Torque, Pereira sit atop LIV Golf DC leaderboard

Anirban Lahiri’s late birdie pushed Crushers GC into a tie for sixth place behind event leaders Torque GC after day two of LIV Golf DC at Trump National Golf Club Washington on Saturday.

With team captain Bryson DeChambeau and reserve player Andy Ogletree picking up two shots apiece and the Indian star adding a fifth birdie, the Crushers had totalled 10 under par, eight strokes behind the top team.

Lahiri dropped two shots but picked up three on the day even as Torque’s Mito Pereira took over the lead from Harold Varner III to head the field by one stroke with Europe’s deposed Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson a further shot adrift of the top two.

Iron Heads captain Kevin Na shared third place with Stenson and with his team having picked up an individual win via Danny Lee at LIV Golf Tucson in a four-man playoff, the former too has set his sights on making an impact.

“My game feels good, and it's turning around,” Na said on Saturday. “You know what, it comes down to making putts.”

At the top of the order, Pereira had to deal with a recalcitrant course and an allergy attack midway through his second round and now sits 18 holes away from his first LIV Golf title.

 
The Torque member from Chile went 5-under 67 that included 10 birdies and five bogeys to take a one-stroke lead even as overnight leader Varner could only manage a level-par 72 for an 8 undet total. 

While Pereira hopes to become Torque’s first individual winner his team are in line for a second title of the 2023 LIV Golf League season after victory at the third event in Orlando.Torque held a two-shot edge over Varner’s RangeGoats and Stinger GC, winners at Tulsa two weeks ago. 

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For Pereira, both individual and team wins will be on the mind on Sunday. “The team aspect, it's really cool to watch it out there,” the Chilean star said. “It’s nice to have that in the background and just hope we can take the win again.” 

Varner had an 8-under 64 on Friday and will be keen to rebound from a second round that slipped away somewhat but still left him in the title race. “I played poorly, but it is what it is,” he said. “It’s golf. I just didn’t have it but after yesterday, I’m still in position. Just got to get back on the horse and have fun with it.” 

Team scores

1. Torque GC (-18): Mito Pereira 67, Sebastián Muñoz 68, Joaquin Niemann 71
T.2. Stinger GC (-15): Louis Oosthuizen 67, Branden Grace 69, Dean Burmester 71
T2. RangeGoats GC (-15): Bubba Watson 68, Talor Gooch 71, Harold Varner III 72 
4. 4Aces GC (-13): Patrick Reed 71, Peter Uihlein 71, Dustin Johnson 72 
5, Majesticks GC (-12): Henrik Stenson 67, Ian Poulter 69, Lee Westwood 73 
T6. Fireballs GC (-10): Carlos Ortiz 68, Eugenio Chacarra 69, Abraham Ancer 72
T6.  Crushers GC (-10): Andy Ogletree 70, Bryson DeChambeau 70, Anirban Lahiri 71 
8. HyFlyers GC (-9): Brendan Steele 70, Cameron Tringale 71, James Piot 74 
9. Cleeks GC (-7): Richard Bland 70, Graeme McDowell 70, Martin Kaymer 74 
10. Iron Heads GC (-6): Kevin Na 69, Scott Vincent 75, Danny Lee 76 
11. Ripper GC (-4): Cameron Smith 70, Matt Jones 72, Marc Leishman 72
12. Smash GC (+4): Brooks Koepka 69, Kieran Vincent 74, Chase Koepka 75

 

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