Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau was on song at Sentosa’s Serapong course, opening up a three-shot lead over the chasing pack in Singapore on Friday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.
From a Correspondent
Singapore: Entering Friday, Bryson DeChambeau found himself tied atop a bunched leaderboard at Aramco LIV Golf Singapore.
After shooting the round of the week, a 6 under par 65, he sits at 10 under through 36 holes. The Crushers GC captain enters the weekend with a three-shot lead over a robust chasing pack.
After beginning his second round with back-to-back pars, DeChambeau birdied the third, fourth and eighth holes, making the turn in 32 strokes.
His back nine was smooth-sailing until the par-4 15th, when he overdrew an iron off the tee into the harbour. After taking a drop, he scrambled for a hard-earned bogey to protect his lead in the process.
DeChambeau bounced back immediately, making a birdie on 16 before finishing with six birdies, an eagle and the lone bogey on 15.
“Focus on my golf, what I can control,” said DeChambeau of his mindset entering the weekend.
“I know it’s cliche, but you can’t get too wrapped up with what everybody else is doing and making sure I’m starting it on my lines the way I need to and rolling the putts on my lines like I need to.
“Barring that, I think I can give myself a good chance.”
All-round excellence
DeChambeau is known for his big drives, but his all-around game is clicking on all cylinders this week at Sentosa.
“Golf isn’t about hitting it 400 yards. I proved that a couple years ago. You’ve got to have a good wedge game, good putting, good iron play. So, there is a balance.”
For the week, DeChambeau ranks first in the field in Strokes Gained Approach (+4.70), fourth in Strokes Gained Putting (+4.02) and 15th in Strokes Gained Off the Tee (+1.47).
“This golf course, you can’t swing it hard out here. You can hit it far, but you have to control your ball more than you can kind of just bomb it and let it go wherever,” DeChambeau explained.
DeChambeau’s closest competitors are three shots back at 7 under and include Thomas Detry, Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood and Richard T. Lee.
Detry of 4Aces GC is fresh off a runner-up finish at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong and has carried that momentum into the week in Singapore.
His round included a chip-in eagle on the 18th hole (his 16th of the day) off the back of the green from 40 yards away.
Confident approach
The Belgian in embracing the tough golf course and remains confident heading into the final two rounds.
“I’m up for the challenge,” he said. “It’s definitely a challenge out there, so anything under par is pretty good, and I managed to do that pretty well.”
Hong Kong winner Rahm continues to lurk dangerously on the leaderboard. The Legion XIII captain made 11 consecutive pars from holes 5 to 17 before finishing his round with a birdie on the par-5 18th to finish at 7 under.
“I played really good today. Felt like I played actually significantly better than yesterday, just little margins,” Rahm said.
“Couldn’t really make many putts out there today. Made that one on 6 and from then on missed a lot of birdie chances.”
Oosthuizen shot a 4 under 67 that included six birdies and two bogeys. The Southern Guards GC captain has been fuelled by a hot putter and ranks 5th in the field in Strokes Gained Putting at the halfway stage.
Maximum opportunity
“I tried to give myself as many birdie putts as possible,” said Oosthuizen. “I felt I saw the greens really good today, the lines, and rolled the putter really good.”
Westwood, in just his second start after returning from a wrist injury, continues to play steady golf. The Majesticks Golf Club co-captain shot a 3-under 68 that included five birdies and two bogeys.
Lee, who’s looking to become the first LIV Golf wild card to finish better than 12th in a tournament, shot a 3 under 68.
Matthew Wolff , Marc Leishman and Charles Howell III all shot 3 under 68s as well and are four shots back of DeChambeau at 6 under.
On the team leaderboard, the Crushers GC surged to the top after carding a cumulative 10 under for the day. They hold a three-shot lead over the first-round leaders, Legion XIII.
The champions from Hong Kong, 4Aces GC, are just one shot back of Legion XIII and four shots behind the Crushers.
G-Mac aces again
Graeme McDowell aced the 156-yard par-3 second for the 15th hole-in-one in LIV Golf history.
The Northern Irishman has now made aces in back-to-back weeks and becomes the first LIV Golf player to make two hole-in-ones in his LIV Golf career.
“It cost me a very expensive bottle of wine last week in Hong Kong, and I guess it’s going to cost me another very expensive bottle of wine, which I look forward to,” McDowell said with a smile after his round. (courtesy LIV Golf)
Leaderboards
Individual Top 10
1. (-10) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (67-65)
T2 (-7) – Thomas Detry, 4Aces (68-67); Louis Oosthuizen, Southern Guards (68-67); Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (67-68); Lee Westwood, Majesticks (67-68); Richard T. Lee, Wild Card (67-68)
T7 (-6) – Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (68-68); Marc Leishman, Ripper (68-68); Charles Howell III, Crushers (68-68)
T10 (-5) – Carlos Ortiz, Torque (69-68); Scott Vincent, Wild Card (69-68); Joaquin Niemann, Torque (69-68)
Team Top 3
1. (-15) – Crushers (DeChambeau 65, Howell III 68, Lahiri 70, Casey 71; Rd. 2 score: -10)
2. (-12) – Legion XIII (Rahm 68, Hatton 71, McKibbin 72, Surratt 72; Rd. 2 score: -1)
3. (-11) – 4Aces GC (Detry 67, Pieters 68, Johnson 69, Kim 73; Rd. 2 score: -7)
Round 2 stats
Driving Distance: Dustin Johnson, 330.8-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Dustin Johnson, 356.3 yards (18th hole)
Driving Accuracy: Joaquin Niemann, 92.86% (13 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, Richard Bland 83.33% (15 of 18)
Scrambling: Dustin Johnson (7 of 7), Martin Kaymer (7 of 7), Joaquin Niemann (3 of 3), 100%
Fewest Putts: Josele Ballester, Anthony Kim, 24
Bogey-free rounds: Martin Kaymer (70)
Also read: Four-way tie for lead after opening day at LIV Golf Singapore
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.