Lee Westwood overcomes wrist injury to take share of first-round lead at LIV Singapore
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England's Lee Westwood missed the first two events of the LIV season owing to an injury on his left wrist.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
- Lee Westwood, recovering from a wrist injury, shares the LIV Singapore lead with three others after a bogey-free 67.
- Richard Lee, a LIV wild card, also leads, capitalising on his Sentosa course knowledge and strong putting, aiming to join a team.
- Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau join the lead, navigating tricky wind conditions at Sentosa, with Rahm building on his Hong Kong win.
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SINGAPORE – Just seven weeks ago, Lee Westwood could not even hold his putter as he was nursing an injury on his left wrist.
He had torn a wrist tendon while trying to reach 290kmh ball speed on his simulator and required about five weeks of rehabilitation, forcing him to miss the first two events of the 2026 LIV season in Riyadh and Adelaide.
After finishing tied-18th at LIV Hong Kong on March 8 – his first tournament in six months – Westwood surprised himself at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong Course on March 12.
Posting a bogey-free four-under 67 in the first round of LIV Singapore, Westwood topped the leaderboard alongside Richard Lee, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm.
The 52-year-old, who becomes the oldest LIV golfer to claim a share of the lead, said: “Five or six days before last week’s tournament was the first time I actually started hitting a few drivers and hitting it almost flat out, so I didn’t really know what to expect last week, but played well...
“To be sitting here, having had a good week last week and then be leading this week is a very pleasant surprise.”
The leading quartet has a one-shot cushion over Louis Oosthuizen, Tyrrell Hatton, Charles Howell III, Cameron Tringale, Marc Leishman, Matthew Wolff and Thomas Detry.
Defending champion Joaquin Niemann is two shots off the lead, along with nine others, including LIV Adelaide winner Anthony Kim.
Teeing off on hole No. 4, Westwood wasted no time and started the day with a birdie.
The former world No. 1 then added birdies on the 12th, 17th and 18th holes to finish with an unblemished scorecard.
But, as the round went on, the seven-time Ryder Cup winner admitted that his wrist still caused some trouble as it started to ache.
The Englishman said: “I’m having to sort of monitor how much practice I do and how many balls I hit in the warmup, try and save it all for the golf course really, which is not a bad thing this week with the heat.”
LIV wild card Lee capitalised on his knowledge of the Serapong Course, having played on it several times on the Asian Tour, where he is a three-time winner.
He started his round with a birdie on hole No. 6, after holing out from the bunker.
With his putter on fire, Lee, who needed just 26 putts in the first round, rolled in three consecutive birdies from the ninth to the 11th holes.
He then added one more birdie and a bogey to become the first wild card on LIV to hold the lead after any round.
The league’s first Canadian golfer, Lee earned full status on the circuit after winning the LIV Golf Promotions event in January.
Since joining the breakaway series, he has performed decently, achieving his best finish (joint-13th) at the season-opener in Riyadh.
Canada’s Richard Lee is the first wild card on LIV to take the lead after any round in the league.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
No wild card has won a LIV event before, but a confident Lee said “that could possibly change this week”.
One thing keeping the 35-year-old motivated is the chance to earn a spot in a team.
He said: “I feel like a little loner out there playing by myself as an individual.
“But then again, if I play my best and maybe get a win possibly, there’s a possibility I can get on a team.”
While Lee and Westwood may have been surprise leaders, Rahm has ridden the momentum from his victory in Hong Kong – his first win in 18 months.
Jon Rahm is in fine form with two second-place finishes and a win in the first three events of the 2026 season.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
The two-time Major winner, who finished second in the first two events of the season, mixed five birdies with a bogey to find himself in contention again, even as the conditions at Sentosa proved tricky.
The 31-year-old Spaniard said: “Towards our final nine holes, the wind started switching, so there was a few shots, like on 12, you could see with both Thomas (Detry) and Talor (Gooch), it was supposed to be off the left and it was dead in off the right.
“The subsequent holes with 14 and 15, it’s just not the easiest trying to guess once it’s transitioning to a different wind. In theory, it wasn’t supposed to today. I think that was the biggest test.”
Navigating the conditions frustrated American DeChambeau, who endured a mixed start with a birdie and a double-bogey in his first five holes.
But he managed to regroup and finish strong with five birdies in the last 10 holes.
Bryson DeChambeau of the United States overcoming difficult conditions at Sentosa to claim a share of the lead on the first day of LIV Singapore.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
The two-time Major champion, 32, said: “I really want to be more comfortable out there on the golf course because the putting was great.
“I got up-and-down numerous times from some tricky situations, and proud of myself for that, and that’s the way I know how to do that.
“But it was quite difficult mentally out there.”
