LIV Golf Hong Kong 2024: Ancer and Burmester lead while Kim outscores Mickelson

The first round of the LIV Golf Hong Kong is now in the books and the short and narrow course of the Hong Kong Golf Club proved to be a tough test for the top players on the circuit. Virtually all of the leaders in the individual standings for the 2024 season had their work cut out for them on the first day.

Abraham Ancer and Dean Burmester top the LIV Golf Hong Kong leaderboard at 7-under. Burmester had an eagle, six birdies and a bogey, while Ancer had a bogey-free round with seven birdies, including five in a row.

Six players are tied for third place, one stroke off the lead. Standouts were Harold Varner III, Charles Howell III and Louis Oosthuizen, who all went bogey-free.

Among the top-ranked golfers, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau tied for 9th place at 5-under. Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann and Cam Smith are tied for 18th at 3-under. Talor Gooch will start Saturday in a tie for 31st at 1 under, while Dustin Johnson will do it in a tie for 38th at even par.

Anthony Kim played his third of four rounds at LIV Golf with a score of 6-over. Kim had one birdie, five bogeys and one double bogey at the first round of the LIV Golf Hong Kong. However, one of the highlights of the day was Kim beating 6-time major winner Phil Mickelson, who finished the round in last place with a score of 10 over.

LIV Golf Hong Kong Full Leaderboard after Round 1

The Hong Kong Golf Club hosts the LIV Golf Hong Kong. The course is only 6710 yards and par 70 and receives the Hong Kong Open every year.

Below is the LIV Golf Hong Kong individual leaderboard after the first 18 holes.

• T1: Abraham Ancer: -7

• T1: Dean Burmester: -7

• T3: Martin Kaymer: -6

• T3: Louis Oosthuizen: -6

• T3: Matt Jones: -6

• T3: Charles Howell III: -6

• T3: Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra: -6

• T3: Harold Varner III: -6

• T9: Brooks Koepka: -5

• T9: Bryson DeChambeau: -5

• T11: Paul Casey: -4

• T11: Sebastian Munoz: -4

• T11: Richard Bland: -4

• T11: Anirban Lahiri: -4

• T11: Henrik Stenson: -4

• T11: Ian Poulter: -4

• T11: Cameron Tringale: -4

• T18: Jon Rahm: -3

• T18: Scott Vincent: -3

• T18: Cameron Smith: -3

• T18: Matthew Wolff: -3

• T18: Joaquin Niemann: -3

• T18: Kevin Na: -3

• T18: Patrick Reed: -3

• T18: Branden Grace: -3

• T26: Carlos Ortiz: -2

• T26: Marc Leishman: -2

• T26: Adrian Meronk: -2

• T26: Tyrrell Hatton: -2

• T26: Bubba Watson: -2

• T31: Talor Gooch: -1

• T31: Graeme McDowell: -1

• T31: Andy Ogletree: -1

• T31: Pat Perez: -1

• T31: Guillermo Mito Pereira: -1

• T31: Kalle Samooja: -1

• T31: Kieran Vincent: -1

• T38: Lucas Herbert: even par

• T38: Danny Lee: even par

• T38: Jinichiro Kozuma: even par

• T38: Caleb Surratt: even par

• T38: Brendan Steele: even par

• T38: Charl Schwartzel: even par

• T38: Dustin Johnson: even par

• T45: Sergio Garcia: +1

• T45: Thomas Pieters: +1

• T45: Sam Horsfield: +1

• 48: David Puig: +2

• T49: Peter Uihlein: +3

• T49: Jason Kokrak: +3

• 51: Lee Westwood: +4

• T52: Hudson Swafford: +6

• T52: Anthony Kim: +6

• 54: Phil Mickelson: +10