Rahm in place for second LIV win as Rippers rev up their team challenge
With the Old White Course at White Sulphur Springs yielding low scores, all bets are off headed into the final day of LIV Golf Greenbrier both in the individual and team events.
- Aug 18, 2024,
- Updated Aug 18, 2024 7:54 PM IST
Even as Jon Rahm opened a two-shot advantage headed into the final day of LIV Golf Greenbrier on Saturday in search of both a second title and top spot in the lucrative season-long individual race behind current leader Joaquin Neimann, Ripper GC are out to seal a top-three position for the Dallas Team Championship next month.
Thanks to two wins this season, the Rippers started the week ranked third in the team standings. The all-Australian unit would love to maintain that position, since the top three teams after next month’s LIV Golf Chicago earn a first-round bye for Dallas 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. The Rippers enter Sunday’s final round with a one-shot lead over Smash GC and 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. Smith would love to win his fourth LIV Golf career title, especially since it’s on his 31st birthday, something he’s never done.
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.”
At the top, Rahm has been in chase of Niemann all season and now sits now 18 holes away from catching the Chilean star. Rahm topped the Greenbrier leaderboard on Saturday with a second-round 8-under 62. At 14 under, he leads the field by two shots in favourable scoring conditions at The Old White course.
Rahm’s Legion XIII are four-time winners this year, but Rahm didn’t post his first individual victory until the most recent tournament in England. If Rahm now posts a second consecutive victory, it will guarantee that the individual race will be decided next month at Chicago in the regular season finale.
“It would be pretty special,” said Rahm, who entered the week in second place in the standings, 24 points behind Niemann. “I've been playing good all year, and Joaquin has been playing fantastic golf all year. To give him a run for his money is good, but hopefully I can get the job done tomorrow and we have a nice little tight race going into Chicago.”
Even if Rahm doesn’t win in West Virginia, he has done enough to ensure that it is unlikely Niemann will be able to clinch the season’s title Greenbrier without a miracle result. The Torque captain is tied for 20th at 6 under. Rahm’s focus on Sunday will be simply to hold off all the challengers on a low-scoring course where Bryson DeChambeau won last year with a 58 in the final round.
“I wouldn't be expecting somebody to shoot in the 50s every single competitive year we have,” said Rahm, who has now shot 8-under rounds five times since joining LIV Golf in the offseason. “It's almost happened the last three, four years, but I wouldn't be expecting it as often as we've had it the last few years. I think we've been very spoiled in that sense.
With Rahm in the final group are Smash members Brooks Koepka, the only four-time LIV Golf winner, and defending individual champion Talor Gooch both on 12 under. Herbert and Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland, who won two senior majors this season, are also at 12 under. Four other players are tied for six at 11 under – Smith, Leishman, Smash’s Jason Kokrak and Torque’s Sebastián Muñoz.
DeChambeau won last year at 23 under, and Bland thinks the target score on Sunday is 20 under. That means a lot of players will be firing at a lot of pins. “I was pretty much in this position, I think, last year, come from behind going into Sunday and Bryson goes and shoots 58,” Bland said.
“I think I shot 65, and you're just picking up his scraps. But all you can do is go out and shoot the best score you can, and hopefully, the last four or five holes you've got a say in the tournament. That's all you can ask for.”
Asked about the importance of a LIV Golf title, Bland added, “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. 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.”
Even as Jon Rahm opened a two-shot advantage headed into the final day of LIV Golf Greenbrier on Saturday in search of both a second title and top spot in the lucrative season-long individual race behind current leader Joaquin Neimann, Ripper GC are out to seal a top-three position for the Dallas Team Championship next month.
Thanks to two wins this season, the Rippers started the week ranked third in the team standings. The all-Australian unit would love to maintain that position, since the top three teams after next month’s LIV Golf Chicago earn a first-round bye for Dallas 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. The Rippers enter Sunday’s final round with a one-shot lead over Smash GC and 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. Smith would love to win his fourth LIV Golf career title, especially since it’s on his 31st birthday, something he’s never done.
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.”
At the top, Rahm has been in chase of Niemann all season and now sits now 18 holes away from catching the Chilean star. Rahm topped the Greenbrier leaderboard on Saturday with a second-round 8-under 62. At 14 under, he leads the field by two shots in favourable scoring conditions at The Old White course.
Rahm’s Legion XIII are four-time winners this year, but Rahm didn’t post his first individual victory until the most recent tournament in England. If Rahm now posts a second consecutive victory, it will guarantee that the individual race will be decided next month at Chicago in the regular season finale.
“It would be pretty special,” said Rahm, who entered the week in second place in the standings, 24 points behind Niemann. “I've been playing good all year, and Joaquin has been playing fantastic golf all year. To give him a run for his money is good, but hopefully I can get the job done tomorrow and we have a nice little tight race going into Chicago.”
Even if Rahm doesn’t win in West Virginia, he has done enough to ensure that it is unlikely Niemann will be able to clinch the season’s title Greenbrier without a miracle result. The Torque captain is tied for 20th at 6 under. Rahm’s focus on Sunday will be simply to hold off all the challengers on a low-scoring course where Bryson DeChambeau won last year with a 58 in the final round.
“I wouldn't be expecting somebody to shoot in the 50s every single competitive year we have,” said Rahm, who has now shot 8-under rounds five times since joining LIV Golf in the offseason. “It's almost happened the last three, four years, but I wouldn't be expecting it as often as we've had it the last few years. I think we've been very spoiled in that sense.
With Rahm in the final group are Smash members Brooks Koepka, the only four-time LIV Golf winner, and defending individual champion Talor Gooch both on 12 under. Herbert and Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland, who won two senior majors this season, are also at 12 under. Four other players are tied for six at 11 under – Smith, Leishman, Smash’s Jason Kokrak and Torque’s Sebastián Muñoz.
DeChambeau won last year at 23 under, and Bland thinks the target score on Sunday is 20 under. That means a lot of players will be firing at a lot of pins. “I was pretty much in this position, I think, last year, come from behind going into Sunday and Bryson goes and shoots 58,” Bland said.
“I think I shot 65, and you're just picking up his scraps. But all you can do is go out and shoot the best score you can, and hopefully, the last four or five holes you've got a say in the tournament. That's all you can ask for.”
Asked about the importance of a LIV Golf title, Bland added, “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. 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.”