Patrick Reed and playing partner punished as LIV Golf issues statement on rule break.

The opening round of the LIV Golf League Individual Championship finale saw a warning handed out to Patrick Reed before Richard Bland was penalised for his pace of play.

Former Masters champ Patrick Reed received a stern caution from the LIV Golf powers that be last Friday, while his playing buddy was slapped with a one-stroke penalty and a hefty fine.

Reed joined forces with Charles Schwartzel and Richard Bland during the initial round of the LIV’s Individual Championship finale at the Bolingbrook Golf Club in Illinois.

The American started off strongly with a two-under-par score, placing him in fourth position after the first 36 holes yet to be completed.

Schwartzel and Bland did not fare as well, finishing with scores of two-over and one-over, respectively.

However, their performances were overshadowed by the attention drawn to a group being monitored by tournament officials for slow play.

The group successfully maintained the necessary pace after only completing five holes of their round, and on the seventh hole, they received an official warning from the course officials.

The officials emphasized the importance of adhering to a strict time limit of 40 seconds for each shot.

Then came the costly hiccup for Bland. The Brit nailed a four for birdie at hole 12, a par-five, but his slow play saw him penalized one stroke. His score took a hit, changing to a five and leaving him to rue what would have been an even par day and knocking his wallet by thousands.

According to a spokesperson for LIV Golf: “In round one, the group of Charl Schwartzel, Patrick Reed and Richard Bland were officially warned by a rules official after their fifth hole of the day (hole 10), where the group was out of position on the golf course as well as behind in relation to time par.”

“After their seventh hole of the day (hole 12) the group, who had further lost position on the course, was officially timed by a rules official. In accordance with the LIV Golf League’s Pace of Play Policy, ‘A player has 40 seconds to play each stroke, with an additional 10 seconds if they are the first to play any stroke in the group’.”

During the 12th hole, Bland’s second shot took longer than allowed by the rules.

An official promptly informed Bland of the violation and imposed a one-stroke penalty, along with a $10,000 (£7,500) fine. As a result of the penalty, Bland’s final score for the par-5 14th hole was 5.

After the first round, Brooks Koepka is in the lead, having played a flawless round with a score of eight-under-par.

He currently holds a four-shot lead over Paul Casey, while Anirban Lahiri is in third place, trailing behind with a score of three-under.

This weekend will see the winner of the $18 million Individual Championship decided, with Jon Rahm appearing as the frontrunner. Rahm began with a score of 69, one under par, while his main rival Joaquin Nieman finished the round two under par.