ROUND 1 NOTES 

LA SASSO’S PRO DEBUT: New HyFlyers GC captain Michael La Sasso, the league’s youngest player at age 21, birdied three of his first five holes and recorded the longest drive of the day while shooting a 3-under 69 in his professional debut, leaving him tied for 18th.

“I definitely think there’s a lot of positives to be taken away from today, especially when you’re kind of making your debut, things can be a little bit stressful,” said La Sasso, who won the 2025 NCAA Division I Individual title while at Ole Miss. “I thought the way I handled myself was pretty good. Definitely a couple of things to sharpen up, get ready for the week, but I thought I played pretty good today being my first round professionally.”

La Sasso had six birdies and three bogeys while also blasting a field-best 341.2-yard drive on the 10th hole.

A NIGHT OF FIRSTS: Besides La Sasso’s first round, other milestones on Wednesday included: LIV Golf’s first 72-hole round; the first round with an expanded 57-man field, largest in league history; first tournaments as captains for Talor Gooch (Smash) and Byeong Hun An (Korean); first LIV Golf appearances for 10 players, including eight full-timers; and the debuts of rebranded teams Korean Golf Club (formerly Iron Heads GC) and Southern Guards GC (formerly Stinger GC).

BRYSON RALLIES FROM TOUGH START: Bryson DeChambeau, playing his first competitive stroke-play round since last year’s LIV Golf Indianapolis in August, failed to take advantage of the par-4 1st after his tee shot left him 20 yards from the green. He then followed with a double bogey at the 2nd. After that? The Crushers GC captain found his form, bouncing back with consecutive birdies and showing an improved wedge game en route to a 4-under 68.

“I played good coming in, despite the double and a couple missed opportunities on the par 5s and one on 18, or it could have been an 8-, 9-under round,” said DeChambeau, whose last competitive round of any kind was the 2025 Ryder Cup. “Pretty pleased with how everything went … As you saw out there, it was a little bit better wedging. I don’t have to tell myself I’m terrible at wedging all the time hopefully.”

WILD CARDS ON FIRE: Three of the expanded five independent Wild Card players are in the top 10 of the leaderboard. International Series qualifiers Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji, and LIV Golf Promotions qualifier Anthony Kim each shot 4-under 68s to join a group of eight players tied for 10th. Promotions winner Richard Lee, the league’s first Canadian player, shot a 69 and is tied for 18th. Björn Hellgren, the other Promotions qualifier, shot even-par 72. 

STATS LEADERS 

Round 1

Driving Distance: Ben Schmidt, 326.1-yard avg.

Longest Drive: Michael La Sasso, 341.2 yards (10th hole)

Driving Accuracy: Thomas Detry, Elvis Smylie, Tyrrell Hatton, Michael La Sasso, Brendan Steele, Tom McKibbin, 71.43% (10 of 14)

Greens in Regulation: Thomas Detry, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, 94.44% (17 of 18)

Scrambling: 14 players at 100%, led by Tyrrell Hatton (6 of 6)

Fewest Putts: Minkyu Kim, 25

Bogey-free rounds: Thomas Detry (65), Peter Uihlein (65), Louis Oosthuizen (67), Byeong Hun An (67), Tyrrell Hatton (67), Sebastián Muñoz (67), Jon Rahm (67), Scott Vincent (68), Sergio Garcia (68), David Puig (69), Richard T. Lee (69)