LIV Golf Hong Kong: Day Two
Ancer gains 8 today, leads by five: Abraham Ancer now has a bogey-free streak of 36 holes after Saturday’s 62. His performance means this is his third bogey-free round in the last four rounds. The 2023 Pan-American gold medalist from Mexico shot eight birdies, including four straight from 11 to 14, to gain eight strokes and put himself five ahead of second place. In a tie for second are Harold Varner III and Eugenio Chacarra, shooting 66s to enter the final day at -10. Varner III opened up with a birdie and shot a bogey on the next hole, but went on a hot streak from there on out, going par or better on his next 16 holes. Varner III added in two more birdies and an eagle on the 13th. Chacarra had six birdies of his own, including one on his 18th hole of the day which proved crucial after a bogey on his 17th to hold a share of second place.
Rest of the top 10: Rising up the leaderboard in a tie for fourth at -9 is a trio of Cameron Smith, Henrik Stenson, and Jon Rahm. After a classic Cameron Smith putting performance, the Aussie moves up 14 spots, shooting a 64 with eight birdies, including three over his last five holes. Cam knows this course well, he was runner-up in the fall at the Hong Kong Open. Stenson, LIV’s third-ever tournament champion, will go into Sunday looking for his first top 10 of the season after shooting a 65 with six birdies to move up seven spots. Jon Rahm shakes off Friday’s triple bogey to bounce back and shoot a 64 with eight birdies, including six over his first nine holes. In a tie for seventh at -8 are Carlos Ortiz, Matt Jones, Dean Burmester, Adrian Meronk, Ian Poulter, and Sebastian Munoz. Ortiz holds a share of the biggest riser into the top 10, moving up 19 spots after shooting a 64 with seven birdies, all of them coming over a span of 11 holes. Ortiz is two weeks removed from his victory in Oman on the Asian Tour. Jones remains in the top 10 despite two late double bogeys, shooting a 68. Burmester was -1 on the day with four birdies to shoot a 69. Adrian Meronk moves up 19 spots as well, shooting seven birdies including three over his last four holes to end the day in the top 10 with a 64. No surprise Ian Poulter is in the top 10, he is the course record holder after his 2010 Hong Kong Open win. Despite opening up with a bogey, Poulter shot six birdies to equal his 66 from yesterday, including one on his 17th of the day. Like Poulter, Munoz equaled Friday’s 66 on Saturday to move up four spots into the top 10. On day two, Munoz shot five birdies.
Fireballs into the lead, Ripper rises to second: Powered by Ancer’s strong performance, the Fireballs enter Sunday in the lead of the team competition at -28. Despite his tie for second, Chacarra’s score did not count today. This is the first time I have ever seen something like this. Both Sergio Garcia and David Puig, like Chacarra, shot 66s. Sergio moved up 14 spots today, improving four strokes with five birdies and only one bogey. Sergio is now in a tie for 31st at -4. Puig was another riser, moving up 10 spots into a tie for 38th after firing in seven birdies. Ripper GC ended day one just outside the podium in fifth but now after the strong performance of Cameron Smith and the top 10 of Matt Jones, they head into Sunday in second. Smith’s performance was equaled by Lucas Herbert who moved up 19 spots into a tie for 19th after going 6 under on the day with a 64. Hebert shot five birdies while adding in an eagle. Birdies on his 17th and 18th proved huge to get his team to -25. Led by Adrian Meronk’s 64, the Cleeks end another day on the podium at -22 and look like one of the most improved teams in LIV. The second counting score was Kalle Samooja, the winner of the 2023 LIV Promotions. Samooja shot a 68 with three birdies to head into Sunday in a tie for 31st. Richard Bland rounds out the Cleeks scoring today, shooting a 68 with three birdies to end the day in a tie for 19th.
Bogey-Free Rounds: There were several bogey-free rounds today outside of the top 10 that should be acknowledged. Pat Perez shot a 65 today to move up 12 spots into 19th, adding in five birdies, including one on his 18th to end the day at -6. Bubba Watson shot a 67 with three birdies, including one on his first hole of the day to end the day at -5 in 23rd. Andy Ogletree shot a 66 with four birdies to be a part of the tie for 23rd. Lastly, Peter Uihlein shot a 65 to move up 11 spots into a tie for 38th with five birdies, including one on his opening hole.
