An Byeonghun Shoots 5 Under... A Flawless Debut

An Byeonghun delivered a flawless performance in his LIV Golf debut.

In the opening event of the 2026 LIV Golf season, the LIV Golf Riyadh tournament (total prize money of 30 million dollars) held on the par-72 Riyadh Golf Club course in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the 5th, he carded five birdies without a single bogey in Round 1. He finished tied for fourth at 5-under 67, alongside Jon Rahm of Spain and Talor Gooch of the United States. Thomas Detry of Belgium and Peter Uihlein of the United States share the lead at 7-under 65, with Elvis Smylie of Australia in third at 6-under 66.

Ahn Byeonghun is carefully inspecting the green during the first round of LIV Golf Riyadh. Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) = Reuters/Yonhap

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An Byeonghun made his debut on the PGA Tour in 2017 and has played in 229 events, finishing runner-up five times. Although he has yet to claim a victory, he has amassed career earnings of 21,535,424 dollars (approximately 3.14 billion won). Among players without a win, he has earned the most prize money. Ahead of this season, he made a surprise move to LIV Golf and was named captain of the newly formed Korean Golf Club.

Song Younghan, who joined as a new member of the Korean Golf Club, is tied for 18th at 3-under 69. Korean Golf Club member Danny Lee of New Zealand is tied for 35th at 1-under 71, while Kim Minkyu is tied for 53rd at 3-over 75. In the team competition, Korean Golf Club posted a 6-under total and sits tied for eighth among 13 teams. The team score is calculated by combining the results of four players. Torque Golf Club, led by Joaquin Niemann of Chile, is in the lead at 15-under.

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