Tom McKibbin showed some pre-Masters form as he fired a blistering round of 62 on day three of LIV Golf South Africa.
McKibbin carded seven birdies and an eagle on the tenth in a bogey-free round to leave him in a share of 24th place on eleven-under.
Graeme McDowell is back in a share of 53rd place on two-under despite an improved 67.
In one of the most electric atmospheres in the history of LIV Golf, home favorites Southern Guards GC rallied to take a two-stroke lead over Fireballs GC and Torque GC entering championship Sunday.
The all-South African team combined for a score of 26 under after beginning the round facing a two-shot deficit. They’ve received a strong effort from all four players through the first 54 holes, but it’s been Branden Grace and Dean Burmester who have buoyed the team to the top spot with a chance to finish off the storybook result at The Club at Steyn City.
Grace got up-and-down for birdie on the 18th to move within two shots of Bryson DeChambeau, the individual leader and Crushers GC captain who shot a 7-under 64 to move to 21 under. DeChambeau and Grace will be in the final group off hole No. 1 on Sunday with Torque GC’s Abraham Ancer, who is tied for third with Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm.
“I think I have to be a little bit of a rhino tomorrow,” Grace said. “I have to be tough tomorrow. This is going to be a battle. Listen, [DeChambeau] is playing phenomenal golf. I feel that I’m also playing phenomenal golf. You just need a couple of things to go your way … it can change quickly.”
Burmester, who will tee off in the penultimate group with Rahm and 4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry on No. 1, shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 to move to 17 under, four shots behind DeChambeau.
“I think we’ve got a real drive to win this thing,” Burmester said. “… It’s not every day that you shoot 6 under and you’re the worst round in your four-ball and in your team. Hats off to the guys. We know that we’re going to do more of the same tomorrow. There’s going to be a ton of birdies. A lot of teams are going to be gunning for that top spot.”
Captain Louis Oosthuizen shot a 7-under 64, while Charl Schwartzel carded a 6-under 65, helping to spur the Southern Guards to the top of the leaderboard.
“We’re feeding off the energy at the moment,” Oosthuizen said. “Me and Charl were playing so-so, and today we really felt the energy, and obviously Dean and Branden are playing well, so I think we can just go tomorrow and pull this thing through.”
On the individual leaderboard, DeChambeau began the day with a two-shot lead and maintained that advantage with a flawless bogey-free round. The Crushers GC captain, while warmly embraced this week in his first visit to South Africa, will have to contend with the raucous home crowd presumably backing Grace on Sunday.
“Tomorrow is going to be a great day. Gracey is playing some incredible golf, and it’s fun to be alongside him playing some good golf, as well,” DeChambeau said. “He’s got huge hometown support, and it’s cool to feed off of that energy, so hopefully there’s a little bit more energy, and I can kind of feed off of that.”
Ancer, who leads the field in driving accuracy this week, shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 and has improved his score by one shot each round. He’ll be seeking his second individual title of his LIV Golf career while also hoping to help Torque spoil the local party on the team leaderboard.
“We just need to stay focused, do the same thing, shoot low numbers, make some putts, and hopefully we’ll be in a good spot,” Ancer said.
Rahm will be trying to wrestle the individual trophy away from the leaders to earn his second win in three weeks. The Legion XIII captain has only made one bogey through his first 54 holes but knows he will need to make plenty of birdies in order to come from behind.
“With the golf course being soft and at altitude, it still plays quite short,” Rahm said. “I think you’ve seen this course; you have to go make as many birdies as possible. You can come out there tomorrow, shoot 7 under, it very well may not be enough because of how gettable it can be.”
David Puig and Thomas Detry are four shots back as well, with both players aiming for their first LIV Golf individual title.
“The energy was great,” Puig said. “Obviously Southern Guards and Bryson, right, it was crazy the entire round. I had a lot of fun.”
For the local crowd, however, the fun will be seeing their hometown heroes celebrate atop the podium on Sunday. The Southern Guards are desperate to reward their support.
“You want to do well for everybody, for the crowd, for yourself. You just want to do yourself proud,” Burmester said. “… We just said, boys, let’s just go and effing win this thing. Let’s just do it. It doesn’t matter what it takes; we’re just going to stand up and man up and will it into existence. That’s our goal. We want to get out here, win this team thing, and make this the greatest golf event South Africa has ever seen.”
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