Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia plays off the fairway on his way into a share of the lead alongside Paul Casey of the Crushers and Peter Uihlein of the RangeGoats in Hong Kong on Saturday. Image courtesy livgolf.com.
From a Correspondent
Hong Kong: Peter Uihlein grabbed a share of the lead on Saturday at LIV Golf Hong Kong thanks to a rollercoaster 6 under par 64. Ultimately, that up-and-down round was a good thing for the rest of the field.
The RangeGoats GC star produced one eagle and eight birdies but suffered four bogeys to finish at 11 under and keep the competition tight.
He enters Sunday’s final round at Hong Kong Golf Club tied with Crushers GC’s Paul Casey and Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia for the lead, three shots ahead of their nearest chasers.
“I just watched the Peter Uihlein show today,” said Casey, who shot a 66 on Saturday and has yet to make a bogey this week.
“It was impressive stuff. I’m very happy that I’m sitting here tied for the lead. … If Pete had not made a bogey today, he’d be about five shots ahead because of his firepower,”
“I kind of just view it as entertainment,” said Uihlein. “Obviously I don’t like making bogeys, but I guess the adversity that kind of comes with it, I enjoy that. I enjoy the moment.”
Torque GC’s Mito Pereira also enjoyed a moment on Saturday with the 10th hole in one in LIV Golf history on the 149-yard second hole.
Leading role
Pereira shot a 64 to lead his team to the top of the leaderboard at 25 under, two strokes ahead of Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII and Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC.
Torque and Legion XIII have won multiple LIV Golf tournaments, but the HyFlyers have yet to break through as a team. Mickelson also has a chance at an individual title; he’s tied for fourth with two Torque players, Pereira and Sebastián Muñoz.
The last time Mickelson won a tournament, he made history, winning the 2021 PGA Championship at age 51 to become the oldest golfer to win a men’s major.
While he would love to win the LIV Golf individual title, he says a team victory on Sunday would be even more special.
“The experience of sharing it with teammates … I think that would probably mean a little more, which is very unusual to say in a game that’s such an individual sport,” Mickelson said.
Mickelson, LIV Golf’s most decorated player with 57 career wins and a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame, enters the final round in his best position after any LIV Golf round.
Mickelson’s opening round Friday was a 3 under 67 that included seven birdies and four bogeys. Saturday’s 65 included seven birdies and two bogeys.
From Mickelson’s perspective, the math is simple as he chases his first individual LIV Golf title.
“Tomorrow I’ve got to make seven birdies and have no bogeys, and I’ve got a shot at winning this tournament,” Mickelson said.
Less stress
“Minimizing the mistakes allows me to not have to make as many birdies and to play a much easier style of game. I should say less stressful style. That’s what I’m looking at doing.”
At 54, Mickelson admits he can no longer go toe-to-toe with the game’s biggest hitters and thus must find a different way to win. The 6,711-yard Hong Kong Golf Club layout is well-suited for his new approach.
“I’ve been fighting it the last three years trying to play the way I’ve always played, and as the courses get longer and the players get longer and I’m not staying with it,” he said. “I just have to find another way to play golf courses.”
Like Mickelson, Uihlein and Casey are each seeking their first LIV Golf individual title.
Unlike Mickelson, both have celebrated multiple LIV Golf wins from a team standpoint. But Uihlein is tired of knocking on the individual door.
“I’ve had four runners-up, so getting that first win would be awesome,” said Uihlein, a two-time winner on The International Series.
“I think that’s kind of the goal at the start of every year is to get a win. To get a team win would be nice as well, but an individual win would be fantastic.”
Casey, who has won 21 titles in 13 different countries in his career and came close last year at LIV Golf Hong Kong when he reached a three-man playoff, was asked what a win on Sunday might mean.
Special feeling
“Every win is special, from the most recent to the very first that I ever had,” he said. “Hopefully, I can answer that again tomorrow.”
Garcia’s Fireballs won the most recent LIV Golf tournament in Adelaide. Last year at LIV Golf Andalucía, Garcia won the individual title in a playoff against Anirban Lahiri of the Crushers and was part of the team win on his favourite course, Valderrama.
He matched Uihlein’s 64 on Saturday but did it with less stress, going bogey-free.
“It’s an ideal kind of golf course,” Garcia said of Hong Kong Golf Club. “It’s an old-style, traditional kind of style, which I love.
“It’s a similar course to what you might see in like Valderrama or something like that that I’ve always enjoyed. Very happy to be here and playing and doing well. We’ll give it another shot tomorrow.” (courtesy LIV Golf)
Round 2 scores
1. Torque GC -25 (Pereira 64, Muñoz 67, Niemann 68, Ortiz 68; Rd. 2 score: -13)
T2. Legion XIII -23 (Surratt 62, Rahm 64, McKibbin 66, Hatton 67; Rd. 2 score: -21)
T2. HyFlyers GC -23 (Tringale 64, Mickelson 65, Ogletree 67, Steele 70; Rd. 2 score: -14)
4. Fireballs GC -22 (Garcia 64, Ancer 65, Puig 67, Masaveu 73; Rd. 2 score: -11)
5. Crushers GC -20 (Casey 66, Lahiri 66, DeChambeau 67, Howell III 73; Rd. 2 score: -8)
6. Stinger GC -19 (Oosthuizen 65, Grace 66, Burmester 67, Schwartzel 67; Rd. 2 score: -15)
7. RangeGoats GC -18 (Uihlein 64, Campbell 68, Watson 68, Wolff 69; Rd. 2 score: -11)
8. Ripper GC -16 (Herbert 66, Leishman 66, Smith 68, Jones 69; Rd. 2 score: -11)
9. Smash GC -12 (McDowell 65, Koepka 65, Kokrak 65, Gooch 70; Rd. 2 score: -15)
T10. Cleeks GC -10 (Meronk 67, Bland 68, Kaymer 68, Kjettrup 69; Rd. 2 score: -8)
T10. Majesticks GC -10 (Westwood 67, Poulter 70, Stenson 70, Horsfield 71; Rd. 2 score: -2)
12. 4Aces GC -7 (Reed 65, Varner III 68, Pieters 69, Johnson 72; Rd. 2 score: -6)
13. Iron Heads GC -6 (Na 67, Schniederjans 70, D. Lee 71, Jang 75; Rd. 2 score: +3)
Wild Cards: C. Lee 69, Kim 68
Round 2 stats
Driving accuracy: Bryson DeChambeau, 100% (14 of 14 fairways hit)
Driving distance: Yubin Jang, 340.2 yards avg.
Longest drive: Yubin Jang, 343.6 yards, 13th hole
Greens in regulation: Jon Rahm, 94.44% (17 of 18 greens)
Scrambling: 8 players at 100%, led by Mito Pereira, 6 of 6
Putting: Peter Uihlein 1.33 putts per hole
Bogey-free rounds: Caleb Surratt (62), Sergio Garcia (64), Mito Pereira (64), Jason Kokrak (65), Paul Casey (66), Branden Grace (66), Tom McKibbin (66), Tyrrell Hatton (67)
Also read: Casey and the Crushers set day one pace at LIV Golf Hong Kong
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