Carlos Ortiz’s approach shot from 167 yards on his final hole Thursday at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong was headed directly toward the flag. Despite the long odds of holing out, for a brief moment, shooting 59 was a possibility.
The ball finished inside 2 feet, leaving Ortiz with a tap-in birdie for a 10-under 60 and a two-shot lead over Dean Burmester after Thursday’s opening round at Hong Kong Golf Club.
The Mexican’s round included an eagle and nine birdies with just the one bogey on the host course in suburban Fanling.
Not only was it Ortiz’s lowest round in his professional tournament career, it was the third time in LIV Golf history that a player has shot 60. Just three rounds have been lower – Bryson DeChambeau’s historic 58, and the two 59s shot by Ortiz’s Torque GC teammates Joaquin Niemann and Sebastian Munoz.
ORTIZ SHOOTS THE LIGHTS OUT #LIVGolfHongKong .
The champion #Mexico golfer posts a 6⃣0⃣ & help steer his @TorqueGC_ team also to a two-shot lead @hkgolfclub @HongKongGolf
And bravo Victor Perez who became a 4th #LIVGolf to record an ace – par 3, second hole
Read:… pic.twitter.com/mT7uzNznae
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) March 5, 2026
“It was a great round,” said Ortiz. “… I think I hit it very close, like four or five times I just tapped it in. That doesn’t happen much, so it’s awesome when you don’t even have to get the putter out. Very pleased.”
It was certainly the best round of a multitude of low scores at Fanling. Burmester’s 62 matches his score the previous round he played here, when the Southern Guards GC star finished second last season to Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia.
Garcia, meanwhile, shot 63 while extending his streak of bogey-free holes at Hong Kong Golf Club to 63. He’s tied for third with Smash GC Captain Talor Gooch along with Scott Vincent, who shot the lowest round ever for a Wild Card player.
In all, 28 players shot 67 or better on a Fanling course that was left vulnerable after soft conditions due to the rainy weather leading up to the opening round. Included in that group was Anthony Kim, who shot 67 in his first start since winning LIV Golf Adelaide last month.
“As you can see by the scoring, it’s playing softer and a lot easier than it generally is,” Burmester said. “But I know Saturday and Sunday, the wind is going to come up, so I think that’ll toughen the course up. It’ll dry out and then we’ll get the true experience of Fanling.”
And Frenchman Victor Perez recorded the 13th ace in LIV Golf history – and the first this season – when he holed his tee shot at the 149-yard second.
A VERY LUCKY #French GOLFER …
Bravo Victor #LIVGolfHongKong @Cleeks_GolfClub @hkgolfclub @hkgolfclub
✅ @TOURMISS https://t.co/z9ewiCT01n
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) March 5, 2026
Ortiz was just 2 under through his first nine holes and coming off a bogey at the par-4 8th. But he saved par with a terrific up-and-down next to the cart path at the 9th, then followed with three straight birdies on holes 10-12, including a chip-in at 11. He then eagled the par-5 13th after hitting his second shot to 5 feet.
“Obviously I played great coming in,” said Ortiz, seeking his second individual LIV Golf victory. Fueled by his 60, Torque GC also has the team lead at 21 under, two shots ahead of Smash GC.
Burmester called his round “pretty flawless” other than a mental error on the ninth hole when he opted for the wrong club off the tee. Having come so close last year to winning, he’s now in position to chase his third LIV Golf title over the final 54 holes.
“I’m very proud of the way I kind of just hung together and kept pushing in birdies,” Burmester said. “I saw a lot of guys making birdies, and I managed to do the same. Normally when that happens you feel like you’ve got to chase, and I never felt like I was doing that. I just felt like I was within myself, so it’s one of those good in-the-zone days for sure.”
Garcia always seems to be in the zone at Fanling. He hasn’t suffered a bogey at Fanling since his ninth hole in the opening round last year, and on Thursday, he hit all 18 greens in regulation.
“I’ve always said it, that I’ve always enjoyed the courses that make you think, not the courses that you get on the tee and you know you have to hit driver as hard as you can and there’s nothing else to do,” said Garcia, seeking the 39th victory of his legendary career. “Obviously these are the kind of courses that I enjoy playing. These are the kind of courses that I feel most comfortable on.”
TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS
INDIVIDUAL TOP 10
1 (-10) – Carlos Ortiz, Torque (60)
2 (-8) – Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (62)
T3 (-7) – Younghan Song, Korean (63); Scott Vincent, Wild Card (63); Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (63); Talor Gooch, Smash (63)
T7 (-6) – Bubba Watson, RangeGoats (64); Thomas Detry, 4Aces (64); Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII (64)
T10 (-5) – Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (65); Sebastián Muñoz, Torque (65); Laurie Canter, Majesticks (65); David Puig, Fireballs (65); Jason Kokrak, Smash (65); Bjorn Hellgren, Wild Card (65)
TEAM TOP 3
1 (-21) – Torque GC (Ortiz 60, Muñoz 65, Niemann 66, Ancer 68)
2 (-19) – Smash GC (Gooch 63, Kokrak 65, Varner III 66, McDowell 67)
3 (-13) – 4Aces GC (Detry 64, Kim 67, Johnson 68, Pieters 68)
- Copy with thanks LIV Golf
