Graeme McDowell is just two shots out of a tie for seventh going into the final round of LIV Golf Singapore after a level-par 71, while Lee Westwood and Joaquin Niemann have overtaken Bryson DeChambeau to share the lead.
After making his second hole-in-one in as many weeks in Friday’s second round, McDowell was slow to get going on moving day, and was two-over for the day through 11 holes having started on the fifth. He recovered to birdie three of the final seven to end the day tied for 14th, one ahead of fellow countryman Tom McKibbin who had a mixed day that included six birdies, a bogey and two doubles and resulted in a one-under 70 that moved him to -2 overall and into a tie for 23rd.
DeChambeau entered the day with a three-stroke lead after firing a 65 in round two, but the two-time U.S. Open champion struggled on day three and needed a birdie on the final hole to salvage a one-over 72 that cost him the lead but keeps him firmly in the hunt, one shot behind the leading duo.
Westwood, who has 44 worldwide victories, last tasted success at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in 2020, and having just returned from a wrist injury, the Majesticks Golf Club co-captain is in position to finish off arguably his most impressive performance.
The Englishman will play in the final group of the final round for the first time in his LIV Golf career and seeks to become the oldest player to win a league individual title.
“I’m 53 on the 24th of April, so at that stage, it would probably be the best win of my career,” Westwood said after making birdies on three of his final four holes to shoot a three-under 68 in difficult conditions at Sentosa Golf Club.
“All of my wins have special memories. But to still be competitive at my age and up there and having chances to win tournaments like this is validation for driving myself on and doing all the hard work and practice that nobody sees and still being competitive and having a good enough game to compete against them.”
Westwood, however, isn’t the only player entering Sunday in the hunt with a chance to make history.
Niemann, who won five times last season but started slowly this season, made a charge up the leaderboard of his own, shooting a five-under 66 that included seven birdies and two bogeys. With a win, Niemann would earn his eighth LIV Golf victory, which would be three more than any other player in league history.
“I hit the ball unbelievable today compared to the other days,” Niemann said. “I was able to see the ball in the windows that I was seeing in my mind. Yeah, it was nice. I played pretty confident. I was able to attack a lot of pins.”
Niemann will enter the final round of a tournament with the lead or co-lead for the fifth time in his LIV Golf career. He went on to win in each of the four previous times (Mayakoba and Jeddah in 2024; Singapore and UK last season). A win would make him just the second player to successfully defend a LIV Golf title after Brooks Koepka in Jeddah (2022-23).
DeChambeau and Richard T. Lee share third on -9, one behind the leading duo, while Jon Rahm, who ended his winless drought in Hong Kong last week, is in solo fifth at -7.
Hong Kong champions 4Aces GC surged to the top of the leaderboard after under-par rounds from three of their four players, giving them a score of 16 under for the week. Dustin Johnson (68), Anthony Kim (68) and Thomas Pieters (70) produced strong rounds for the resurgent squad while Thomas Detry (73) slipped down the leaderboard after two brilliant rounds of 68-67 to begin the week.
“Obviously we’re in a really good position,” 4Aces captain Dustin Johnson said. “But it’s going to take all four of us playing well tomorrow. This golf course is hard, and if we all four play well, then we’ll probably have a really good chance to win.”
With a win on Sunday, the Aces would win in back-to-back starts for the first time since LIV Golf’s inaugural season in 2022.
Ripper GC, who won the first two tournaments this season, and defending Team Champions Legion XIII are just two shots back of the Aces. The Australian squad was led by Elvis Smylie, who shot a bogey-free 4-under 67 that included an eagle and two birdies while Legion XIII was led by a 2-under 69 from Tyrrell Hatton.
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