‘PGA’ Ram and ‘LIV’ Kepka "7-Under Par Showdown"

Hovland and Leaderboard Top Occupied on Masters First Day

The first-day showdown between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf at the Masters ended in a tie.

Yon Ram (right) is celebrating with caddie Adam Hayes after making a birdie on the 18th hole of the first round at the Masters. [Augusta, USA = Reuters·Yonhap News]

‘PGA Tour loyalist’ Jon Rahm (Spain) and ‘LIV member’ Brooks Koepka (USA) dominated the top of the leaderboard. On the 6th (local time), at Augusta National Golf Club (par 72, 7,545 yards) in Augusta, Georgia, USA, both players shot 7-under 65 in the first round of the tournament. The ‘young gun’ Viktor Hovland (Norway) joined the co-leader group.

World No. 3 Rahm carded one eagle, seven birdies, and one double bogey. A strong player with 10 PGA Tour wins including three this season, he claimed a major trophy at the 2021 US Open. Koepka recorded eight birdies and one bogey. After winning eight PGA Tour titles including four majors, he moved last year to LIV Golf, sponsored by Saudi Arabian capital. On the 3rd, he achieved his second win in the LIV Golf League’s third event.

Hovland, who competes on the PGA Tour, is ranked 9th in the world. He is Norway’s first PGA Tour champion with three career wins. He is widely known among domestic fans as a Taekwondo black belt. In November last year, he secured back-to-back victories at the ‘special event’ Hero World Challenge hosted by the Tiger Woods Foundation. His best major finish was a tie for 4th at last year’s The Open. At the Masters, he finished tied 21st in 2021 and tied 27th last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.