Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann already has the most individual tournament wins in LIV Golf history. He’s now 18 holes away from adding to his record total.
Niemann bounced back from an opening double bogey to shoot a 1-under 70, leaving him at 14 under and with a two-shot lead over OKGC’s Harold Varner III entering Sunday’s final round at LIV Golf New York. Majesticks GC Co-Captain Lee Westwood is in solo third, four shots off the pace.
With no other players within six shots of the lead, the final round at Trump National Bedminster could very well turn into a three-man race, with Niemann chasing his ninth career individual tournament victory. But he’s not discounting anybody on the tough, challenging course.
“It’s not like it’s just me playing,” said the 27-year-old Niemann, the league’s youngest captain. “… They’re going to try to chase me, and I’m going to try to play the best I can to just run away.”
Entering the weekend with a five-shot lead, Niemann had hoped to continue adding distance between him and his pursuers. Instead, he quickly regressed after his opening tee shot sailed right into the native area full of trees, leaving him no choice but to take a penalty drop that led to a double bogey.
After playing bogey-free for the first 36 holes, it was a rude way to start the weekend. He suffered two more bogeys on his front nine but negated those with three birdies, then settled down to play the back nine in a bogey-free 2 under, leaving him with some positive vibes.
“Obviously not the best start,” said Niemann, looking for his second win in his last four starts after claiming LIV Golf Korea. “But pretty proud and happy the way I played today, especially coming into the end of the round. Pretty happy with a few putts that I rolled that went in. A few of them that couldn't go in; probably gave away a few shots there. But super-happy with the round.”
Varner was definitely happy with his performance, as his 6-under 65 was three shots better than anybody else in the field and the only bogey-free round of the day. His best finish of the season is a solo fourth in Hong Kong in March, and he’s been trending lately with two top-10s in his last three starts as he seeks his second career LIV Golf title.
“I've been playing well the last couple few tournaments and I've been working hard,” said Varner, who is a bogey-free 10 under this week on Bedminster’s front nine. “I feel like things are just going my way, and you want to just keep it stacking and attacking.”