Rd. 3 recap: Herbert, Ripper GC maintain leads entering Sunday at LIV Golf UK Presented by JCB

ROCESTER, England – The winds increased Saturday and Lucas Herbert’s lead decreased – but only slightly. The Ripper GC star still owns a healthy advantage as he chases his second wire-to-wire win of the season.

Herbert shot a third-round 3-under 69 in challenging conditions at JCB Golf & Country Club to move to 20 under, three strokes ahead of Bryson DeChambeau (-17) entering Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf United Kingdom Presented by JCB. Tyrrell Hatton (-15) is five shots back in solo third while Herbert’s Ripper Captain Cameron Smith (-14) is another stroke back in fourth after tying a league-record with eight consecutive birdies on his back nine.

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“It’s a bit of a grind out there,” said Herbert, who won his first LIV Golf individual title two months ago in Virginia and opened this week’s tournament with an 11-under 61 in more benign conditions. “I think it’s played progressively tougher each day with the wind sort of picking up and the course drying out quite a bit. Pretty happy to get off the course with a three-shot lead.”

Herbert took a four-shot lead into Saturday and fought hard to prevent his chasers from gaining substantial ground. When he rolled in a 7-foot birdie putt on his last hole, it meant more than just gaining another stroke on the field – especially after DeChambeau had birdied the previous two holes.

“Bryson picked up a bit of energy there birdieing 16 and 17 and closing the gap,” said the 30-year-old Australian, who will play with DeChambeau in the final group for the third consecutive round on Sunday. “Feel like three shots is a lot bigger than two, mentally, by more than just one stroke. That was kind of why I was pretty pumped when I made that putt.”

DeChambeau shot a 68 with just a single bogey; the only bogey-free round of the day was Joaquin Niemann’s 68. The Crushers GC captain is chasing his third individual win of the season and also hoping to cut into the points lead held by Jon Rahm in the season-long Individual Championship race.

“Played great coming in,” DeChambeau said. “Excited to make those two birdies. They were huge. … Lucas is playing some great golf right now. It’s going to take something good and special tomorrow to catch him.”

Hatton made the biggest early move Saturday after starting seven strokes behind. For the second consecutive day, the Legion XIII star birdied three of his first four holes, but JCB’s par 5s did not treat him kindly. He bogeyed the sixth and 10th holes and settled for par on the 13th.

Even so, his 5-under 67 at least gives him a fighting chance Sunday as he chases his second consecutive LIV Golf title, having won the league’s most recent tournament last month in Andalucia.

“The conditions were definitely tougher today with the wind being stronger,” Hatton said. “Naturally, there was a little bit of disappointment in there as well. Obviously bogeyed two of the par 5s and par on the other one, which isn’t ideal. There was a lot of good stuff today, and hopefully I can play well again tomorrow.”

Smith produced the most electric round with his string of eight birdies, which matches the record set by Torque GC’s Sebastian Munoz, who made eight straight birdies in the opening round last year in Indianapolis en route to shooting 59.

Smith nearly aced both par 3s during the streak and needed only one lengthy birdie putt, a 50-footer at the 15th hole. All his other birdie putts were 11 feet or less, as he needed just nine putts on the back nine, a league record. The 2022 Open champion said it was the first time in his career he carded eight consecutive birdies.

“Just got in the groove really and hit a few nice shots and hit a few ugly ones and got away with it,” he said. “A bit of luck on the side never hurts. It just kind of all happened.”

It may all happen for his teammate Herbert on Sunday, who is in terrific form after his win in Virginia and his tie for sixth last week at The Open Championship, his best-ever major result. This week, he’s led after 53 of the first 54 holes.

“I’d love a repeat of Virginia tomorrow,” he said. “We can draw a lot of comparisons with some of the scores and the leads at different stages, but I know I can do it tomorrow. It’s just about going and executing and getting it done.”

TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS

Individual Top 10

1 (-20) – Lucas Herbert, Ripper (61-66-69)

2 (-17) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (64-67-68)

3 (-15) – Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII (66-68-67)

4 (-14) – Cameron Smith, Ripper (69-67-66)

T5 (-13) –Abraham Ancer, Torque (68-70-65); Harold Varner III, OKGC (66-69-68)

7 (-11) – Byeong Hun An, Korean (67-68-70)

T8 (-9) – Marc Leishman, Ripper (68-68-71); Caleb Surratt, Legion XIII (68-69-70); Charles Howell III, Crushers (68-70-69)

Team Top 3

1 (-41) – Ripper GC (Herbert 61-66-69, Leishman 68-68-71; Smith 69-67-66; Smyth 71-69-78; Rd. 3 score: -4)

2 (-32) – Crushers GC (DeChambeau 64-67-68, Howell III 68-70-69, Lahiri 68-69-75, Casey 73-69-72; Rd. 3 score: -4)

3 (-29) – Legion XIII (Hatton 66-68-67, Surratt 68-69-70, McKibbin 73-70-70, Rahm 73-70-71; Rd. 3 score: -10)

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ROUND 3 NOTES

RIPPERS SLIP EARLY, REGAIN LEAD: The All-Australian Ripper GC saw their nine-shot team advantage disappear quickly on Saturday, as they shot a collective 6 over through the first four holes while Crushers GC started off hot.

