Staff WriterDustin Johnson Dazzles Early, has 4 Aces in 1st Place
Dustin Johnson (T5; 2-under) made an immediate impact Friday morning at Maridoe Golf Club, including an improbable eagle on the ultra-intimidating 655-yard Par 5 2nd which would help the 4 Aces towards their first team victory of the 2025 LIV Season!
DJ’s early heroics inspired teammates Harold Varner III (T1;5-under) and Patrick Reed (T1;5-under) to up their game throughout the opening round.
Reed and Varner III, who are tied for the lead going into Saturday propelled the 4 Aces to 1st place at 9-under par, six strokes better than Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers.
The Crushers, who finished the day in 2nd place at 3-under, looked to be strong contenders until DeChambeau finished his day with three bogeys on the last six holes.
Both Reed and HV3 finished their day with a single blemish each. The teammates, who played Friday in the same grouping (along with fellow teammate Thomas Pieters), were able to push each other until the very end.
“The biggest thing is keep the throttle down,” said Reed, among the league’s best players without a LIV Golf win. “Even though we have a lead now, start tomorrow as if everyone is even par and try to go win the day as a team and build on the lead.”
HV3 noted after his round that himself and Reed were able to encourage each other throughout the day, which had an impact on the eventual outcome.
“I’ve been hitting it unbelievable this whole year and I just happened to make a couple of putts today,” said Varner, who has six top-20 finishes this year. “I don’t think there’s like a genie in a bottle or anything like that. But I felt like I was going to play well.”
With three quarters of the 4 Aces finishing Friday in the Top 10, the odds of the eventual winner of Dallas stemming from LIV’s original dynasty are strong.
A win for DJ would mark his first since Las Vegas last season. Varner’s last being two seasons ago at LIV DC, and of course for Patrick Reed, it would be his first ever win since joining the league during its inaugural season.
Nice to Know You: Brooks Koepka, Others Withdraw from LIV Dallas
Dallas was hit hard by the injury bug early and often Friday with the RangeGoats’ Matt Wolff and Cleeks’ Frederik Kjettrup pulling out of the tournament immediate before the shotgun start.
Brooks Koepka, one of the LIV leaders at the U.S. Open in Oakmont, withdrew in the middle of the round after posting a 7-over par score. At this time, it is unknown exactly what the cause of the withdrawal is.
Wolff was replaced by the familiar Ollie Schniederjans who had himself a decent outing by finishing the day with 2-over par, good for T26 right in the middle of the pack, while Frederick Kjettrup was replaced before the match by Max Rottluff.
Rottluff, who hails from captain Martin Kaymer’s native Germany had a rough outing with 6-over par.
Koepka, without a doubt the most irreplaceable of the trio, was filled in for by newcomer Luis Carrera who made his LIV debut in Dallas. To his credit, Carrera was able to stop the bleeding somewhat for Smash, finishing his day with a birdie, though Smash will likely battle it out with Ripper and Torque for who can stay out of last place. The teams are separated by two points: Smash (+15), Ripper (+16), Torque (+17).
Joaquin Niemann’s Early Gaff: Niemann scores a 10 on the Par 5 7th
In one of the most uncharacteristic performances you will ever see in LIV Golf – Joaco Niemann, the LIV individual wins record holder, dug himself into a near-inescapable hole on the Par 5 7th, needing ten total shots for an early score of 10-over par.
Fortunately for Niemann, the damage was somewhat mitigated with a decent afternoon performance with three birdies down the stretch, bringing his total score down to 6-over par.
You’ll remember that while not as horrific, Niemann did start LIV Virginia in a similar spot before eventually winning LIV’s most recent past tournament in what was a harrowing and narrow contest.
Teammate Carlos Ortiz, who almost won the U.S. Open at Oakmont a few weeks ago, was right alongside Niemann, finishing T50; 7-over par and bringing Torque down to last place. It does not appear the all Spanish-speaking squad will be bringing home their first team trophy of the season despite a miraculous comeback.
Dallas Takes Down LIV’s Best
We’ve noted the early fates of Joaquin Niemann, Carlos Ortiz, and the injury to Brooks Koepka, but Maridoe did it’s best Oakmont impression Friday to neutralise LIV’s best and prove the most difficult challenge of the season since Miami.
Joining the bottom half of the standings were Phil Mickelson (T46; 5-over) who was looking quite well until adding six strokes on the 16th and 17th holes including a 9 on the Par 5 17th. Bubba Watson (T33; 3-over), Sergio Garcia (T33; 3-over), LIV Miami winner Marc Leishmann (T33; 3-over), and another U.S. Open standout in Tyrrell Hatton (T26; 2-over).
Watson’s collapse was perhaps the most shocking at the RangeGoats’ captain, who came close to winning his first ever LIV tournament in Virginia, added seven strokes between the 5th and 9th holes to end his day.
LIV Dallas returns tomorrow, Saturday, June 28th at 1:05 PM ET.
Can the 4 Aces hold on to their sizeable lead? Will Bryson DeChambeau make a comeback in front of his hometown crowd?
With so many members of the field underwater, who pulls off an incredible moving day and jumps into the Top 5?
OPEN EXEMPTION UPDATE:
Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia remains the projected leader to earn The Open Championship exemption that will be awarded to a LIV Golf player after Sunday’s final round in Dallas.
The leading non-exempt player inside the top five in the season-long points race will receive a spot in the Open field next month at Royal Portrush. Garcia shot a 2-over 74 but remains in the top four in the projections. His teammate David Puig climbed into sixth overall in points after a solid 2-over 70.
A third Fireballs player, Abraham Ancer, also has an outside shot at the exemption, although he must win and hope others above him drop down in the standings. An opening 3-under 69 at least gives Ancer a chance.
“Ever since they announced the exemptions, it’s been in my mind,” Ancer said. “Obviously you’re always trying to perform the best and be obviously at the highest you can on the leaderboard, on the points list. I would definitely love to do really well the next two rounds and hopefully have a chance for that spot. I know it will be tough, but mathematically it’s a possibility. I’m going to give it my all and see where it takes me.”
