From a Correspondent
Westfield, Indiana: LIV Golf’s youngest player made the biggest noise Friday at LIV Golf Indianapolis Championships, while another first-year player grabbed the individual lead.
But it was one of the league’s blue bloods that took command of the team championship competition.
4Aces GC, this year’s regular-season champions, will take a five-shot lead at 31 under into the weekend at The Club at Chatham Hill, while independent wild card Richard T. Lee moved atop the individual leaderboard by one stroke.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Michael La Sasso of HyFlyers GC produced the best round of his career, shooting a bogey-free 10 under par 60 that ties for the lowest score by any player in the league this season.
“Just found a good zone,” said La Sasso, who opened with a 1 over 71 but is now tied for fifth at 9 under.
“I called my coach (Chase Duncan) who was here beginning of the week and I was like , I didn’t really feel like I was that far off yesterday.
“Today, I didn’t feel like I did much different. A couple putts dropped, and next thing you know it’s an 11-shot difference. Kind of a funny game we play.”
It’s serious business for the 4Aces as they seek to become the first team to win two team championships.
Thomas Detry shot a 6 under 64 to move into a tie for second individually, with captain Dustin Johnson joining him there after a 66.
Solid unit
Detry’s fellow Belgian Thomas Pieters shot a 65 and is tied for fifth, with Anthony Kim contributing a 67 as the Aces combined to shoot 18 under Friday.
The 4Aces won the league’s first-ever team title in 2022 and have been the best regular season team in three of the league’s first five years.
With Johnson revamping his lineup this season with the additions of Detry and Kim, the 4Aces won three tournament titles and now are in pole position through 36 holes to claim the biggest prize of the season.
“To be honest, when I joined the league, I didn’t realise how much fun team golf was going to be,” Detry said.
“… We finished no. 1 in the season-long rankings, so I think it would be well-deserved to get this Team Championship win this week.”
Added Johnson: “Obviously we’ve got a really good team. We’ve played well all year. It was nice to get the season-long victory. But we’ve got one more event left, two more days, so a lot can happen. But we’re in a good position right now.”
Meanwhile, it’s a player without a team – Lee, who earned entry into the league as a Wild Card with a dominant performance at LIV Golf Promotions in January – who climbed to the top of the individual leaderboard.
Following up
He followed his opening 7 under 63 with a 66 on Friday to move to 11 under, one shot ahead of Detry, Johnson and Majesticks GC’s Laurie Canter, the first-round leader who followed his 62 with a 68.
Lee nearly became the first wild card player to win a LIV Golf tournament earlier this season at Singapore, finishing second after losing to Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau in a playoff.
That remains the best result by any wild card but Lee – the first Canadian player to compete on LIV Golf – is determined to finish his first year on a high note with a victory.
“I don’t want to think too ahead for myself, but yeah, definitely a victory would be amazing,” said Lee, who has been flawless through the first two rounds outside of a two-hole stretch in the middle of Friday’s round with consecutive bogeys.
“It’s always been a dream to play with these guys and have a big victory out there. Hopefully, if I win, I have a little surprise for my wife this week.”
Title race
Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm has already wrapped up his third consecutive individual title but the two other bonus-paying positions remain up for grabs among no. 2 DeChambeau, no. 3 Joaquin Niemann, no. 4 Lucas Herbert and no. 5 Tyrrell Hatton.
Niemann is tied for fifth on the individual leaderboard at 9 under, while DeChamberau is tied for 15th at 7 under.
Hatton is T20 at 6 under and Herbert is T29 at 5 under.
That leaves DeChambeau – who is guaranteed no worse than a third-place finish in the final standings – and Niemann still projected to claim the podium spots behind Rahm. (courtesy LIV Golf)
Leaderboards
Individual Top 10
1. (-11) – Richard T. Lee, Wild Card (63-66)
T2 (-10) – Thomas Detry, 4Aces (66-64); Dustin Johnson, 4Aces (64-66); Laurie Canter, Majesticks (62-68)
T5 (-9) – Thomas Pieters, 4Aces (66-65); Abraham Ancer, Torque (66-65); Michael La Sasso, HyFlyers (71-60); Joaquin Niemann, Torque (64-67); Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (66-65); Lee Westwood, Majesticks (64-67); Cameron Smith, Ripper (63-68)
Team Top 3
1. (-31) – 4Aces GC (Detry 66-64, Johnson 64-66, Pieters 66-65, Kim 71-67; Rd. 2 score: -18)
2. (-26) – Torque GC (Ancer 66-65, Niemann 65-67, Ortiz 68-67, Munoz 70-67; Rd. 2 score: -14)
T3 (-25) – HyFlyers GC (La Sasso 71-60, Steele 64-68, Vincent 66-68, Tringale 68-70; Rd. 2 score: -14); Majesticks GC (Canter 62-68, Westwood 64-67, Poulter 68-66, Horsfield 69-71; Rd. 2 score: -8); Ripper GC (Smith 63-68, Herbert 66-69, Leishman 66-67, Smyth 70-66; Rd. 2 score: -10)
Day 2 stats
Driving Distance: David Puig, 339.8-yard avg.
Longest Drive:David Puig, 350-8 yards (18th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 8 and 18.
Driving Accuracy:Lee Westwood, Marc Leishman, Byeong Hun An, Sebastián Muñoz, 100% (14 of 14)
Greens in Regulation:Ollie Schniederjans, 94.44% (17 of 18)
Scrambling:Luis Masaveu (7 of 7), Michael La Sasso (5 of 5); Marc Leishman (5 of 5); Charles Howell III (4 of 4), 100%
Fewest Putts: Michael La Sasso, 21
Bogey-free rounds:Michael La Sasso (60), Charles Howell III (66), Luis Masaveu (66), Marc Leishman (67)
Also read: Canter powers Majesticks to individual, team leads at Indy
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