Marc Leishman leads after 1st round of LIV Golf Jeddah

JEDDAH: Australian Marc Leishman, of team Ripper GC, leads the field by a single shot after the first round of LIV Golf Jeddah, presented by ROSHN, thanks to a bogey-free, five-under-par round of 65 in challenging, windy conditions at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club on Friday.
His closest challengers at the top of the leaderboard are Dustin Johnson (of 4Aces GC), Harold Varner III (RangeGoats GC), and Brooks Koepka (Smash GC), all on four-under.
Among the season’s leading points scorers, the top two, Cameron Smith (Ripper GC) and Talor Gooch (RangeGoats GC), carded even-par opening rounds of 70, while third-place Bryson DeChambeau (Crushers GC) hit a one-under par 69, keeping all three firmly in contention for the individual players’ championship.
In the team standings, Crushers GC, who sit second in the season rankings, and Ripper GC (seventh) lead the field in Jeddah on six-under par, one shot ahead of season-points leaders 4Aces GC and sixth-place Fireballs GC.
“It was pretty tough,” Leishman said of his round and the conditions on the course. “A fair bit of wind, and it was nice to be finding the middle of the face. I played pretty well today and made a couple of good putts to go along with it.”
He confirmed that his Rippers team have one eye on the Team Championships in Miami next weekend, saying: “Next week is a huge week for the team. We got close there last year, finishing second, and I know all the boys want to try and go one better than that.”
In terms of his more immediate plan for the remainder of the competition in Jeddah, Leishman said: “I just want to keep doing what I’ve been doing, just concentrating on hitting good shots.
“It’s quite difficult when the wind is blowing like it is at the moment. But growing up in a really windy place, I enjoy that and I think that’s a big part of my success in the wind, maybe.”