Burmester leads LIV Golf Chicago after Rd. 2 while team leaderboard is tight

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. – South African Dean Burmester will take a two-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round at LIV Golf Chicago. He’ll be playing in the final group with Jon Rahm, a two-time major winner and reigning LIV Golf Individual Champion, and Josele Ballester, the super-talented 21-year-old who turned pro in June to join LIV Golf. Both are from Spain.

“Going to have to brush up on my Spanish,” smiled Burmester after finishing off a brilliant 6-under 65 that moved him to 9 under through two rounds at Bolingbrook Golf Club.

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Rahm, the Legion XIII captain, not only is intent on capturing his first individual win of the season, he’s also trying to overtake Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in the individual standings going into next week’s regular-season finale in Indianapolis. Niemann, tied for 39th through two rounds, has opened the door.

“No matter if I win, I’m going to have a real possibility of catching him and possibly passing him next week,” said Rahm after shooting a 4-under 67 to move to 7 under. Rahm bounced back from a couple of bogeys in his first 10 holes to shoot 6 under in his final eight holes. “Score-wise, it’s almost a tale of two nines,” he said, “but feeling-wise felt great all day.”

Ballester, meanwhile, would love to make an early statement in his career. He’s playing just his fifth LIV Golf event and seventh overall since turning pro after a stellar amateur career that included winning the 2024 U.S. Amateur.

After a brief transition period, he has found his form as a member of Fireballs GC. He followed a final-round 67 at Valderrama with a tie for seventh at the UK event to move into the Open Zone at 42nd in points. A win on Sunday would move him within striking distance of the Lock Zone.

“These are the moments that I practice for so much in my career, and being able to lift my first one tomorrow, it would be pretty fun,” said Ballester after shooting 66.

Burmester, seeking his second career LIV Golf victory after winning last year in Miami, is just as motivated.

It was just a month ago that the Stinger GC star finished 51st at LIV Golf Andalucía, the worst result in his LIV Golf career and the “lowest point of the season,” he said. Since then, he has increased his efforts to lose a few pounds to avoid feeling fatigued at the end of rounds.

His efforts have paid quick dividends. He made the cut the following week at The Open, finishing with a final-round 69. He followed with a tie for fifth at LIV Golf UK by JCB. And now he has the 36-hole lead at Bolingbrook.

His second round an example of his improved fitness, as he grabbed the lead thanks to a bogey-free back-nine stretch that included an eagle followed by three birdies.

“I feel better about how I look and how I feel, the whole vibe around how I walk around the golf course,” he said.

Burmester’s Stinger GC team is also in the mix for its first team title in two years. The South Africans are tied with the Fireballs and Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC – who won at Bolingbrook last year – at 10 under. Niemann’s Torque GC team is five shots back in solo fourth.

The last time the Stingers won a team title was 2023 LIV Golf Tulsa. That week, they all stayed in the same house – and they haven’t done that again until this week in Chicago.

“It could be a good omen for us,” Burmester said.

TEAM SCORES

LIV Golf’s scoring format involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Saturday’s Rd. 2 of LIV Golf Chicago.

T1. CRUSHERS GC -10 (Casey 67, DeChambeau 68, Lahiri 68, Howell III 74; Rd. 2 score: -7)

T1. FIREBALLS GC -10 (Ballester 66, Puig 69, Ancer 71, Garcia 73; Rd. 2 score: -5)

T1. STINGER GC -10 (Burmester 65, Grace 70, Schwartzel 71, Oosthuizen 74; Rd. 2 score: -4)

4. TORQUE GC -5 (Ortiz 65, Niemann 70, Muñoz 71, Pereira 72; Rd. 2 score: -6)

5. 4ACES GC -4 (Pieters 69, Varner III 69, Reed 72, Johnson 73; Rd. 2 score: -1)

6. LEGION XIII -1 (Rahm 67, Hatton 72, McKibbin 72, Surratt 72; Rd. 2 score: -1)

7. RIPPER GC E (Jones 69, Leishman 69, Herbert 71, Smith 73; Rd. 2 score: -2)

8. RANGEGOATS GC +2 (Wolff 68, Campbell 70, Uihlein 72, Watson 73; Rd. 2 score: -1)

9. SMASH GC +3 (Gooch 69, Kokrak 69, McDowell 75, Koepka 76; Rd. 2 score: +5)

10. HYFLYERS GC +4 (Mickelson 71, Steele 72, Ogletree 73, Tringale 73; Rd. 2 score: +5)

11. CLEEKS GC +9 (Bland 68, Kaymer 73, Meronk 73, Kjettrup 75; Rd. 2 score: +5)

12. IRON HEADS GC +11 (Jang 71, Lee 71, Kozuma 72, Na 72; Rd. 2 score: +2)

T12. MAJESTICKS GC +14 (Poulter 71, Stenson 71, Horsfield 72, Westwood 75; Rd. 2 score: +5)

Wild Cards: C. Lee 67, Kim 68