CaddyBytes

2026 LIV Golf Mexico City Highlights

CaddyBytes 🏆 2026 LIV Golf Mexico City Round 1 Highlights: Friday in Mexico City delivered exactly the kind of opening round LIV Golf hopes for at altitude — aggressive scoring, plenty of star names near the top, and one unforgettable early highlight. The opening day at Club de Golf Chapultepec had an energetic feel almost immediately, with players attacking a course that asks for precise yardage control and confident iron play in thinner air. The result was a leaderboard full of movement from the start and a round that never really slowed down.

One of the biggest moments came early when Joaquín Niemann made a hole-in-one at the par-3 fourth, giving the tournament an instant jolt and adding another ace to LIV Golf history. It was the kind of shot that immediately raised the energy around the course and set the tone for a day that featured aggressive play, confident swings, and a lot of players taking dead aim when the numbers looked right.

Jon Rahm looked comfortable again from the start and quickly worked his way to 5 under, continuing the sharp form that has kept him near the top of the LIV season-long race. Rahm was far from alone, though. Harold Varner III, Ian Poulter, and others kept pace in the early stages, while Carlos Ortiz gave the home crowd something to cheer with a strong opening push of his own. There were also flashes from Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Tom McKibbin, and Terrell Hatton as the round developed.

Hatton’s round in particular had some real momentum to it once he got going. An eagle at the 12th helped kickstart his day, and he followed that with another birdie to move further into the mix. Elsewhere, Laurie Canter chipped in for eagle at the 17th, and a steady stream of quality approaches and hole-outs kept reinforcing the same theme all afternoon: this golf course was offering chances, but only to players who had complete control of their distances.

In the end, though, Round 1 belonged to Victor Perez. The Frenchman built his score with relentless birdie pressure, piling up 11 birdies in a round of 62 that stood as his best LIV Golf round. What separated his card from the rest was the finish. Perez closed with four straight birdies, turning a very good opening day into the clear standout performance of the round and giving himself real control of the tournament heading into Saturday.

So the first round in Mexico City had just about everything: altitude-adjusted shotmaking, a hole-in-one, a packed chase group, and a runaway closing stretch from the leader. Perez carries the early advantage, Rahm remains right there, and with so many proven shotmakers already within reach, LIV Golf Mexico City looks set up for a weekend with plenty of firepower still in the hunt.

Video courtesy of LIV Golf / YouTube.