Garcia closes in on maiden LIV Golf individual title at Miami

Sergio Garcia headed a crowded leaderboard after the second day of LIV Golf Miami, sinking a clutch burdie putt to open a two-shot advantage over his chasers on Doral’s Blue Minster course on Saturday.

TheSpaniard, veteran of many battles on the Miami track and still winless will be hoping his experience around the course will help finally break the jinx come Title Sunday but the pack on his heels is not too far away, LIV Golf said.

The Fireballs captain went 4under par 68 and now totals 9 under135, and has a group of four in pursuit including 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch, recent arrival Tyrell Hatton of Legion XIII, Matthew Wolff and South African Dean Burmester, all on 7 under 137.

Legion XIII top the team leaderboard on 21 under thanks to Kieran Vincent’s 66, Hatton’s 67 and captain Jon Rahm’s 70.

The Legionnaires lead RangeGoats GC by three shots and are in search of their second win as a LIV Golf expansion team, while 2023 team champions Crushers GC are well off the pace and down in eighth place with their captain Bryson DeChambeau tied for 16^th and Anirban Lahiri in 20^th place individually.
 
Garcia has lost twice in LIV Golf playoffs including the epic four-hole battle in gathering darkness against Joaquin Niemann in the season opener at Mayakoba and is keen to avoid extra holes on Sunday and wrap up the tournament in regulation.
 
“At the end of the day, you've just got to keep giving yourself chances,” said 36-time winner Garcia, whose last title came in 2020. “I'm trying my hardest out there every time. I'm trying my best. Sometimes my best is really good, sometimes my best is not quite as good. Hopefully tomorrow, my best will be really good, and we'll be able to get it done. If not, we'll just keep working at it.”

Garcia first played Doral in 2002 and has two third-place finishes on it as his best. The bogey-free 67 on Friday matched his lowest score on the Blue Monster, and he followed up on Saturday hitting the flagstick with an approach shot on his opening hole and his only dropped shot of the tournament thereafter.
 
“Guess we've seen it throughout all these years, so we know a little bit more or less what to expect,” Garcia said. “But it's the kind of golf course that you have to hit good shots. If you don't, it's tough.”
 
Behind him, Gooch knows there is work to be done on Sunday. “I haven’t looked at the leaderboard, but I’m betting a few of those dudes (in chase of Garcia) have won major championships and Ryder Cups,” he said later.

“It’s nice to have won that much recently,” said Gooch, who is still seeking his first LIV Golf win on home soil after all three wins last year overseas. “That’s confidence-boosting for sure.

“I’ve been there. I’ve done it; I’ve not done it. I’ve done it in different ways; I’ve not done it in different ways. Experience is everything in those moments. I’ve had a lot of experience the last few years, so I’m very much more comfortable now than I was three years ago.”

Like Garcia, Burmester and Wolff are two behind the leader. They are among the league’s longesthitters including a 371 yard drive by the latter on Saturday, so it’s no surprise they’re in contention on a course that measures 7,701 yards. Neither player had seen the course until they joined LIV Golf.
 
“It’s not called the Blue Monster for nothing,” Burmester said. “It’s tough. There’s not one golf shot you stand there and think, man, I’ve actually got a chance.”
 
Wolff was fourth in Las Vegas in just his second start after RangeGoats captain Bubba Watson swappedhim for Gooch pre-season. Now he’s in Sunday’s final group with Gooch and trying to catch Garcia.“Winning is really hard to do,” Wolff said. “Anytime you have the opportunity to be in contention or win is definitely something to be proud of.

“Obviously Bubba believes a lot in us, which I can’t ask for anything more from a captain, someone I look up to. I think we’re going to go out there and give it our best. At the end of the day, if we’re lifting the trophy, that’s great.”

Meanwhile, captain of the all-Australian Rippers GC Cameron Smith withdraw early on Saturday with a case of food-poisoning, and was replaced by reserve player Ben Campbell of New Zealand, who got to play his first LIV Golf round as a result,

Campbell will also play in Sunday’s final round when all four scores count for each team after a 71 on Saturday.
 
Smith fell ill earlier in the week and had to pull out of the pro-am. He felt well enough to start the opening round but struggled to a 3-over 75.

Campbell is currently 11th in this year’s International Series standings and 14th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. In 2023, he won the Hong Kong Open by one stroke over Smith for his third career win since turning pro in 2012, LIV Golf said.

Round two scores

1. Legion XIII -21 (Vincent 66, Hatton 67, Rahm 70)
 
2. RangeGoats GC -18 (Pieters 69, Wolff 69, Uihlein 73)
 
3. Stinger GC -13 (Oosthuizen 68, Burmester 69, Grace 71)
 
4. Cleeks GC -12 (Meronk 66, Bland 67, Samooja 73)
 
5. Fireballs GC -10 (Garcia 68, Ancer 69, Chacarra 72)
 
T6. Torque GC -9 (Niemann 69, Ortiz 69, Pereira 71)
 
T6. 4Aces GC -9 (Reed 69, Johnson 71, Varner 74)
 
T8. Crushers GC -7 (Lahiri 70, DeChambeau 70, Casey 71)
 
T8. Smash GC -7 (Gooch 70, Kokrak 72 McDowell 73)
T10. HyFlyers GC E (Tringale 70, Mickelson 72, Steele 72)
 
T10. Ripper GC E (Leishman 69, Campbell 71, Jones 75)
 
T10. IronHeads GC E (Na 72, Lee 72, Vincent 74)
 
13. Majesticks GC +4 (Stenson 71, Horsfield 71, Poulter 74)