But then the Rippers regained their footing while captain Cameron Smith supplied the hot hand with eight consecutive birdies on his back nine. It left the Rippers at the same place they started the day – nine strokes ahead of the Crushers, as the Aussies seek their third tournament win of the season.

“I wouldn’t say we’re all streaky players, but when we get going, we get going,” Smith said. “It’s cool to see that team leaderboard when everyone’s on because it’s just like one after the other.”

Smith led the way Saturday with his 6-under 66, while Lucas Herbert contributed a 3-under 69 and Marc Leishman a 71. That allowed the Rippers to mitigate the 78 by reserve Travis Smyth, who’s filling in for injured Elvis Smylie.

MORE WIND EXPECTED SUNDAY: Wind gusts up to 34 mph were in the forecast for the final round at JCB Golf & Country Club. The wind helped make the course tougher Saturday, with a stroke average of 71.53, a half-stroke higher than either of the previous two rounds.

Are gusty conditions more advantageous to leader Lucas Herbert or his chasers?

“It's a great question that I just don't even know, if I'm being honest,” said Bryson DeChambeau, Herbert’s closest pursuer. “It could be good; it could be bad. If you get a couple good breaks in some softer conditions and you flare a drive and it stays in the fairway, maybe. Or you hit the ball and it stays on the face. There's numerous things that can happen.

“With it being windy out here, it definitely made it more difficult, I thought, for the guys behind, but I felt like I had nothing to lose.”

Added Tyrrell Hatton in solo third: “It all depends how Lucas starts tomorrow really. See if he starts off really well, then that definitely makes it a much tougher job. Then the opposite way, if he doesn't get off to the start that he wants to and a few of the guys behind, we can make some birdies, then obviously the gap closes fairly quickly.

“It's quite quirky out there, so it's easy to get a little bit unlucky with some of the slopes. And you don't really have to do too much wrong to drop shots. We'll see how it goes. Either way, I think just focusing on my side, just trying to play another good round of golf, whatever the weather.”

As for Herbert’s perspective, he understands the big names that are lurking behind him will not make it easy.

“You're definitely wary of the guys in the pack because they're great players,” he said. “They're playing great today. You'd expect them to play well tomorrow. I know, if I was in that position I'd have the mentality there's nothing to lose.”

HATTON ON THE SHIRTS: Tyrrell Hatton, playing in his home country of England, certainly has a sizable number of supporters this week. A few of his fans even created shirts with Hatton’s image scattered across the front and back.

After his round Saturday, Hatton took a photo with the fans. While he appreciates their support, he won’t be asking for a shirt.

“There's guys walking around today with these shirts on with my face on, which was tragic, but it's also quite amusing,” he said. “Pretty scary. Scary visual. I hope [the shirts] never see daylight again.”

CARROT-COMPETITION BACKGROUND: On Friday, Lucas Herbert discussed the carrot-cutting competition that Ripper GC has enjoyed this week as a way to unwind after their rounds. It basically involves cutting a carrot in two and seeing how close both ends match in weight. Players and caddies are staying in the same house and participating, with Herbert’s caddie Nick Pugh the winner on Friday.

Captain Cameron Smith explained its origin.

“I just saw a video on Instagram, and it’s like a family or something sitting down and it looked like good fun,” he said. “Because everyone’s staying together, I thought it would be good fun to make a competition out of it, given how competitive we all are. It’s a good laugh as well. It worked out better than I thought.”

HARD TO EASY: The sixth hole was the hardest hole on the course in LIV Golf’s previous two visits to JCB Golf & Country Club when it played as a par 4. But the hole’s back tees are being utilized this week as it plays to a par 5 that the members also play. Through three rounds, the sixth hole is the easiest on the course, playing to a stroke average of 4.57.

STATS LEADERS

Round 3

Driving Distance: Dean Burmester, 315.2-yard avg.

Longest Drive: Laurie Canter, 339.8 yards (8th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 8 and 10.

Driving Accuracy: Marc Leishman, 78.57% (11 of 14)

Greens in Regulation: Marc Leishman, Laurie Canter, Tom McKibbin, Sergio Garcia, 83.33% (15 of 18)

Scrambling: Joaquin Niemann (5 of 5), Lucas Herbert (4 of 4), 100%

Fewest Putts: Cameron Smith, Abraham Ancer, 23

Bogey-free rounds: Joaquin Niemann (68)

Overall

Driving Distance: Dean Burmester, 300.5-yard avg.

Longest Drive: David Puig, 339.8 yards (10th hole, Rd. 1). Official measured drives taken only on holes 8 and 10.

Driving Accuracy: David Puig, 73.81% (31 of 42)

Greens in Regulation: Caleb Surratt, 81.48% (44 of 54)

Scrambling: Charles Howell III (12 of 14), 85.71%

Fewest Putts: Peter Uihlein, 74

Low rounds: Rd. 1 – Lucas Herbert (61); Rd. 2 – Dean Burmester, Laurie Canter, Lucas Herbert (66); Rd. 3 – Abraham Ancer (65)