Brooks Koepka leads the first ever LIV Golf tournament held in Saudi Arabia
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Brooks Koepka leads the first-ever LIV golf tournament ever held in his support country Saudi Arabia, placing eight-under 62 to lead by two strokes after the first round
- Brooks Koepka leads day two of LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah
- He shot an 8-under, bogey-free 62 in the first LIV tournament in Saudi Arabia
- Breakaway Series LIV Golf Is Known For Being Funded By Saudi Backers
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Brooks Koepka posted a bogey-free, 8-under 62 to take a two-stroke lead after one round of the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
Koepka, who last won a golf tournament at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February 2021, racked up eight birdies at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club to lead South African Charl Schwartzel (64) by two.
The four-time major champion’s form had fallen off as he dealt with multiple injuries. He finished no better than 55th in a major this year, with two missed cuts.
Brooks Koepka booked a bogey-free, 8-under 62 to take a two-stroke lead in Saudi Arabia
“This is the first time I’ve been playing for weeks in a row since February. So hard to build a rhythm,” Koepka said.
‘I saw it coming. I’m very happy with it, happy with last week, and you know, hopefully just put together two more good rounds.”
Koepka started the round at number 15 and made his first two birdies at numbers 16 and 17.
Koepka racked up eight birdies and led South African Charl Schwartzel (64) by two on day one
He took five birdies over the first nine of the course and dropped the eighth on the par-4 10th. He just missed a birdie putt on his final hole, which would have given him the lowest single-round score in LIV’s short history.
His 62 was equal to England’s Lee Westwood, who shot a round of 62 in Boston.
Schwartzel, the winner of LIV’s debut event in London, matched Koepka’s eight birdies, but also made two bogeys.
Japan’s Hideto Tanihara, Peter Uihlein and Patrick Reed were third at 5-under 65. Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, Turk Pettit and James Piot shot rounds of 4-under 66, finishing sixth. Westwood, Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson were part of a big draw for ninth place at 3-under67.
On the team standings, Koepka’s Team Smash is 15th under and has a healthy five-shot lead over three other teams. In addition to Koepka and his brother Chase Koepka, Smash features Uihlein and Jason Kokrak.
Although LIV Golf is widely known for being funded by Saudi backers, this is the first LIV tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia. It marks the final tournament of the regular season before the team championship later this month in Miami.
Koepka leads the first-ever LIV tournament to be held in his home country, Saudi Arabia