Rd. 2 News and Notes: Top finish could be big for Bubba

ROCESTER, England – Joaquin Niemann jumped out to a commanding six-shot lead, and his Torque GCsquad is also out in front after the second round at LIV Golf UK by JCB, but there were plenty of other news, notes and stats from Saturday at JCB Golf & Country Club.

Related: Leaderboard | Round 2 recap | Full Round 2 highlights

LIV GOLF UK BY JCB ROUND 2 NOTES

BUBBA EYES TOP FINISH

RangeGoats GC Captain Bubba Watson’s best LIV Golf finish in 36 regular-season starts is a tie for fourth. He’ll enter Sunday’s final round at LIV Golf UK by JCB in solo second.

“Second place right now looks like it's a good place to finish, so it's going to be a battle for the second place, if nothing else,” said Watson, who’ll start the round six shots off the lead held by Joaquin Niemann.

A strong finish would also move Watson into the Lock Zone, as he’s projected to move up 14 spots, from 31 to 17. A year ago, he finished 53rd.

“The last couple years, it's been a struggle,” Watson said. “Been a struggle mentally, physically and golf-wise. You want to play better, right? … I want to have a strong finish to the year, and I see that I can do it. Now, will I do it is the question. But I would love to finish in the top 20 if not better.”

JCB FITS JOACO’S EYES

A year ago at JCB, Joaquin Niemann tied for second behind Jon Rahm. Now, Niemann takes a six-shot lead into the final round. In five career rounds at JCB Golf & Country Club, Niemann is a combined 26 under, and on Saturday he was one shot shy of tying the course record of 62.

“It's a great course for my eyes,” Niemann said. “I feel like there's a lot of blind shots. There's a lot of left-to-right shots, left-to-right, right-to-left. You've got to move it around. You've got to use different types of shots off the tee, as well. I feel pretty confident on this course. Hopefully I can improve one position from last year, and I'll be pretty happy.”

On Saturday, Niemann produced five birdies in his first seven holes. Of his nine birdies on the day, four were via putts from outside 17 feet. He gained +3.09 strokes on the field with his putting, third-best performance of any player in the second round.

“I made a lot of putts,” he said. “I was laughing at it sometimes because I'm not used to seeing so many of those going in, and it's kind of cool to see that.”

CASEY ON NIEMANN

Crushers GC’s Paul Casey will be in the final group off the first tee Sunday with Joaquin Niemann and Bubba Watson. It’ll be one of the rare times Casey has played with the Torque GC captain recently.

“I like playing with Joaco. It's good fun,” Casey said. “I played a lot with him last year it seemed like. Yeah, he's got something special going, four wins already, looking for No. 5. New caddie on the bag. That doesn't seem to affect anything, does it?

“As Johnny (McLaren, Casey’s caddie) said, that's giving caddies a bad name. Yeah, he's that good. What can you say other than just tip your cap.”

RECORD MARGIN

The largest winning margin by any individual player in LIV Golf history is seven shots by Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith at 2023 LIV Golf Bedminster. Joaquin Niemann enters the final round with a six-shot advantage.

The largest 36-hole advantage is 10 shots by Talor Gooch at 2023 LIV Golf Adelaide.

HOW THE ENGLISHMEN FARED

Six English-born players are playing at home this week. Here’s how they fared Saturday:

Paul Casey, Crushers GC – Shot a 3-under 68 and is tied for third at 7 under, making him the low Englishmen through two rounds.

Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII – Shot an even-par 71 and is tied for 14th at 4 under.

Lee Westwood, Majesticks GC – Shot a 1-over 72 and is tied for 14th at 4 under.

Ian Poulter, Majesticks – Shot an even-par 71 and is tied for 36th.

Richard Bland, Cleeks Golf Club – Shot an even-par 71 and is tied for 36th.

Sam Horsfield, Majesticks – Shot a 4-over 75 and is tied for 38th.

LIV GOLF UK BY JCB ROUND 2 STATS LEADERS

Driving accuracy: Cam Smith, David Puig, Josele Ballester, Henrik Stenson, Abraham Ancer, Lucas Herbert, Ben Campbell, Graeme McDowell , Chieh-Po Lee, 78.57% (11 of 14 fairways hit)

Driving distance average (for measured holes 8 and 10): Joaquin Niemann, 326.1 yards avg.

Longest drive (among measured holes 8 and 10): Joaquin Niemann, 347.6 yards, 8th hole

Greens in regulation: Joaquin Niemann, 100% (18 of 18 greens)

Scrambling: Charles Howell III (6 of 6), Tom McKibbin (5 of 5), Bubba Watson (3 of 3), 100%

Putting: Talor Gooch, Sebastian Munoz, 1.33 putts per hole

Bogey-free rounds: Charles Howell III (68), Tom McKibbin (68)