Dean Burmseter is two back of Carlos Ortiz after an electric first round of play at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong.
Burmester called his round “pretty flawless” other than a mental error on the ninth hole when he opted for the wrong club off the tee. Having come so close last year to winning, he’s now in position to chase his third LIV Golf title over the final 54 holes.
“I’m very proud of the way I kind of just hung together and kept pushing in birdies,” Burmester said.
“I saw a lot of guys making birdies, and I managed to do the same. Normally when that happens you feel like you’ve got to chase, and I never felt like I was doing that.
“I just felt like I was within myself, so it’s one of those good in-the-zone days for sure.”
Ortiz leads by two after a tap in the last.
Not only was it Ortiz’s lowest round in his professional tournament career, it was the third time in LIV Golf history that a player has shot 60. Just three rounds have been lower – Bryson DeChambeau’s historic 58, and the two 59s shot by Ortiz’s Torque GC teammates Joaquin Niemann and Sebastian Munoz.
“It was a great round,” said Ortiz. “… I think I hit it very close, like four or five times I just tapped it in. That doesn’t happen much, so it’s awesome when you don’t even have to get the putter out. Very pleased.”
It was certainly the best round of a multitude of low scores at Fanling. Burmester’s 62 matches his score the previous round he played here, when the Southern Guards GC star finished second last season to Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia.
Garcia, meanwhile, shot 63 while extending his streak of bogey-free holes at Hong Kong Golf Club to 63. He’s tied for third with Smash GC Captain Talor Gooch along with Scott Vincent, who shot the lowest round ever for a Wild Card player.
“As you can see by the scoring, it’s playing softer and a lot easier than it generally is,” Burmester said.
“But I know Saturday and Sunday, the wind is going to come up, so I think that’ll toughen the course up. It’ll dry out and then we’ll get the true experience of Fanling.”
Ortiz was just 2 under through his first nine holes and coming off a bogey at the par-4 8th. But he saved par with a terrific up-and-down next to the cart path at the 9th, then followed with three straight birdies on holes 10-12, including a chip-in at 11. He then eagled the par-5 13th after hitting his second shot to 5 feet.
“Obviously I played great coming in,” said Ortiz, seeking his second individual LIV Golf victory. Fueled by his 60, Torque GC also has the team lead at 21 under, two shots ahead of Smash GC.
INDIVIDUAL TOP 10
1 (-10) – Carlos Ortiz, Torque (60)
2 (-8) – Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (62)
T3 (-7) – Younghan Song, Korean (63); Scott Vincent, Wild Card (63); Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (63); Talor Gooch, Smash (63)
T7 (-6) – Bubba Watson, RangeGoats (64); Thomas Detry, 4Aces (64); Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII (64)
T10 (-5) – Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (65); Sebastián Muñoz, Torque (65); Laurie Canter, Majesticks (65); David Puig, Fireballs (65); Jason Kokrak, Smash (65); Bjorn Hellgren, Wild Card (65)
Photo: Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Article Link: Burmester second after fast start in Hong Kong