4Aces take Rd. 2 lead in Singapore; Johnson, Niemann on top

SINGAPORE – Three seasons after first battling for a LIV Golf individual title, Dustin Johnson and Joaquin Niemann enter Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf Singapore presented by Aramco ready for another duel.

Niemann, the Torque GC captain, shot the best score in Saturday’s second round at Sentosa Golf Club, a 7-under 64 to grab a share of the lead with Johnson, the 4Aces GC captain who followed his opening 63 with a 3-under 68. The two are at 11 under, three shots better than their closest pursuers.

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Johnson’s team owns a five-stroke lead over Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC in the team competition as the 4Aces hope to end a drought of 22 consecutive tournaments without a win. Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC are in third place, eight strokes off the lead, as they seek a third consecutive tournament victory.

Johnson and Niemann are in the leaders’ group in the final round for the first time since Niemann made his LIV Golf debut in Boston during the 2022 Invitational Series season. Johnson posted his first LIV Golf individual win that week by rolling in a dramatic eagle putt in a playoff that included Niemann.

Recalled Niemann: “I still remember that day. It was my first week on LIV. He got it going, I got it going. I felt like I was the leader for a few holes, and he birdied back and then made an amazing putt on the playoff hole.”

While they have competed in the same group in subsequent LIV Golf tournaments, they’ve yet to duel with the lead entering the final round. The two players are among the most decorated in LIV Golf’s young history, with three individual tournament wins each as well as multiple team victories.

“It’s always fun playing with DJ,” Niemann said. “I’m excited for that tomorrow.”

There are plenty of chasers hoping to catch the two with a hot round Sunday, including four players tied for third at 8 under who are each after their first LIV Golf victory.

Niemann’s Torque teammate Sebastián Muñoz continued his fine play with a 3-under 68 and finds himself inside the top five of the leaderboard for the eighth time after 11 rounds this season.

Ripper GC’s Lucas Herbert remains his team’s best performing player this season, shooting a 5-under 66.

Smash GC’s Jason Kokrak also shot 66 and hopes to join teammates Talor Gooch (2023) and captain Brooks Koepka (2024) as Singapore individual winners.

“Good vibes with two teammates that have already won here,” Kokrak said. “I know the golf course well enough. I know what to do. It’s just going out there and actually doing it.”

Cameron Tringale shot his second consecutive 67 to lead the resurgent HyFlyers. Last week in Hong Kong, Mickelson posted his first individual podium finish as the HyFlyers tied for third as a team.

Tringale has not yet won an individual title and the HyFlyers have never won as a team. Sunday in Sentosa could be a special day if they can rally.

“We all just want it so bad,” Tringale said. “We want to prove to people that we’re a legitimate team. There’s no reason we can’t do it. We’re all excited about the chance.”

The 4Aces, meanwhile, want to return to the dominant force that won five times – including the Team Championship – in the inaugural eight-tournament 2022 season, and then twice in 2023 before the drought began.

“The competition is so good out here,” Johnson said. “The quality of players from top to bottom is pretty high. To win as a team, it's really tough.”

Outdueling the red-hot Niemann, who already has one win this season in Adelaide, will be equally difficult.

“He's been playing great this season,” Johnson said. “It's going to be a tough challenge tomorrow.”

TEAM SCORES

LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. (Click here for more on the new format). Here are the results and scores for each team after Saturday’s Rd. 2 of LIV Golf Singapore.

1. 4ACES GC -20 (Pieters 67, Johnson 68, Varner III 70, Reed 73; Rd. 2: -6)

2. HYFLYERS GC -15 (Tringale 67, Mickelson 68, Steele 68, Ogletree 76; Rd. 2: -5)

T3. FIREBALLS GC -12 (Puig 69, Ancer 70, Garcia 70, Masaveu 70; Rd. 2: -5)

T3. TORQUE GC -12 (Niemann 64, Muñoz 68, Ortiz 73, Pereira 79; Rd. 2: Even)

5. LEGION XIII -9 (McKibbin 67, Rahm 70, Surratt 70, Hatton 73; Rd. 2: -4)

6. IRON HEADS GC -8 (Na 67, Jang 69, Le 69, Catlin 73; Rd. 2: -6)

T7. CRUSHERS GC -5 (DeChambeau 65, Casey 69, Howell III 72, Lahiri 72; Rd. 2: -6)

T7. SMASH GC -5 (Kokrak 66, Koepka 69, McDowell 71, Gooch 74; Rd. 2: -4)

