Field Level Media
27 May 2023, 08:55 GMT+10
Harold Varner III made two eagles en route to an 8-under-par 64 at Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C., to take the first-round lead at LIV Golf D.C. in Sterling, Va.
Varner is two clear of James Piot (6-under 66), with a group tied for third at 4-under 68 featuring Cameron Smith of Australia, Mito Pereira of Chile, Kevin Na and Andy Ogletree.
Varner opened his round with a bogey at the par-3 fourth hole but shrugged it off quickly. After a birdie brought him back to even, he made an eagle 2 at the 317-yard, par-4 ninth hole.
His second eagle came four holes later at the par-5 13th hole. He followed that with two birdies for a 4-under run in three holes. He picked up birdies at the final two par-5s (Nos. 18 and 3) to set the pace.
Varner, 32, is seeking his first win on the Saudi-funded LIV circuit. He has had a fine career thus far and tied for 29th at both the Masters and the PGA Championship this season, but his last win came in February 2022 at the Saudi International on the Asian Tour.
Piot and Ogletree are former U.S. Amateur winners among the younger pros hoping to make a mark in the PGA Tour's upstart rival league. Piot had seven birdies and one bogey Friday, while Ogletree had five birdies and one bogey.
Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed were among the names tied at 3-under 69. Bryson DeChambeau and Spain's Sergio Garcia, among others, shot 2-under 70.
Brooks Koepka, coming off his fifth career major title on Sunday at the PGA Championship, opened with an even-par 72.
Phil Mickelson is in 44th place after an opening 2-over 74.
Varner's RangeGoats GC are tied with Iron Heads GC for the lead in the team competition at 10 under. Varner, Talor Gooch (70) and Belgium's Thomas Pieters (72) had their scores count for RangeGoats, while Iron Heads were fueled by captain Na, Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe (69) and Danny Lee of New Zealand (69).
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Orlando Echo news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Orlando Echo.
More InformationLIVINGSTON, Kentucky: This week, railroad operator CSX said a train derailment involving 16 cars, two of which spilled molten sulfur ...
Fifty-seven journalists have been killed as of Saturday as a result of Israel's war on Gaza, which has extended to ...
TEL AVIV, Israel - Following Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's statement on Emily Hand's release, Israel's foreign minister says he summoned the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The White House says U.S. authorities have foiled a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the U.S., ...
BANGKOK, Thailand: In response to heightened Chinese activity in the South China Sea, the United States and the Philippines have ...
BEIRUT, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement on Saturday that ...
MARSHALL, Texas: In a lawsuit unsealed this week, Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton said Pfizer and its supplier Tris Pharma provided ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson said that this week, the U.S. government will begin ...
(Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports) Riding high after one of their best wins of the season, the Arizona ...
(Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports) The Toronto Maple Leafs hope that their first home game in more than ...
(Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports) MacKenzie Weegar scored with 4.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give host Calgary a ...
(Photo credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports) Ryan Johansen scored two goals, Cale Makar had a goal and an assist and ...