Dean Burmester strung together a five-hole sequence on Friday which yielded four birdies and an eagle on his way to a share of the first-round lead of LIV Golf Hong Kong at seven-under-par 63 at Hong Kong Golf Club.
That superb run came down his final few holes after he teed off on the 18th in the shotgun start, and he bogeyed the first and made two more birdies ahead of his homeward stretch. Sharing the lead at seven-under was Mexico’s Abraham Ancer. The pair was one shot clear of six players on six-under-par 64, a group which included Burmester’s team captain and countryman Louis Oosthuizen.
And in the team contest, that South African team, Stinger GC, moved to 16-under through the first round with Branden Grace contributing a three-under 67 for his share of 18th. They were one ahead of Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, who chased them down to win last week in Jeddah.
“First of all, a highlight is seeing Stinger at the top of that leaderboard, which is really good,” said Burmester. “We had a good week last week and the Crushers did something crazy on Sunday, but I see they’re right behind us again.
“For me personally, it was a great day. I’ve been pretty ill this week. It hasn’t been the best week for me. But seems to be every time I get ill, I seem to play okay, so that’s great news.
“I had a slow start, and then went through a stretch there on the back nine where I think I went birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, and that eagle putt just caught the right edge perfectly and beautifully. When it’s into the wind like that, it’s a good eagle.”
The big-hitting Burmester was revelling in good conditions on a shirt course. “I’m using a lot less than I normally would off the tee,” he said, “and I obviously enjoy hitting my driver, so that’s the only negative about that. But at the same time, where guys are hitting three-wood, I’m hitting an iron. I think that kind of plays into my favour. I’ve got more chance of hitting a fairway with an iron in my hand than I do with a three-wood.”
Two of the other big-hitters in the field, DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, were in a share of ninth, just two shots behind Burmester on five-under-par 65.
