MUÑOZ SHOOTS RECORD-TYING 62; SMASH GC TAKES RD. 1 TEAM LEAD

“Last year I shot 60 two times, so it’s one of my goals, to get to 59 one day,” Muñoz said. “I thought I hit a good shot on 7. I gave myself a 45-footer and I three-putted that one. I knew that was going to kind of be the end of the 59 strategy.”

Even so, Muñoz finished his round with consecutive birdies to shoot a 9-under 62 at Orange County National. That ties for the lowest score in LIV Golf history and gives the Colombian star a two-shot advantage going into the weekend of the third event on the LIV Golf League schedule. Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland is in solo second at 64, while Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka and Tucson winner Danny Lee of Iron Heads GC share third at 65.

“Great day,” said Muñoz, who began his round with an eagle at the par-5 14th. “Felt really in control of my driver, irons, putting. … Everything felt kind of easy today.”

Smash leads the team leaderboard with a cumulative 14 under, one stroke better than Torque. Chase Koepka and Matthew Wolff supported their captain with counting scores of 4-under 67.

Smash is one of three teams that have yet to finish inside the points (top eight) through the first two events. Majesticks GC (third place at 11 under) and Cleeks GC (tied for 4th at 10 under) are the other two.

“It’s nice to see the team finally playing well,” Brooks Koepka said. “Chase played well and then Matt has been doing what he’s been doing. Just nice to see us actually compete, and hopefully we’re there on Sunday.”

The Koepka brothers were both born and raised in Florida. Brooks Koepka said he played some junior events at Orange County National two decades ago, but it’s his younger brother Chase who has more experience on the Crooked Cat course.

“He’s had Q-school here so many times,” Brooks said. “He was telling us what to do in the practice rounds, so that doesn’t happen too often, just because we’ve played so many different golf courses of the years. … It definitely helps, so I’ll take his advice.”

Bland began his round with a double-bogey but quickly bounced back with consecutive birdies and eventually finished with an eagle to climb into solo second.

“I kind of righted the ship pretty quick,” Bland said. “I played the front nine great. Whenever I kind of had a look, I made it.”

Despite winning two weeks ago in just his second LIV Golf start, Lee said he did not enter Orlando with high expectations. He started his round with a bogey but eventually found his groove, shooting a bogey-free six under on his last 14 holes.

“Monday through Thursday, my body wasn’t feeling well,” Lee said. “I was feeling weak, wasn’t sleeping well because of the time difference coming over from the West Coast. I didn’t know I was going to play this well.”

TEAM COUNTING SCORES

Here are the standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round of the team competition at LIV Golf Orlando. The three best scores from each team count in every round for their total team score. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.

1. SMASH GC (-14): Brooks Koepka 65, Chase Koepka 67, Matthew Wolff 67

2. TORQUE GC (-13): Sebastián Muñoz 62, Mito Pereira 68, Joaquin Niemann 70

3. MAJESTICKS GC (-11): Lee Westwood 66, Henrik Stenson 67, Ian Poulter 69

T4. 4ACES GC (-10): Dustin Johnson 67, Patrick Reed 67, Pat Perez 69

T4. RANGEGOATS GC (-10): Harold Varner III 66, Thomas Pieters 68, Talor Gooch 69

T4. CLEEKS GC (-10): Richard Bland 64, Laurie Canter 68, Graeme McDowell 71

7. STINGER GC (-9): Dean Burmester 67, Branden Grace 67, Louis Oosthuizen 70

T8. IRON HEADS GC (-6): Danny Lee 65, Scott Vincent 70, Kevin Na 72

T8. CRUSHERS GC (-6): Paul Casey 69, Charles Howell III 69, Andy Ogletree 69

10. RIPPER GC (-5): Marc Leishman 68, Cameron Smith 69, Jediah Morgan 71

T11. FIREBALLS GC (-2): Abraham Ancer 70, Carlos Ortiz 70, Sergio Garcia 71

T11. HYFLYERS GC (-2): Phil Mickelson 70, Cameron Tringale 70, Brendan Steele 71

NOTES

MUÑOZ TIES RECORD LOW: Sebastián Muñoz’s 62 is the lowest score of the 2023 LIV Golf League season and ties for the lowest score shot at a LIV Golf event. Last year during the Invitational Series, Lee Westwood shot a 62 in the third round at Boston and Brooks Koepka shot a 62 in the first round at Jeddah. Muñoz’s 9-under total also ties for the record low relative to par. Dustin Johnson shot a 9-under 63 in Rd. 1 in Chicago and Eugenio Chacarra shot a 9-under 63 in Rd. 2 in Bangkok

NON-LOCAL WESTWOOD LEADS MAJESTICKS: Of the four players on the Majesticks GC lineup, Westwood is the only member who doesn’t live in the Orlando area. But the 49-year-old co-captain came through with the team’s lowest score of the day, a 5-under 66. Fellow co-captains Henrik Stenson (67) and Ian Poulter (69) also contributed as the Majesticks seek their first team points of the season.

POINTS LEADER HOWELL RALLIES LATE: Mayakoba winner Charles Howell III, the current individual points leader, opened his round with a bogey, then followed with 11 consecutive pars before posting three late birdies to finish with a 2-under 69. The Crushers GC member is tied for 19th.

RESERVE OGLETREE CONTRIBUTES FOR CRUSHERS: Andy Ogletree, the current International Series Order of Merit leader, opened with a 2-under 69 and holed out for eagle at the par-4 second hole while providing one of the three contributing scores for Crushers GC. Ogletree is playing this week as the replacement for regular Crushers player Anirban Lahiri, out for personal reasons. It’s Ogletree’s first start in LIV Golf since the inaugural event for the Invitational Series last year in London. In the nine months since that start, Ogletree has won two International Series events. The International Series Order of Merit leader at the end of the 10-tournament 2023 season earns full playing privileges for the LIV Golf League in 2024.

FIREBALLS SLUGGISH AFTER WIN: Fireballs GC, winners of the team trophy two weeks ago in Tucson, are tied for last place with HyFlyers GC after the first round. Carlos Ortiz, part of the four-man playoff in Tucson, shot a 1-under 70 and was matched for the team’s best score by Abraham Ancer. The Fireballs and HyFlyers were the only two teams that did not have at least one player shoot in the 60s on Friday.

BROOKS LOW MAN AMONG MASTERS INVITEES: Brooks Koepka shot the lowest score (65) among the 18 LIV Golf members who will play in next week’s Masters, the first major of the 2023 golf season. Dustin Johnson (67) and Patrick Reed (67) had the lowest score among the six past Masters champs. Reigning Open champion Cameron Smith shot 69.

RD. 1 STAT LEADERS

Driving distance – Bryson DeChambeau, 339.3-yard average

Longest drive – Bryson DeChambeau, 361 yards (18th hole)

Driving accuracy – Richard Bland, 92.86% (13 of 14)

Greens in regulation – Mito Pereira, Laurie Canter, Louis Oosthuizen, 94.44% (17 of 18)

Scrambling – Sebastián Muñoz (4 of 4), Harold Varner III (4 of 4), Lee Westwood (4 of 4), Dustin Johnson (4 of 4), Talor Gooch (4 of 4), Mito Pereira (1 of 1), Laurie Canter (1 of 1), Louis Oosthuizen (1 of 1), 100%

Fewest putts – Sebastián Muñoz, Cameron Smith, 25 putts

Most birdies – Matthew Wolff, 9

Bogey-free rounds – Harold Varner III (66), Lee Westwood (66), Dustin Johnson (67), Laurie Canter (68)