Phil Mickelson and his HyFlyers GC are on the verge of their first team and individual victories in LIV Golf, thanks to a remarkable performance by Brendan Steele in the second round at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide.
Steele shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday, giving him a one-shot lead over Iron Heads GC’s Danny Lee at 14 under on the individual leaderboard.
Steele acknowledged the HyFlyers’ lack of wins so far, saying, “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.” With the HyFlyers also tied for second place in the team competition, one shot behind Torque GC, the final round promises to be an intense battle.
Steele’s nine-birdie round is his best LIV Golf performance, setting the stage for a challenging Sunday with 14 players within five shots of the lead.
He noted, “It’s going to be tough because there’s a lot of birdies out there, obviously. It’s kind of a race to 20-under par I think at this point.”
The HyFlyers face competition from the battle-tested Torque GC, who won four times last season and have remained consistent this year.
Torque captain Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, and Sebastián Muñoz all shot 5-under 67s, while Carlos Ortiz’s 68 didn’t even count towards the team’s score.
Another threat comes from the local favourites, the all-Australian Ripper GC led by Cameron Smith.
Smith is tied for fifth at 11 under after a 7-under 65 on Saturday, while teammate Matt Jones is tied for ninth at 10 under.
A win for the Rippers in front of the home crowd could set off a wild celebration in South Australia.
Smith expressed the significance of a team win, saying, “I think this is a week we’ve spoke about literally the last year… for us to be in the position that we’re in after Saturday is a pretty cool spot.”
With enthusiastic support from the Adelaide fans, the final round is expected to be a dramatic shootout.
As Matt Jones described the crowd, “The amount of times people just yell out your name going down every hole, it’s unbelievable, and it’s fantastic to satisfy.”
The pressure is on, with Smith adding, “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
Standings and counting scores for Saturday’s second round of the team competition at LIV Golf Adelaide.
The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round.
The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
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 (Horsfield 68, Westwood 69, Poulter 74; Rd. 2 score -5)
ROUND 2 STATS LEADERS
Driving accuracy: Brendan Steele, Richard Bland, Graeme McDowell, Jason Kokrak, 85.71% (12 of 14 fairways hit)
Driving distance: Dustin Johnson, 325.2 yards avg.
Longest drive: Bubba Watson, 345.2 yards, 10th hole
Greens in regulation: Dean Burmester, 94.89% (16 of 18 greens)
Scrambling: Charl Schwartzel (5 of 5), Sam Horsfield (3 of 3), Graeme McDowell (3 of 3), Cameron Tringale (3 of 3), Joaquin Niemann (3 of 3), Dustin Johnson (3 of 3), Carlos Ortiz (2 of 2), Cameron Smith (2 of 2), Dean Burmester (1 of 1), 100%
Putting: Patrick Reed, Matthew Wolff, 1.33 putts per hole
Bogey-free rounds: Cameron Smith (65), Cameron Tringale (65), Dustin Johnson (66), Dean Burmester (66), Graeme McDowell (66), Charl Schwartzel (67), Sam Horsfield (68), Jinichiro Kozuma (63), Mito Pereira (65), Anirban Lahiri (65), Marc Leishman (67), Cameron Smith (68)
