LIV Golf LIVE: Leaderboard and Day 1 scores as Carlos Ortiz leads the way after the opening round in Portland
Follow all the action from the second event of the Saudi-funded breakaway series
Golf’s newest and most controversial tour, the LIV Golf Series, hosts its second event in Portland, Oregon this week with the action kicking off tonight. The Saudi-backed venture has added more high-profile names to its roster, with America’s Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Patrick Reed among the latest players to defect from the PGA Tour, joining the likes of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
The American PGA Tour and European DP World Tour have issued suspensions and fines respectively in a bid to halt the breakaway but players Carlos Ortiz and Matthew Wolff have committed themselves to LIV Golf in the last week alone. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, amongst others, have spoken publicly in favour of golf’s two main tours yet the field in Portland is set to be significantly stronger than at LIV Golf’s inaugural event in England last month.
South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel bagged the first winner’s cheque for £3.85m after triumphing at the Centurion Club and another eye-watering £20m prize pot will be on offer in Oregon with the lure of the Saudi-backed rebel series’ riches proving hard to resist for players. The full field of 48 players has been confirmed and the format will continue to be a 54-hole shotgun start played across three days with Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland hosting this week’s event.
Relive all the action from Day 1 of the second event of the controversial tour below:
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
Tanihara chips in!
Hideto Tanihara found the green side bunker off the tee on 12 but plays a perfectley weighted recovery from the sand and flicks the ball onto the green where in rolls two-feet into the cup for a birdie.
What a shot from the new captain of Torque GC.
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
Carlos Ortiz storms into the lead!
The shotgun starts makes it slightly more difficult to determine where the easier parts of the course are but Carlos Ortiz may have started on the jackpot.
Back-to-back birdies on nine and 10 put the Spaniard out front on his own at the top of the leaderboard.
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
Up on the the 17th green Martin Kaymer slides an eagle putt past the right side of the hole but knocks the return home for a birdie to get under par for the round.
Sergio Garcia is playing with Kaymer and he emulates his former Ryder Cup teammate.
Both men are one under thru two now.
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
Brooks Koepka (+1) and Abraham Ancer (+1) both bogey the par-5 first. On the second tee Koepka goes into the rough but Ancer fizzes his drive down the middle.
Charl Schwartzel - who won the last LIV Golf event at Centurian Club - is off to a shocking start. He’s taken a double bogey on the par-4 second hole.
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
The leaderboard graphic is back!
It fluctuates wildly as the players’ rounds progress. During the last event there was a very annoying ping whenever the board updated - which was a lot. Hopefully the event organisers have done away with that.
It seems like they have.
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
Carlos Ortiz - another debutant this week - nicely rolls home a 10-12 footer on the ninth green that curls slightly right to left and drops into the cup just off the edge.
He joins the leaders under par.
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
More birdies to talk about!
Bernd Wiesberger teed off on the par-4 15th and is under par thru one. It’s a good start for the Hy Flyers man.
Majesticks GC’s Sam Horsfield, started well at Centurian Club and had done so again in Portland. He rolls a putt in for three on the eighth to go one-under too.
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
Pat Perez - one of the new players for this event - shoots to the top of the leaderboard with a birdie two on Hole 3.
His playing partners Ian Poulter and Louis Oosthuizen both putt home for pars.
LIV Golf Portland Invitational: Day 1
There’s a couple of changes to note since I last covered LIV Golf. There is now a live leaderboard on the website which should update as the rounds progress.
On the television footage, the bright leaderboard graphic that was positioned down the side of the screen has gone too. It may come back later though I’m unsure.
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