US Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester of Spain joins LIV Golf
GAINESVILLE, Va. — U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester of Spain has joined LIV Golf and will make his professional debut this week at the Saudi-funded league's Virginia event.
Ballester, who goes by the nickname Josele, signed a multiyear contract, LIV said Wednesday, and will be part of the Fireballs team captained by fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
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Fox Sports
3 hours ago
- Fox Sports
LIV Golf Virginia: Bryson DeChambeau, Martin Kaymer leading after Round 1
GAINESVILLE, Va. — After a 107-minute weather delay, the star players took advantage of a soft golf course during the first round of LIV Golf Virginia. Bryson DeChambeau, who debuted his new set of custom LA Golf irons this week, was chief among them. The Crushers GC captain immediately chipped his third shot on the par-5 14th in for eagle, vaulting him up the leaderboard. But he wasn't done yet. DeChambeau made birdies on holes 15 and 16, with the latter coming in the form of another chip-in from the deep greenside rough. The surge at the end of the round gave him a share of the first-round lead at 5 under. [MORE: How to watch LIV Golf Virginia 2025: Schedule, start time, TV channels, tee times] Martin Kaymer, who hasn't held a first-round lead since LIV Houston last year, made birdies on 16, 17 and 18 to tie the lead before ending his day with a par on the tough par-4 first hole. The late-round birdie barrage after the delay was not limited to DeChambeau and Kaymer. After finishing strong, Jon Rahm, Anirban Lahiri, Phil Mickelson, Graeme McDowell, Joaquin Niemann and Marc Leishman make up the group that are tied for second place at 4-under par. [MORE: 2025 LIV Golf Virginia odds, predictions: Favorites, picks from the field] Prior to the delay, McDowell held the solo lead, carding a bogey-free 4-under 67. The 45-year-old Irishman hit every green in regulation and was one of three players who went bogey-free on the round. Joining McDowell in the bogey-free club were a pair of 4Aces GC teammates, Thomas Pieters and Reed. On the team side of the competition, Bubba Watson's RangeGoats GC lead by two at 9 under, followed by the Crushers and 4Aces who share second place at 7 under. TEAM SCORES LIV Golf's new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Friday's Round 1 of LIV Golf Virginia. 1. RANGEGOATS GC -9 T2. CRUSHERS GC -7 T2. 4ACES GC -7 4. SMASH GC -6 5. TORQUE GC -3 6. CLEEKS GC -1 7. STINGER GC E 8. IRON HEADS GC +1 T9. RIPPER GC +3 T9. LEGION XIII +3 11. HYFLYERS GC +4 12. FIREBALLS GC +5 13. MAJESTICKS GC +12 This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily . FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience LIV Golf recommended Get more from LIV Golf Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Washington Post
4 hours ago
- Washington Post
At LIV Virginia, the vibe is different — but the leaders are familiar
Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith strolled up the first fairway at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club early Friday afternoon while AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' thumped through speakers surrounding the No. 1 tee box. Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann followed, receiving raucous applause as 'Luther' by Kendrick Lamar and SZA blared. Cedric the Entertainer and pro wrestler Titus O'Neil made their way through the crowded gallery to catch a glimpse of the first two groups in the opening round at LIV Golf Virginia. The two posed for pictures and high-fived eager fans. The entire scene bucked traditional golf protocol, which is exactly the blueprint for the Saudi-financed circuit attempting to differentiate itself from and compete against the PGA Tour. What's familiar are the names who occupied the higher rungs of the leader board following a weather delay of nearly two hours in Gainesville, Virginia. DeChambeau, for instance, was sharp upon resumption of play, gaining four shots over his first six swings and finishing tied with Martin Kaymer for the lead at 5-under 66. 'It's one of those things, you come back from a rain delay, you usually think you're going to try and slowly get into the flow,' said DeChambeau, the winner of the previous LIV Golf event in South Korea in early May before a month-long break entering this week. 'I came out hot.' Rahm and Phil Mickelson, who turns 55 this month, were among other major championship winners lurking one stroke back in LIV's second stop in the region. The initial visit, named LIV Golf DC, took place at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, in 2023. One year earlier, LIV Golf conducted its inaugural season with just seven events worldwide after having pilfered a handful of marquee players from the PGA Tour. Mickelson, a critic of golf's longtime governing body, was an early advocate for the breakaway league that offered lucrative contracts to lure other major titleholders, notably DeChambeau, the reigning and two-time U.S. Open champion. The USGA, which stages the U.S. Open, this year added an exemption for LIV players, making it the first major championship to do so. Niemann, winner of three events this season, secured that