LIV Golf Adelaide Round 1: Marc Leishman and Bryson DeChambeau Share the Lead as Anthony Kim Debuts in 4Aces Colors

The Grange threw wind at the field on Thursday, and the two men who handled it best could not have taken more different routes to the top of the board.

Marc Leishman gave the Adelaide galleries exactly what they came for, a bogey-free 6-under 66 that was the only clean card of the day. Bryson DeChambeau matched him with a 66 of his own that included one of the ugliest tee shots of his career and a birdie on the very same hole. After the first round of LIV Golf Adelaide, the Ripper GC veteran and the Crushers GC captain share the lead at 6 under, one ahead of the 4Aces GC pair of Dustin Johnson and Anthony Kim. In the team race, 4Aces sit on top at 10 under, two clear of a three-way tie.

The Local Who Kept It Clean

Leishman's round was the quiet kind of excellent. With the breeze making every approach a negotiation, Leishman never dropped a shot, and his scoring stretch around the turn, with birdies at the seventh, ninth and 10th, did most of the damage. Leishman also went 4 for 4 in scrambling.

The context makes it louder. Leishman was part of the Ripper team that won here in 2024 and said that title felt like a major to him. Asked about the bigger picture, Leishman went straight to the crowd: "I think an Australian winning here would be massive." Leishman also warned that The Grange is gettable right up until the wind decides it isn't, a fair summary of Thursday.

Bryson Being Bryson

DeChambeau's 66 had seven birdies, three of them in his last four holes, but everyone will remember the par-5 10th. He caught his drive so thin that it dove into a forward teeing area, skipped off a cart path and still ended up roughly 240 yards down the hole. From there he ripped a 3-wood of close to 290 yards onto the green and two-putted from long range for birdie. Golf Channel reported he found a scuff mark on the ball afterward. Peak DeChambeau: a mishit that wrecks most rounds, then a recovery only he would attempt.

He shrugged off the miss, saying he had done it before and calling it more of a thin shot than anything else.

AK Arrives in Aces Colors

The storyline that could grow legs this week belongs to Kim. Playing his first event as a full 4Aces member after his time as a LIV wild card, and filling the seat Patrick Reed vacated, Kim posted a 5-under 67 that finished in a hurry with five birdies over his last eight holes. He hit 16 of 18 greens, the best mark in the field. Asked about the new team gear, Kim kept it simple: "Still getting used to it." His captain was more effusive. "I think he looks good in an Aces uniform," Johnson said.

Johnson's own 67 was built on two eagles, and the pair of 67s carried the team. Thomas Detry added a 71 and Thomas Pieters a 73, good for 10 under and the early team lead.

Team Race: Every Shot Counts

That team number matters more than ever in 2026. With events now stretched to 72 holes, every player's score counts toward the team total in every round, and the lowest 72-hole total takes the team title. There is nowhere to hide a bad day.

Three teams are tied for second at 8 under. Torque GC got 68s from Abraham Ancer and captain Joaquin Niemann plus a 69 from Sebastián Muñoz, but Carlos Ortiz's 75 cost them. RangeGoats GC leaned on 69s from Ben Campbell and Peter Uihlein and a 70 from Matthew Wolff. Ripper GC, the Riyadh team champions, rode Leishman's 66 while Lucas Herbert and Elvis Smylie each shot 71 and captain Cameron Smith salvaged an even-par 72 after opening with three straight bogeys. Defending team champions Fireballs GC are back in a tie for ninth, with Josele Ballester's 69 their best card.

The Rest of the Board

Jon Rahm opened with a 68 and is two back alongside Ancer, Niemann and Graeme McDowell of Smash GC. A big group at 3 under includes Tyrrell Hatton, Uihlein, Campbell, Muñoz, Ballester, Jason Kokrak, Brendan Steele, Dean Burmester, John Catlin and wild card Miguel Tabuena, who used his opening round to make the case that the Asian Tour's International Series is a real road into the league.

The Watering Hole, the party par 3 at the 12th, produced the shot of the day from Bubba Watson, who stuck his tee shot to 3 feet for birdie. Danny Lee hit it to 5 feet and converted too, his fifth birdie there in 10 career rounds at The Grange, more than any other LIV player. Ballester led the field in driving distance and hit the longest drive of the day, 335.7 yards at the 17th, while Ancer needed just 24 putts.

What Friday Brings

Six players sit within two of the lead, and the forecast for the weekend looks friendlier than Thursday's gusts, which should mean lower scoring and more traffic near the top. Leishman has the crowd and a clean card. DeChambeau has the length and, apparently, nine lives on the 10th tee. Kim has the form and a new team that needs him every single round. There are 54 holes left, and in this format nobody gets to coast through any of them.

Full scores are on the official LIV Golf Adelaide leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and LIV Golf's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more from the opening day. For last year's finish at The Grange, see how Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf Adelaide in 2025.

Sources: LIV Golf (Round 1 recap), Golf Channel, Compleat Golfer, The Golf News Net. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Jon Ferrey/LIV Golf.