"LIV player in the garbage" – Fans react as Thomas Pieters fires a shot into the trash at US Open 2023

Thomas Pieters' shot in the first round of the 2023 US Open landed into a trash can, prompting a variety of responses from fans online.

Pieters started the tournament with a bogey on the first hole and carded two more bogeys and two birdies on the front-nine holes as well as a bogey and a birdie on the back-nine to finish with a score of one over par 71. He tied up at 56th position following the inaugural round of the 2023 US Open.

Riggs Barstool shared a video of a volunteer looking for Pieters' ball that landed in the trash can, with the caption:

"Thomas Pieters sends one into the trash can and this volunteer at the bottom of the screen absolutely LOVES motioning that the ball did indeed go into the can."

Many fans reacted to Pieters' shot on Twitter. One fan said:

"LIV player in the garbage"

Thomas Pieters joined LIV Golf earlier this year.

Other fans compared the trash can with the Los Angeles Country Club (LACC), which received a lot of criticism for its rough greens. A user commented:

"Trash is a perfect description of this course"

Here are some more tweets from fans about the shot:

"This is his moment"

"Classic Belgian shot"

Following the conclusion of the first round of the 2023 US Open, Rickie Fowler topped the leaderboard alongside Xander Schauffele.

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LIV golfers' performance at the 2023 US Open

15 LIV golfers have been competing at the US Open which is underway at the Los Angeles Country Club (LACC) from June 15 to June 18.

Dustin Johnson, the LIV Golf Tulsa champion, finished third with Wyndham Clark with a score of under six, two shots behind the leaders. Bryson DeChambeau, another LIV golfer, tied for seventh place with Paul Barjon, Sam Bennett, Harris English, Si Woo Kim, Mackenzie Hughes, and Scottie Scheffler with a score of under three after a round of 67.

Sebastian Munoz, who had joined the LIV Golf during the second season, played the first round of the 2023 US Open with a score of 68.

Phil Mickelson finished in 25th place alongside Eric Cole, Justin Suh, Ryo Ishikawa, Viktor Hovland, Min Woo Lee, Yuto Katsuragawa, David Puig, Ryan Gerard, Sam Burns, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, and Gordon Sargent.

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All about Thomas Pieters professional career

Thomas Pieters during the 123rd U.S. Open Championship - Round One (Image via Getty )

In his sophomore year at the University of Illinois, Thomas Pieters won the Jack Nicklaus Invitational and then the NCAA Division I Championship. Before turning pro, he also won the NCAA Division I Championship in 2013.

Pieters made his professional debut on the European Tour at the Alstom Open De France, finishing 29th.

In his professional career, he has won seven competitions. He had previously competed in the US Open, finishing in 23rd place in 2020.