exemption for next week at Oakmont by virtue of being the top player on the tour as of the May 19 cutoff date. The R & A, which operates the British Open, also added a pathway for LIV members to get into the field in the fourth and final major championship of the year at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. The exemption goes to the leading player in the top five not already exempt at the conclusion of the LIV event in Dallas on June 29. Those organizations had declined to offer exemptions in years past because of LIV's tournaments last 54 holes, 18 fewer than on the PGA Tour. LIV also awards points to its 13 teams as well as individuals during its schedule comprising 14 events over six-plus months. Three-round tournaments with shotgun starts, however, have led to LIV players becoming ineligible for inclusion in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), which provides an exemption into the U.S. Open, among other majors, to those inside the top 60 who otherwise would not be eligible by the June 9 cutoff date. Underscoring LIV's nonconformity was what followed when Matthew Wolff withdrew from this tournament after eight holes because of injury. Replacement Ollie Schniederjans joined the field and made birdies on his first two holes, but his scores counted only toward the team total for RangeGoats, captained by Bubba Watson. The two-time Masters champion (2012, '14) stood 2 under and his team was tied for first place with 4Aces when play was suspended at 3:58 p.m. with severe weather moving through the majestic layout along Lake Manassas that most recently hosted last year's Solheim Cup. By the time the horn sounded to resume play, greens that were firm and slick when players teed off in sunny and humid conditions had softened, allowing them to go after pins they otherwise might not have considered taking on aggressively. 'I was able to come out and hit some good shots,' said Mickelson, who began his round at No. 3 and spent part of the delay working with a physical therapist. 'I hit a good shot into 18 and made birdie, so I was able to get my body moving. That's the biggest challenge for me.' DeChambeau immediately took advantage of the more inviting greens as well. One his first stroke following resumption of play, he curled home a 20-foot chip for eagle at the par-5 No. 14, a 615-yard behemoth where Rahm made birdie to join DeChambeau at 3 under and move within a shot of what was then a four-way tie for the lead. DeChambeau went on to make a birdie putt at No. 15 and chipped in for birdie at the par-3 16th to claim the solo lead for the first time. 'You could attack it a little [more], but the greens were still firm,' DeChambeau said. 'It wasn't like it softened it completely. . . . So it impacted a little bit, but it made the chip shot on 14 a lot easier.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
LIV Golf Announces $22 Million Golfer Abruptly Withdraws at Virginia
LIV Golf Announces $22 Million Golfer Abruptly Withdraws at Virginia originally appeared on Athlon Sports. LIV Golf has shaken up the traditional golf scene by introducing a unique team-based format alongside its competition. Unlike the PGA Tour, where players compete solely for individual glory, LIV Golf crowns both an individual champion each week and a winning team. Each four-player squad works together to rack up points, with every stroke affecting the team leaderboard as much as the individual standings. Advertisement One of LIV Golf's youngest and most electrifying talents, Matthew Wolff, was set to tee off for Range Goats GC at LIV Golf Virginia, but his tournament ended abruptly on Wednesday. Shortly after his tee shot at the par-4 eighth, Wolff grimaced, pulled up, and withdrew with an apparent muscle strain. Miami, Florida, USA; Matthew Wolff of the RangeGoats thanks the crowd after a birdie putt on the seventh green during the final round of LIV Golf Miami golf tournament at Trump National Matay-Imagn Images His departure came as a shock, Wolff, a $22 million career earner already turning heads. Most of his earnings are from LIV Golf, yet PGA too has a contribution in it. "Matthew Wolff WD (injury) after his 8th Ollie Schniederjans joins field, will play remainder of Rd. 1 in place of Wolff," LIV Golf wrote on X. Advertisement Fellow Range Goats member Ollie Schniederjans—who had been on standby—stepped in to finish the round. While Ollie's score over the final ten holes counts toward the Range Goats' team total, it won't affect his individual ranking this week. Wolff's résumé is impressive: he drained the winning putt to capture the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship for Oklahoma State, aced a hole-in-one at LIV Golf Boston in 2022, and won the 3M Open in just his third PGA Tour start in 2019. He also notched two top-5 finishes in his first major appearances and led the U.S. Open after 54 holes in 2020—the youngest ever to do so. Although his individual campaign at LIV Golf Virginia was cut short, Wolff's presence still looms large. As his teammates rally to keep Range Goats in contention, fans everywhere will be watching to see when the young phenom bolts back into action—ideally pain-free and firing on all cylinders. Advertisement Related: Last-Minute Addition Leads PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