7. RIPPER GC -5 (Herbert 66, Jones 70, Smith 70, Leishman 76; Rd. 2: -2)

10. STINGER GC -4 (Oosthuizen 70, Schwartzel 70, Grace 72, Burmester 73; Rd. 2: +1)

11. RANGEGOATS GC -2 (Campbell 67, Wolff 67, Watson 74, Uihlein 76; Rd. 2: Even)

12. MAJESTICKS GC +15 (Poulter 71, Stenson 71, Horsfield 74, Westwood 75; Rd. 2: +7)

13. CLEEKS GC +20 (Bland 70, Kjettrup 74, Kaymer 75, Meronk 75; Rd. 2: +10)

Wild Cards: Lee 71, Kim 73

ROUND 2 NOTES

NIEMANN SEEKING NO. 1: Joaquin Niemann is projected to move atop the Individual Championship standings with a win Sunday, and that would be a huge help in his quest to play all four majors this season.

Niemann entered Singapore less than 10 points behind Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia, the leader in the Individual Championship standings after his win last week in Hong Kong.

The Individual Champion points leader after LIV Golf Korea in May earns exemption into the U.S. Open in June at Oakmont. Niemann is set for the other three majors this year but not the U.S. Open.

“First of all, I want to obviously win the tournament,” said Niemann, who led the points standings for most of last season until being caught late in the year by Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm, “and then I think all the rest will pay for itself. But it's definitely on my mind.

Of the top 11 players in the current standings, only Rahm (No. 2) is guaranteed a U.S. Open spot.

KOKRAK AND THE 15TH: The 428-yard par-4 15th is the second hardest hole on the course in the first two rounds. For Jason Kokrak, it’s prevented him from sharing the lead.

The Smash GC veteran double-bogeyed the 15th in Friday’s opening round, then bogeyed it again Saturday. Take those three strokes away, and Kokrak would be tied at 11 under instead of chasing at 8 under.

“It’s just one that doesn’t suit me off an up-slope with water on the left and bail out,” Kokrak said. “Everybody does it.”

Kokrak finished each of his first two rounds on that hole. On Sunday, he will finish on the 18th hole. Asked if he was happy not to finish on 15, his response was succinct: “Yes.”

DJ’S TWO BOGEYS: After a bogey-free 63 on Friday, Dustin Johnson suffered two bogeys on Saturday. Neither shook his confidence and each was easily explainable.

At the par-4 10th, he was trying to hit his tee shot short of the bunker, but his ball flew past it, giving him a poor lie in the rough. “I got a wind switch before it flew way too far,” he said.

At the par-4 12th, his drive ended in the first cut and his ball had mud on it. Since he wasn’t in the fairway, he wasn’t allowed to take advantage of the lift, clean and place rules in effect. The mud impacted his approach shot.

“Thought I was going to move it right and it went straight,” he said. “Just made two kind of easy bogeys. Obviously, this golf course, you can do that. But still pleased with the way I swung it.”

JOACO’S GOOD-LUCK BRACELET: Joaquin Niemann is wearing a wristband given to him by a young fan prior to starting Friday’s first round. It has remained on his wrist the first two days and he doesn’t plan to change now as the co-leader. “I will see if it’s a lucky charm,” he said.

RAHM TIES RECORD: Jon Rahm birdied two of his final six holes to shoot a 1-under 70 and tie Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau for the LIV Golf record for the most consecutive rounds under par. Rahm’s streak is now 20 and he can move into sole possession of the record with another sub-par round Sunday.

BOUNCE BACKS: Bryson DeChambeau shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 – the second-lowest score of the day – to bounce back from his opening 74 that included a single birdie. DeChambeau is at 3 under and tied for 21st. Legion XIII’s Tom McKibbin shot a 67 after his opening 74 and is at 1 under, tied for 25th. RangeGoats GC’s Matthew Wolff shot a 67 after his opening 76 and is tied for 35th at 1 over.

ROUND 2 STATS LEADERS

Driving accuracy: Joaquin Niemann, 92.86% (13 of 14 fairways hit)

Driving distance: Matthew Wolff, 350.1 yards avg.

Longest drive: Matthew Wolff, 369.6 yards, 18th hole

Greens in regulation: Sebastián Muñoz, Tom McKibbin, Sergio Garcia, 88.89% (16 of 18 greens)

Scrambling: 5 players at 100%, led by Abraham Ancer, 6 of 6

Putting: Ben Campbell, Lee Westwood, 1.33 putts per hole

Bogey-free rounds: Bryson DeChambeau (65), Lucas Herbert (66), Kevin Na (67), Abraham Ancer (70)