding what I did wrong, I’d almost rather have a week after so I can back at it again as fast as possible and prove myself wrong or right, however you want to look at it,” he said.
“I was happy that we were playing this week, for sure.”
As for Rahm being his closest pursuer, Perez knows the Spaniard will apply plenty of pressure the rest of the week. They will be in the final group Friday with Smash GC’s Harold Varner III.
“He’s obviously one of the marquee players on the league,” Perez said. “Ultimately I think you’re going to have to beat those guys.”
Day’s ace
Defending LIV Golf Mexico City champion Joaquin Niemann holed his first shot of the day, making a hole-in-one at the 161-yard fourth hole.
It’s the 16th ace in league history and the first one recorded by a player on the opening shot of his round.
Niemann started his first round on Thursday at the fourth hole with fellow LIV Golf captains Talor Gooch (Smash) and Dustin Johnson (4Aces). After Gooch’s tee shot, Niemann followed with his ace.
It’s the fourth ace this season, following Victor Perez (Hong Kong Rd. 1), Graeme McDowell (Hong Kong Rd. 2) and McDowell again (Singapore, Rd. 2).
Niemann joins McDowell as the only players to record two aces in league history. Niemann’s first LIV Golf ace came in the third round at 2024 Hong Kong. (courtesy LIV Golf)
Leaderboards
Individual Top-10
1. (-9) – Victor Perez, Cleeks (62)
2. (-6) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (65)
T3 (-4) – Harold Varner III, Smash (67), Minkyu Kim, Korean (67), Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (67), Ian Poulter, Majesticks (67), Dustin Johnson, 4Aces (67), Younghan Song, Korean (67), Thomas Detry, 4Aces (67)
T10 (-3) – Richard T. Lee, Wild Card (68), Jason Kokrak, Smash (68), Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (68), Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (68), Tom McKibbin, Legion XIII (68)
Team Top 3
1. (-9) – Legion XIII (Rahm 65, McKibbin 68, Hatton 69, Surratt 73)
2. (-6) – 4Aces GC (Detry 67, Johnson 67, Pieters 71, Kim 73)
T3 (-5) – Smash GC (Varner III 67, Kokrak 68, McDowell 71, Gooch 73); Majesticks GC (Poulter 67, Canter 70, Horsfield 70, Westwood 72)
Day 1 stats
Driving Distance: Josele Ballester, 386.2-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Dean Burmester, 405.6.4 yards (12th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 7 & 12.
Driving Accuracy: Victor Perez, 92.86% (13 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Scott Vincent, Jason Kokrak, Martin Kaymer, 88.89% (16 of 18)
Scrambling: Richard T. Lee (5 of 5), Brendan Steele (4 of 4), Scott Vincent (2 of 2), 100%
Fewest Putts: Tom McKibbin, 25
Bogey-free rounds: none
Also read: LIV Golf chief executive quells speculation over its demise
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