LIV Golf Mayakoba: Day Three
Nothing worth having was ever easy: Joaquin Niemann came into day three with the 36-hole lead. Part of that lead was dug into before the day even started after being assessed a two-shot penalty for the wrong placement of a drop. His lead went from a comfortable four to a tight two. It took 58 holes but Joaquin Niemann walks away from Maykoba with his first LIV Golf victory. After 54 holes, Niemann found himself tied with Sergio Garcia. Niemann had a quiet day, recording only three birdies to Sergio’s six. Jon Rahm and Dean Burmester also found themselves in a share for the lead at times. Late bogey’s for Rahm and Burmester saw them fall back to -10 for a share of third place. Rahm won the tiebreaker and finds himself on the podium in an impressive LIV Golf debut, walking away with $1.25 million dollars. A birdie on 16 was crucial for Niemann as it helped him gain a stroke to tie Sergio. Fighting darkness, the pair played four playoff holes, all on the 18th. On the third, the players were allowed to use carts to get to their shots. After the third, Joaco and Sergio agreed to a fourth hole. Had they not, the playoff would’ve been pushed to Monday. On his second shot of the fourth playoff hole, Sergio hit one into the rough. On the next shot, he nearly sank it from the rough. Had he made this it would’ve moved things to Monday as Niemann was able to putt it in on his third shot for the win. This is a big day for the 25-year-old Chilean who now heads to Vegas with $4 million in his pocket. Today was the first individual win for a member of Torque GC.
Legio XIII Gemina for the win: The inspiration for Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII comes from one of Julius Caesar’s top units. Legion XIII crossed the Rubicon into LIV, walking away from the weekend with the team title and $3 million. Rahm of course held a share of the lead today and finished third overall. It was a team effort today with everyone coming together as all scores count on day three. Tyrrell Hatton had one of the biggest days overall shooting -7 with eight birdies to finish in a tie for eighth. Caleb Surratt, at only 19 years old, had quite an impressive professional debut this weekend. Surratt today shot -4 with eight birdies to finish in a tie for 13th, despite shooting a 7 on the par 4 17th. Just a few weeks ago he was packing up his dorm at the University of Tennessee, now he has a share of that $3 million. Kieran Vincent finishes the weekend at +3 but was a huge part of Legion XIII’s win, ending Sunday with six birdies to be -2 on the day. As a team, Legion XIII finished the weekend at -24 and shot -14 on Sunday alone. Finishing in second at -20 was Crushers GC. Charles Howell III, Paul Casey, and Bryson DeChambeau shot -3 while Anirban Lahiri led the team with a -4. Howell III’s round came bogey-free. Torque GC fell back, only shooting -4 on the day after an even yesterday to finish third. The team will still leave Mayakoba with $500,000.
The Rest of the Top-10: Charles Howell III shared a tie for 5th with Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka. All ending the weekend at -8, Johnson shot a bogey-free -4 today with Koepka shooting a -3. Joining Tyrrell Hatton in a three-way tie for 8th were Louis Oosthuizen and Cameron Smith. Oosthuizen shot six birdies on the day to sneak into the top 10 after being just outside yesterday in 11th. Smith was an artist with the putter today, delivering seven birdies on Sunday to also move from 11th.
Other Notables: Richard Bland had a big Friday, fell back on Saturday but bounced back on Sunday. No better way to celebrate your birthday weekend than with a hole-in-one. The 50-year-old shot -6 on the weekend with a hole-in-one on the 8th today to finish in a tie for 11th. Talor Gooch had an impressive bogey-free round today to finish in a tie for 15th. Joining Gooch in a tie for 15th was wild card Laurie Canter. Playing as a wild card, Canter will be able to receive individual points and prize money but will not be eligible for team prizes.
Looking ahead: Viva Las Vegas! LIV heads to Las Vegas for their first tournament in the Sin City from the 8th to the 10th. It’ll be a big weekend for the city as Vegas will host Super Bowl LVIII. The tournament will kick off on Thursday instead of Friday and finish on Saturday instead of Sunday. Las Vegas Country Club will play host. Greg Norman knows the course all too well, he won the 1986 Las Vegas Invitational there. The course hosted that tournament from 1983 to 1991, now known as the Shriners Children’s Open.
