Lucas Herbert of Ripper GC tees off during the third round of LIV Golf United Kingdom at the JCB Golf & Country Club in Rochester on Saturday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.
From a Correspondent
Rochester, England: The winds increased on Saturday and Lucas Herbert’s lead decreased – but only slightly. The Ripper GC star still owns a healthy advantage as he chases his second wire-to-wire win of the season.
Herbert shot a third-round 3 under 69 in challenging conditions at JCB Golf & Country Club to move to 20 under, three strokes ahead of Bryson DeChambeau (-17) entering Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf United Kingdom Presented by JCB.
Tyrrell Hatton (-15) was five shots back in solo third while Herbert’s Ripper captain Cameron Smith (-14) was further stroke adrift in fourth after tying a league-record with eight consecutive birdies on his back nine.
Harold Varner III and Abraham Ancer were tied for fifth at 13-under, with Ancer posting the low round of the day, a 7 under 65 with Byeong Hun An sole seventh at 11 under.
Marc Leishman, Caleb Surrattand Charles Howell III were tied for eighth at 9 under, and Peter Uihlein, Scott Vincentand Adrian Meronk shared 11th at 8 under.
The team leaderboard told much the same story as the individual race.
The Rippers led on 41-under, powered by Herbert’s total and and the brilliant 66 from Smith, with Marc Leishman contributing steadily throughout the week.
Crushers GC were second on 32 under behind DeChambeau, with Charles Howell IIIproviding solid support. Legion XIII held third place at 29 under, buoyed by Hatton’s steady play, with Torque GCrounding out the top four at 19 under.
Tough grind
“It’s a bit of a grind out there,” said Herbert, who won his first LIV Golf individual title two months ago in Virginia and opened this week’s tournament with an 11-under 61 in more benign conditions.
“I think it’s played progressively tougher each day with the wind sort of picking up and the course drying out quite a bit. Pretty happy to get off the course with a three-shot lead.”
Herbert took a four-shot lead into Saturday and fought hard to prevent his chasers from gaining substantial ground.
When he rolled in a seven-foot birdie putt on his last hole, it meant more than just gaining another stroke on the field – especially after DeChambeau had birdied the previous two holes.
“Bryson picked up a bit of energy there birdieing 16 and 17 and closing the gap,” said the 30-year-old Australian, who will play with DeChambeau in the final group for the third consecutive round on Sunday.
“Feel like three shots is a lot bigger than two, mentally, by more than just one stroke. That was kind of why I was pretty pumped when I made that putt.”
Smith produced the most electric round with his string of eight birdies, which matches the record set by Torque GC’s Sebastian Munoz, who made eight straight birdies in the opening round last year in Indianapolis en route to shooting 59.
Near misses
Smith nearly aced both par 3s during the streak and needed only one lengthy birdie putt, a 50-footer at the 15th hole.
All his other birdie putts were 11 feet or less, as he needed just nine putts on the back nine, a league record. The 2022 Open champion said it was the first time in his career he carded eight consecutive birdies.
“Just got in the groove really and hit a few nice shots and hit a few ugly ones and got away with it,” he said. “A bit of luck on the side never hurts. It just kind of all happened.”
It may all happen for his teammate Herbert on Sunday, who is in terrific form after his win in Virginia and his tie for sixth last week at The Open Championship, his best-ever major result. This week, he’s led after 53 of the first 54 holes.
“I’d love a repeat of Virginia tomorrow,” he said. “We can draw a lot of comparisons with some of the scores and the leads at different stages, but I know I can do it tomorrow. It’s just about going and executing and getting it done.”
The Rippers also saw their nine-shot team advantage disappear quickly on Saturday, as they shot a collective 6 over through the first four holes while Crushers GC started off hot.
But then the Rippers regained their footing while Smith supplied the hot hand with his eight consecutive birdies on the back nine.
It left the Rippers at the same place they started the day – nine strokes ahead of the Crushers, as the Aussies seek their third tournament win of the season.
“I wouldn’t say we’re all streaky players, but when we get going, we get going,” Smith said. “It’s cool to see that team leaderboard when everyone’s on because it’s just like one after the other.”
Wind threat
Meanwhile, gusts of up to 34 mph were forecast for the final round. The wind helped make the course tougher on Saturday, with a stroke average of 71.53, a half-stroke higher than either of the previous two rounds.
Are gusty conditions more advantageous to Herbert or his chasers?
“It’s a great question that I just don’t even know, if I’m being honest,” said DeChambeau, Herbert’s closest pursuer.
“It could be good; it could be bad. If you get a couple good breaks in some softer conditions and you flare a drive and it stays in the fairway, maybe. Or you hit the ball and it stays on the face. There’s numerous things that can happen.
“With it being windy out here, it definitely made it more difficult, I thought, for the guys behind, but I felt like I had nothing to lose.”
Added Hatton in solo third: “It all depends how Lucas starts tomorrow really. If he starts off really well, then that definitely makes it a much tougher job.
“Then the opposite way, if he doesn’t get off to the start that he wants to and a few of the guys behind, we can make some birdies, then obviously the gap closes fairly quickly.
“It’s quite quirky out there, so it’s easy to get a little bit unlucky with some of the slopes. And you don’t really have to do too much wrong to drop shots. We’ll see how it goes.”
As for Herbert’s perspective, he understands the big names that are lurking behind him will not make it easy.
“You’re definitely wary of the guys in the pack because they’re great players,” he said. “They’re playing great today. You’d expect them to play well tomorrow. I know, if I was in that position I’d have the mentality there’s nothing to lose.” (courtesy LIV Golf)
Leaderboards
Individual Top 10
1. (-20) – Lucas Herbert, Ripper (61-66-69)
2. (-17) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (64-67-68)
3. (-15) – Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII (66-68-67)
4. (-14) – Cameron Smith, Ripper (69-67-66)
T5 (-13) –Abraham Ancer, Torque (68-70-65); Harold Varner III, OKGC (66-69-68)
7. (-11) – Byeong Hun An, Korean (67-68-70)
T8 (-9) – Marc Leishman, Ripper (68-68-71); Caleb Surratt, Legion XIII (68-69-70); Charles Howell III, Crushers (68-70-69)
Team Top 3
1. (-41) – Ripper GC (Herbert 61-66-69, Leishman 68-68-71; Smith 69-67-66; Smyth 71-69-78; Rd. 3 score: -4)
2. (-32) – Crushers GC (DeChambeau 64-67-68, Howell III 68-70-69, Lahiri 68-69-75, Casey 73-69-72; Rd. 3 score: -4)
3. (-29) – Legion XIII (Hatton 66-68-67, Surratt 68-69-70, McKibbin 73-70-70, Rahm 73-70-71; Rd. 3 score: -10)
Day 3 stats
Driving Distance: Dean Burmester, 315.2-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Laurie Canter, 339.8 yards (8th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 8 and 10.
Driving Accuracy: Marc Leishman, 78.57% (11 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Marc Leishman, Laurie Canter, Tom McKibbin, Sergio Garcia, 83.33% (15 of 18)
Scrambling: Joaquin Niemann (5 of 5), Lucas Herbert (4 of 4), 100%
Fewest Putts: Cameron Smith, Abraham Ancer, 23
Bogey-free rounds: Joaquin Niemann (68)
Also read: Herbert and the Rippers hold a healthy edge at LIV Golf UK
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