[Photo: LIV Golf]
Elvis Smylie couldn’t have scripted a much better opening performance.
Making his LIV Golf League debut for the all-Australian Ripper GC line-up, the 23-year-old left-hander announced himself in emphatic fashion at ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh, opening the 2026 season with a polished six-under-par round to sit just one shot off the lead after the first round.
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In calm, scorer-friendly conditions, Smylie looked anything but overawed by the occasion. The new Rippers recruit mixed seven birdies with just a single blemish on his card, showing the composure and confidence that made him such an intriguing off-season addition to Cameron Smith’s squad. For a player stepping onto the LIV stage for the first time, it was a debut that suggested he belongs – and quickly.
Smylie’s strong start was part of a low-scoring opening day that saw birdies flowing freely across the Riyadh layout as the 2026 LIV Golf season officially got underway.
Leading the way after round one is 4Aces GC’s marquee offseason signing, Thomas Detry. The Belgian wasted no time justifying the hype, firing a bogey-free, seven-under 65 to claim the early clubhouse lead. Detry leaned on LIV Golf’s team-based format as a key driver behind his fast start.
“I’ve always loved the team atmosphere,” Detry said. “I remember when I was playing in college, playing for myself, playing for something more than myself, carrying the team, was always something that I loved to do.”
Matching Detry at seven-under was RangeGoats GC’s Peter Uihlein, who once again proved his affinity for Middle Eastern conditions. The American, who lost in a playoff at LIV Golf Jeddah in 2022, looked right at home as he opened with a flawless round to share top spot.
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Just behind the leading trio, a pack of LIV Golf heavyweights is already circling. Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton sits at five-under, while new Smash GC captain Talor Gooch, Legion XIII boss Jon Rahm, Crushers GC skipper Bryson DeChambeau and Torque GC leader Joaquin Niemann all opened with rounds of four-under-par.
DeChambeau’s round was particularly eventful. Despite a double-bogey at the second hole, the Crushers skipper rebounded strongly and walked off pleased with his ball-striking.
“I hit a perfect drive off the first and made double on the second, so great start to the year,” DeChambeau said with a grin. “I played good coming in, despite the double, and a couple missed opportunities on the par 5s and one on 18, or it could have been an eight, nine-under round. Pretty pleased with how everything went.”
Joining Hatton at five-under are Korean Golf Club captain Byeong Hun An, Torque GC’s Sebastian Munoz and Southern Guards GC captain Louis Oosthuizen, all three shots back of the lead. A further eight players finished the day at four-under, underlining the depth of the leaderboard heading into round two.
