No surprise that Niemann, who has won every event this season on even-numbered weeks, is among the leaders on the 10th event of the 2025 schedule. He birdied his third hole of the day, the par-5 fourth, and made par on his other 14 holes \u2013 the only player without a bogey Friday.<\/p>\n
Westwood, who last week won a final qualifying tournament to earn exemption into next week\u2019s Open, was the early leader after birdies in four of his first seven holes. A double bogey derailed his momentum, but he finished the day with four consecutive pars.<\/p>\n
Gooch has good vibes at Valderrama, having won LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda in 2023 en route to the Individual Championship. He endured a rollercoaster seven-hole stretch that included three birdies and three bogeys, then ended his round by knocking his approach shot to 2 feet at the par-4 10th to end with a birdie.<\/p>\n
Grace, battling the potential of relegation for the second consecutive season, is on pace for his best first-round position this season. He was a bogey-free 1 under through his first 10 holes and then responded to his two bogeys with two birdies.<\/p>\n
Smith was bogey-free through his first 13 holes and leading by three shots at 4 under. It was one of his best stretches of golf this year, but it ended with a double bogey and bogey before play ended.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s easy to feel frustrated, particularly when I doubled 15 and then bogeyed 16 as well,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI was trotting along pretty good before that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it’s golf. Golf isn’t fair, at the end of the day. Were the conditions fair? Probably not for a little bit, but it is what it is. We’ll get on with it. I’m sure we’ll make a good tournament out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
TEAM SCORES<\/p>\n