The second season of the LIV Golf Tour kicked off Friday at Mayakoba Golf Club in Mexico.
After a highly contested first season and an off-season devoid of major additions to the roster, the first round was marked by calm in front of a modest crowd.
Smash’s Jason Kokrak posted a bogey-free 65, six under par, to share the lead with Crushers’ Paul Casey, who birdied eight times on the day, including a spectacular 72 putt feet.
Peter Uihlein, Carlos Ortiz and Talor Gooch are all four under par.
Five players, including Dustin Johnson, are three strokes behind. Cameron Smith is two strokes under par after day one, while Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau started their round well before dropping in the standings and finishing the round one stroke over par.
Johnson, who picked up the $18 million bonus last season in addition to guiding his 4Aces team to the title, was slowed by back-to-back mid-round bogeys.
Casey plays for the Crushers and three of their four scores put them at 10 under, three strokes ahead of Johnson’s team and captain Brooks Koepka’s Smash team.
Thomas Pieters, the newest member of LIV Golf, played a disappointing 76.
