Tom McKibbin posted a one-under-par 70 to retain fourth place on the leaderboard as the 23-year-old sits seven back from Jaoquin Niemann who leads at 14-under at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
Starting his third round at the first, McKibbin was slow out of the blocks, making bogey at the first and third. The Holywood golfer quickly put that behind him as he looked to undo his errors and that he did, making birdie at the fourth and eighth to get back to even-par.
Two more birdies came at the 11th and 13th to get to two-under, but the Belfast native will be disappointed with his finish as he failed to make use of the closing par-5 – a hole that he has played two-under-par so far this week – as a loose tee ball forced him to punch out and take his medicine.
McKibbin sits in good knick for Sunday’s final round but will need a major drop off from Niemann who has been flawless this weekend. Nonetheless, McKibbin has a great chance of securing his best finish of the year, bettering his T5 at LIV Mexico City. McKibbin sits the highest of his Legion XIII teammates.
Graeme McDowell will be happy to see he’s no longer anchoring the leaderboard as he sits 56th at +18. McDowell has really struggled this season as he sits near the drop zone in the standings.
Niemann has led each round this weekend, and will take some stopping on Sunday as he is in search of his second win of the year. The Torque GC captain already has the most individual tournament wins in LIV Golf history (8).
Saturday did see his first fault as he doubled the first and bogeyed the fourth and ninth. The Chilean prevailed as he added five birdies to his card to post a one-under-round. Niemann leads by two strokes at 14-under.
“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.”
“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,” added the leader.
Harold Varner III occupies second place at 12-under as the 35-year-old went bogey free on Saturday, posting a six-under-par 65.
“I’ve been playing well the last couple few tournaments and I’ve been working hard,” said Varner. “I feel like things are just going my way, and you want to just keep it stacking and attacking.”
Lee Westwood holds third position at 10-under as the 53-year-old is hoping for a big Sunday to undo the four shot deficit and become the oldest player to win on LIV.
“I’m very competitive, and I always just expect to give my best and try 100%,” said Westwood.
Jon Rahm looks set to secure his third consecutive season-long title on Sunday. The Legion XIII captain is tied for 32nd after his 2-over 73 left him at 3 over for the tournament. His projected total points after this week would be 946.74 points.
In regards to the teamed scoring, Niemann’s Torque GC lead at one-under, followed by McKibbon and co.’s Legion XIII at one-over. A strong showing on Sunday for Legion XIII could see them make a late bid for the team title at LIV GOLF Indianapolis at the end of the month.
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