Robert TheodorsonThe stars continued to shine bright at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on Saturday as Bryson DeChambeau, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, and several others took advantage of beautiful weather conditions, long drives, and accurate shots to make a push for what’s shaping up to be a huge Championship Sunday.
Saturday served as a rubber match dominated by multiple major championship winners, each looking to build on, or regain their championship form less than one week before the U.S. Open at Oakmont June 12 – 14. However, it was the former champions not invited to Oakmont that dominated the top of the leaderboard at the end of Saturday.
The Top 3 going into the conclusion of LIV Virginia does not include any invitees to Oakmont, as previous major winners Watson, McDowell, and Kaymer (all three T2; 9-under par) had their qualifications run out and Anirban Lahiri not having been invited to a major since the 2023 PGA Championship.
We will see however, U.S. Open favourites Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Joaquin Niemann (all three T5: 7-under par) compete for the win at LIV Virginia before heading north to the third major championship of the year.
Joining them will be fan favourite Phil Mickelson (T5; 7-under par), who recently announced that Oakmont will likely be his last U.S. Open, marking his last opportunity to capture that one major championship that has eluded him throughout his glorious career.
On the team front, Bryson’s Crushers (1st Place; 21-under par) duelled Brooks Koepka’s Smash (2nd Place; 20-under par) throughout most the day while Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger, who started the day in seventh place, stormed back, scoring 12-under par, finishing in T4 position, will battle it out with Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces and Joaquin Niemann’s Torque for a podium finish!
Bubba Ready for Sunday Win
Watson’s near-perfect day was only marred by a single bogey on the Par 4 10th. The RangeGoats captain scored an incredible seven birdies on Saturday, catapulting himself into the T2 position.
Championship Sunday at RTJ will be the first time Bubba has a chance at truly winning a LIV tournament since joining.
One has to go all the way back to the summer of 2018 where Watson secured his last professional victory, the PGA Tour’s Travellers Championship, a tournament Bubba won for the third time in his illustrious career.
There’s more at stake here than just a regular-season victory for Bubba. As you may know, Watson ended the 2024 season in 53rd place and squarely in The Drop Zone.
Special considerations were taken to keep the captain with the league and remain leader of his team. That move, though criticised at the time, seems to have paid off as Watson has fully redeemed himself after last season’s performance.
A win in Virginia would signify that LIV was in the right bringing Watson back, and Watson can hold his head high for the remainder of his LIV career after hoisting another long-awaited trophy.
Though his RangeGoats started the day in first place, it was Watson alone who kept his team in contention.
Teammates Peter Uihlein, Ollie Schniederjans, and Ben Campbell all finished moving day over par. Currently in 7th place, a third-place podium finish is not out of the question as team scores have swung wildly once already.
Like Phil, Watson figures to be a sentimental favourite even though Anirban Lahiri currently leads the former Masters winner by two strokes.
Anirban Lahiri Makes Big Moves
Though Sunday remains, the big winner for now was Anirban Lahiri. Lahiri used Saturday to vastly improve his score with a 7-under 64, finishing the day at 11-under par and in sole possession of first place.
Lahiri, one of LIV’s original golfers, has finished in second place four times in the past four seasons, having victory snatched from him in dramatic fashion each time he had come close to putting away his first LIV victory.
Lahiri (31st) and Watson (29th), both currently in The Open Zone, are only separated by a point in the season-long individual standings.
A win in the LIV Golf League almost guarantees the individual winner a spot in The Lock Zone next season regardless of their performance for the remainder of the season.
Based on their histories, with Bubba almost being relegated last year and Anirban having his heart broken multiple times, it is difficult to tell who needs this win more.
Two very personable and likeable golfers, the crowds at LIV Virginia are sure to give both a huge round of applause tomorrow morning.
Brooks Versus Bryson
We’re not counting Brooks Koepka (T28; 1-under par) out of the race just yet, but this most recent round of Brooks vs. Bryson will be in team format as opposed to a personal showdown. Brooks’ Smash are only one stroke behind Bryson’s Crushers going into Championship Sunday.
The Crushers, winners of LIV Korea, will be looking for their second victory of the season and second consecutive win before the U.S. Open break.
To mitigate the effects of what is likely to be an extremely wet day, the new shotgun start time is 8:05 AM ET.
