Rd. 2 News and Notes: Rippers want a bye in Team Championship
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – Jon Rahm jumped out in front on Day 2 of LIV Golf Greenbrier, but there were plenty of other interesting news, notes and stats from Saturday's second round.
RELATED: Rahm in position for second LIV Golf title; Ripper GC ahead by 4
RIPPERS WANT A BYE: Thanks to two team wins this season, Ripper GC entered this week ranked third in the team points standings. The all-Australian team would love to maintain that position, since the top three teams after next month’s LIV Golf Chicago earn a first-round bye for the Dallas Team Championship the following week.
The Rippers made a strong move Saturday with a counting score of 20 under, which matches the best performance of any team this season in the first two rounds in which three scores count. Ripper will enter Sunday’s final round with a one-shot lead over Smash GC. A victory would go a long way in securing a bye.
“That was a goal at the start of the week was to try and lock up that top three for Dallas,” said Marc Leishman. “This week we've got a chance to do it. We got knocked out on Friday last year in Miami, so it would be nice to not have to play Friday this year and take that out of the equation.”
Added Captain Cameron Smith: “It’s definitely one you want to get. It’s nice to start in the second round, nice to get another day of prep and just kind of another day of relaxation. Another day off does a world of wonders. We’re all thinking about it. Hopefully we can go out there and get our third win.”
The Rippers also have a chance to claim their first individual title this year. Lucas Herbert is tied for second at 12 under, and Leishman and Smith are both at 11 under.
Leishman is playing for the first time since having to withdraw in UK due to emergency appendicitis surgery. “Probably not quite 100%, but pretty close to it,” he said. “Can still go at it. I'm just a little bit sore at the end of the day. But that's probably expected. It's not even three weeks today since the surgery. I've been told I can't do any damage, so feeling good.”
Meanwhile, Smith would love to win his fourth LIV Golf career title, especially since it’s on his 31st birthday. He’s never won a tournament on his birthday. Asked what the celebration might be like, he said, “If I'm honest, I think there's going to be a couple of drinks tomorrow night either way, but it would definitely make them taste a little bit better.”
BLAND’S PERSPECTIVE: 51-year-old Richard Bland of Cleeks GC won both the Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open this season, but he said a LIV Golf individual title Sunday would be career-defining.
“I think you would have to put it above everything, personally, I think, just because of the standard of the players that you're playing against,” Bland said. “Obviously I don't mean that in any way to play down a senior major. Obviously, that's still a great achievement. But to look at the leaderboard that's in front of you, it's pretty stacked.
“Yeah, if you came out on top tomorrow, that would be, for me, career-defining.”
LIV GOLF’S FIRST ALBATROSS: HyFlyers GC’s Brendan Steele became the first player to record an albatross at a LIV Golf tournament when he holed his second shot with a 4-wood from 285 yards at the par-5 17th. It’s the longest holed shot in LIV Golf history.
Steele said he couldn’t see the ball roll into the hole but knew from the fans’ reaction that he had holed the shot.
“We were trying to be aggressive, get it up there and have a chance for a 3,” said Steele, who won LIV Golf Adelaide earlier this year. “It flew like all the way back to the hole and landed really soft and just kind of trickled in, I guess. Really cool. Obviously wasn't expecting that.”
Steele followed with a birdie – and another 2 on his scorecard – at the par-3 18th, knocking his tee shot close. He finished with a 4-under 66 and is currently tied for 20th at 6 under.
“Really good 10 minutes there,” Steele said. “Then now the guys are giving me a hard time for only shooting 4-under. They're like, you did that and only shot 4-under? No, it was good. Obviously, it helps the score tremendously and gives you some momentum for the rest of the day.”
ROUND 2 STATS LEADERS
Driving accuracy: Henrik Stenson, 92.86% (13 of 14 fairways hit)
Driving distance: Matthew Wolff, 361.1 yards avg.
Longest drive: Matthew Wolff, 389.5 yards, 17th hole
Greens in regulation: Lucas Herbert, 100% (18 of 18 greens)
Scrambling: Sebastián Muñoz (4 of 4), Sergio Garcia (4 of 4), Mito Pereira (4 of 4), Louis Oosthuizen (4 of 4), Danny Lee (4 of 4), Joaquin Niemann (3 of 3), Tyrrell Hatton (3 of 3), Richard Bland (3 of 3), Carlos Ortiz (3 of 3), Bryson DeChambeau (2 of 2), Bubba Watson (2 of 2), Henrik Stenson (1 of 1), Andy Ogletree (1 of 1), 100%
Putting: Charles Howell III, 1.22 putts per hole
Bogey-free rounds: Lucas Herbert (63), Sergio Garcia (63), Bubba Watson (63), Richard Bland (64), Carlos Ortiz (65), Mito Pereira (65), Bryson DeChambeau (65), Danny Lee (66), Louis Oosthuizen (66), Andy Ogletree (66), Tyrrell Hatton (67)