Third-placed Carlos Ortiz who has helped Torque GC maintain top spot on the team leaderboard of LIV Golf Adelaide in action on Saturday. Image courtesy LIV Golf/Charles Laberge.
From a Correspondent
Adelaide, South Australia: Phil Mickelson and his HyFlyers GC have yet to celebrate a victory in LIV Golf. Now they’re one round away from a potential sweep of two trophies at LIV Golf Adelaide.
Brendan Steele shot an 8 under par 64 in Saturday’s second round at The Grange Golf Club to grab a one-shot lead at 14 under over Iron Heads GC’s Danny Lee on the individual leaderboard.
And in the team standings, the HyFlyers were tied for second place just one shot behind Torque GC.
“We’re definitely aware of it,” Steele said of the HyFlyers’ lack of trophy celebrations.
“We know everything that’s going on. We’ve talked about it. We were talking about it flying over here. Phil was like, this is the time, guys. This is our trip.”
But to complete the trip, Steele will have to hold off a pack that has 14 players within five shots of the lead, including season’s topper Joaquin Niemann, Miami titleist Dean Burmester and hometown favourite Cameron Smith.
Anirban Lahiri had a second round that contrasted with his effort on Friday, dropping three shots against four birdies for a 1 under 71. That dropped the India star from shared fourth to 15th in the standings on an 8 under total.
Off the pace
His team, the Crushers too were off the pace and the 2023 champions were down in tied sixth place on a 23 under total and left with plenty of ground left to make up on those ahead over the final 18 holes.
Steele was brilliant on Saturday, his total that included nine birdies being his best LIV Golf round. It will take a similar effort on Sunday to win his first event of any kind in seven years.
“It’s going to be tough because there’s a lot of birdies out there, obviously,” Steele said. “It’s kind of a race to 20-under par I think at this point.”
To win the team title on a Sunday in which all four scores count, the HyFlyers will have to overcome a battle-tested Torque team that won four times last season and has yet to finish outside the top five in the first five tournaments this season.
Solid contributions
On Saturday, Torque received three 5-under 67s from captain Niemann, Mito Pereira and Sebastián Muñoz, meaning Ortiz’s 68 that left him in solo third on the individual leaderboard didn’t count.
Meanwhile, there’s the looming presence of the all-Australian Ripper GC led by Smith. The captain is tied for fifth at 11 under after a 7-under 65 on Saturday, and teammate Matt Jones is tied for ninth at 10 under after shooting 68.
A year ago in Adelaide, the Rippers were a non-factor on the team leaderboard, but now they could set off a wild celebration in South Africa with a victory of any kind.
Smith, a three-time LIV Golf winner and the only one in the field yet to drop a shot, said a team victory on Sunday could be even more satisfying than individual success.
“I think so,” he said. “I think this is a week we’ve spoke about literally the last year, and for it to all happen so quickly it seems like and then for us to be in the position that we’re in after Saturday is a pretty cool spot.”
Crowd support
With tight leaderboards both individually and with the teams, the final round at The Grange promises to be an epic shootout. The X factor could be the support the Rippers have received this week.
“They’ve been unbelievable,” Jones said of the Adelaide fans. “The amount of times people just yell out your name going down every hole, it’s unbelievable, and it’s fantastic to satisfy.
“They’ve showed up to support the team this week, and hopefully tomorrow can be a really good day for us.”
Added Smith: “I think not only us but probably every other Australian wants us to do well and wants us to win tomorrow. That’s a lot of weight on the shoulders as it is, but we’re ready for tomorrow.”
Team counting scores
1. Torque GC -35 (Pereira 67, Niemann 67, Muñoz 67; Rd. 2 score -15)
T2. HyFlyers GC -34 (Steele 64, Tringale 65, Ogletree 70; Rd. 2 score -17)
T2. Iron Heads GC -34 (Na 65, Lee 67, Vincent 69; Rd. 2 score -15)
4. Ripper GC -33 (Herbert 65, Smith 65, Jones 68; Rd. 2 score -18)
5. Stinger GC -29 (Burmester 66, Oosthuizen 66, Schwartzel 67; Rd. 2 score -17)
T6. RangeGoats GC -28 (Wolff 66, Pieters 67, Watson 67; Rd. 2 score -16)
T6. Crushers GC -28 (Howell III 65, DeChambeau 68, Lahiri 71; Rd. 2 score -12)
T8. 4Aces GC -23 (Johnson 66, Reed 66, Varner III 69; Rd. 2 score -15)
T8. Legion XIII -11 (Hatton 66, Rahm 69, Surratt 69; Rd. 2 score -12)
10. Cleeks GC -20 (Bland 68, Kaymer 68, Meronk 68; Rd. 2 score -12)
11. Smash GC -19 (Koepka 66, McDowell 66, Gooch 68; Rd. 2 score -16)
12. Fireballs GC -13 (Ancer 69, Chacarra 69, Puig 69; Rd. 2 score -9)
13, Majesticks GC -8 (Horsefield 68, Westwood 69, Poulter 74; Rs 2 score -5)
Also read: Rookie Kozuma grabs Adelaide day 1 lead with Lahiri on his heels
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