Bahrain Championship leaderboard<\/p>\n
Position<\/p>\n
Player Name<\/p>\n
Score<\/p>\n
1<\/p>\n
Calum Hill<\/p>\n
-16<\/p>\n
2<\/p>\n
Freddy Schott<\/p>\n
-12<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Shubhankar Sharma<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
J. C. Ritchie<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Casey Jarvis<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Andrea Pavan<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Joost Luiten<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Daniel Hillier<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Sergio Garcia<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Julien Guerrier<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Alejandro Del Rey<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
Ignacio Elvira<\/p>\n
-8<\/p>\n
View full leaderboard<\/a><\/p>\n Sergio Garcia says he wasn’t surprised by Brooks Koepka’s exit from LIV Golf<\/a> and hopes the American does well.\u00a0<\/p>\n Koepka<\/a> walked out of the LIV Golf exit door in December and has already been reinstated to the PGA Tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n The five-time major winner told reporters before his comeback at the Farmers Insurance Open that the decision was made so he could be closer to his family.\u00a0<\/p>\n Former Masters champion Patrick Reed<\/a> has followed in Koepka’s footsteps but will have to wait until August until he can play on the PGA Tour again.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Garcia, 46, is not leaving LIV Golf anytime soon and signed a contract extension over the winter.\u00a0<\/p>\n He is playing the Bahrain Championship this week and climbed the leaderboard on day two at Royal Golf Club with a six-under 66 to reach eight-under par.\u00a0<\/p>\n Scotland’s Calum Hill holds the 36-hole lead on 16-under.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It doesn’t surprise me very much to be honest,” Garcia told reporters when asked about Koepka’s exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n “I mean, I was talking to my wife and some friends, and we figured out that they would do something to make sure that he didn\u2019t have to have a year off from the tour. But that’s fine.<\/p>\n “It’s great. I hope he enjoys it. I hope he does well.<\/p>\n “I hope he, you know, he plays better than he played here last year. Obviously, he wasn\u2019t very happy with the way he played and it showed.<\/p>\n “And, you know, hopefully he\u2019ll be fine, and, you know, we’ll keep doing our thing.”<\/p>\n Koepka fired a one-over 73 in his first round on the PGA Tour<\/a> since the 2022 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n The 36-year-old struggled off the tee and was made to wait until the 18th hole to register his first birdie.\u00a0<\/p>\n