After months of speculation and controversy, the first day of competition for the brand-new LIV Golf league is in the books, with the LIV Golf Invitational Series teeing off on Thursday in London.
Charl Schwartzel and Hennie du Plessis, both from South Africa, lead the field after the first round. Schwartzel took the lead Thursday after posting a 5-under 65, with Du Plessis 1 shot back at 4 under. Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson were tied for seventh after each shooting a 1-under 69.
Following the tee-off, the PGA Tour suspended the 17 members who are competing in the event. Players who compete in LIV events are ineligible to participate on the PGA Tour or any other tours it sanctions. Players who take part in future LIV Golf events will face the same punishment.
As of Thursday, here’s how the leaderboard hashes out. LIV events are 54 holes, so two rounds remain.
LIV Golf London as of Thursday
1. Charl Schwartzel -5
2. Hennie Du Plessis -4
T3. Scott Vincent -3
T3. Phachara Khongwatmai -3
T5. Branden Grace -2
T5. Justin Harding -2
T7. Dustin Johnson -1
T7. Phil Mickelson -1
T7. Sam Horsfield -1
T7. Laurie Canter -1
T11. Chase Koepka E
T11. Oliver Bekker E
T11. Peter Uihlein E
T11. Adrian Otaegui E
T11. Hideto Tanihara E
T16. Sergio Garcia +1
T16. Talor Gooch +1
T16. Wade Ormsby +1
T16. Ian Snyman +1
T16. James Piot +1
T16. Viraj Madappa +1
T22. Pablo Larrazabal +2
T22. Louis Oosthuizen +2
T24. Richard Bland +3
T24. Ratchanon Chantananuwat +3
T24. Ryosuke Kinoshita +3
T24. Jediah Morgan +3
T24. Oliver Fisher +3
T24. Kevin Yuan +3
T24. Jinichiro Kozuma +3
T24. JC Ritchie +3
T24. Shaun Norris +3
T24. Kevin Na +3
T34. Graeme McDowell +4
T34. David Puig +4
T34. Martin Kaymer +4
T34. Matt Jones +4
T38. Turk Pettit +5
T38. Travis Smyth +5
T38. Lee Westwood +5
T38. Ian Poulter +5
T42. Sadom Kaewkanjana +6
T42. Itthipat Buranatanyarat +6
T44. Hudson Swafford +7
T44. Bernd Wiesberger +7
T46. Blake Windred +8
T46. Sihwan Kim +8
48. Andy Ogletree +12