At 22, the league’s youngest player, Michael La Sasso of Hyflyers GC hits a shot on his way into the third round lead of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Indiana, on Saturday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.
From a Correspondent
Westfield, Indiana: Michael La Sasso is LIV Golf’s youngest player at age 22. Richard Bland is the league’s oldest active player at 53.
On Sunday, they’ll be matched in the final group of the LIV Golf Indianapolis Championships, an intriguing development entering the last round of the 2026 season.
La Sasso, who turned pro prior to the season to join HyFlyers GC, followed up his second-round 60 with a 4 under par 66 in Saturday’s third round to move to 13 under.
It’s the first time he has held the lead entering the final round of a tournament since May 2025 when he won the NCAA Division I Individual Championship while attending Ole Miss.
“I’m happy to be in this spot,” said La Sasso, who could become the youngest winner ahead of Eugenio Chacarra (Bangkok, 2022) in league history if he claims the title on Sunday.
“It’s definitely been a while. I’m excited more than anything. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but I’m ecstatic that I’m at this point.”
Four players are within one shot of the lead, including Bland, the Cleeks GC veteran who is one of just six players to have played every regular-season round in the league’s history.
First title
Bland will be looking for his first LIV Golf win and his first victory of any kind since winning two senior majors in 2024. He and fellow Englishman Laurie Canter will be in the final group with La Sasso.
“The youngest and the oldest,” said Bland, who bounced back from an opening double bogey Saturday to shoot 5 under 65.
“I’m sure he’ll be 50 yards past me off the tee. He’s a great kid. I’ve played with Michael a couple of times this year. You can see he’s got a huge amount of talent. He’s got a great future … Hopefully there’s a little life in the old man yet.”
Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith and 4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry were also tied for second at 12 under and will be in the penultimate group along with Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia, who joins teammate Josele Ballester and Korean Golf Club’s Younghan Song at 11 under.
Six players were tied at 10 under, including Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm – who has clinched his third consecutive individual championship – and Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau, who is seeking to retain second place in the season-long standings.
It’s an ecletic leaderboard, with 11 teams represented by players inside the top 10. Of the 15 players within three shots of the lead, 10 have yet to win a LIV Golf individual trophy.
“Seriously, a bunched leaderboard,” said Canter, who followed his opening 62 with a pair of 68s.
Cool story
“In terms of the field, I hadn’t realised obviously you’ve got maybe the oldest guy at LIV and the youngest guys at LIV. That’s a pretty cool story.
“I find myself rooting a bit for La Sasso because I think he’s a really funny kid. He’s obviously adjusting to life as a pro, and I obviously want to beat him tomorrow, but I kind of look at him on the board thinking, ‘Go on. Keep it up.
“There’s a few good storylines out there. It’s cool that potentially we’ll get somebody who hasn’t won an event win tomorrow. Obviously I’d love for it to be me.”
Sunday’s final round will also decide the 2026 team championship. Legion XIII, two-time winners this season and the defending champions, moved to the top of the leaderboard at 34 under.
The HyFlyers, who have never won a team trophy, were one shot back. Ripper GC were 31 under, while 4Aces GC, the regular-season champions, were 30 under.
Ten of the 13 teams were within 11 shots of the lead, a manageable margin given that all four scores count for every round.
“I know we’ve had a good year this year,” said Smith, whose all-Australian team have won three times and finished second in points. “To finish it off with a win would be nice.”
La Sasso, meanwhile, would certainly like to end his first season on LIV Golf with a victory. At 22 and playing just his 12th LIV Golf event, he’s already getting anxious to post that first professional win.
“There’s a lot of young guys doing a lot of good stuff,” he said. “I’m friends with pretty much all of them. I would say it definitely fuels the fire.
“There’s been countless guys that I played with in college that have already won professionally now. If I could add my name to the resume, that would be pretty sweet.” (courtesy LIV Golf)
Leaderboards
Individual top 10
1. (-13) – Michael La Sasso, HyFlyers (71-60-66)
T2 (-12) –Laurie Canter, Majesticks (62-68-68); Richard Bland, Cleeks (66-67-65); Cameron Smith, Ripper (63-68-67); Thomas Detry, 4Aces (66-64-68)
T6 (-11) – Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (64-69-66); Bubba Watson, RangeGoats (64-68-67); Josele Ballester, Fireballs (66-68-65); Younghan Song, Korean (67-67-65)
T10 (-10) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (65-68-67); Thomas Pieters, 4Aces (66-65-69); Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (66-68-66): Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (67-67-66); Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (66-65-69); Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (64-68-68)
Team Top 3
1. (-34) – Legion XIII (Hatton 67-67-68, McKibbin 67-69-66, Rahm 67-67-66, Surratt 64-69-69); Rd. 3 score: -11)
2. (-33) – HyFlyers GC (La Sasso 71-60-66, Steele 64-68-69, Vincent 66-68-66, Tringale 68-70-71; Rd. 3 score: -8)
3. (-31) – Ripper GC (Herbert 66-69-71, Leishman 66-67-68, Smith 63-68-67, Smyth 70-66-68; Rd. 3 score: -6)
Day 3 stats
Driving Distance: Dustin Johnson, 336.6-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Dustin Johnson, 371.2 yards (8th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 8 and 18.
Driving Accuracy: Bjorn Hellgren, 100% (14 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Charles Howell III, 88.89% (16 of 18)
Scrambling:Minkyu Kim (8 of 8), Adrian Meronk (7 of 7), Cameron Smith (6 of 6), Younghan Song (5 of 5), Jon Rahm (5 of 5), Travis Smyth (5 of 5), Talor Gooch (3 of 3), Tom McKibbin (3 of 3), 100%
Fewest Putts: Brendan Steele, Minkyu Kim, Charl Schwartzel, 23
Bogey-free rounds: Minkyu Kim (66), Tom McKibbin (66), Adrian Meronk (66), Jon Rahm (66)
Also read: Wild card Lee races ahead at LIV Golf Indy as 4Aces go up too
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