Chicago (AFP) – Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz birdied 13 of his last 14 holes to fire a 12-under par 59 and seize a three-stroke lead after Friday’s opening round of LIV Golf Indianapolis. Cracking 60 despite an early double bogey, the 32-year-old from Bogota torched the Club at Chatham Hills in suburban Westfield in the final individual scoring event of the season for the Saudi-backed series.
“Amazing round,” Munoz said. “I started par, par, birdie, feeling like normal, like let’s try to go low and then a double hits me and I just kind of stayed positive. I made a couple birdies, just trying to make a run, and we made eight straight. When I look I’ve got cameras on top of me and I make the math and it’s possible — you just got to birdie out. I made great putts on 17 and 18 to keep it going and a really good wedge shot on one to finish it up.”
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The wedge set up a three-foot birdie putt which he sank to complete his career-low round, having twice before fired 60s. “The break was a little tricky so I just didn’t want to kind of mess it up,” Munoz said. “I’ve missed some short ones before so I just really tried to focus and at the moment just hit it as smooth as I could and it went in. So it was great.”
Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson was second on 62 with season points leader Joaquin Niemann of Chile, Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, American Patrick Reed, and Australian Cam Smith sharing third on 64. Munoz was one off the LIV record of 58 set by two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau in the final round of the 2023 LIV Golf Greenbrier. LIV’s only other sub-60 round had been a 59 by Niemann last year at Mayakoba.
The South American standout, who has not won since the 2019 PGA Sanderson Farms Championship before joining LIV in 2023, began on the second hole under LIV’s shotgun start and made two pars, a birdie, and then a double bogey at the par-four fifth. Munoz, seventh in the LIV season standings, responded with birdies on the next eight holes, settled for a par at the par-three 14th, then birdied his last five holes.
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