Burmester, Ortiz tied at top after Rd. 2 at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong; Smash GC top team

HONG KONG – Dean Burmester and Carlos Ortiz enter this weekend at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong as the co-leaders. Hoping to chase them down is a player whose availability was in doubt to start the week, along with the player who helped him get to Hong Kong. 

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4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry was at home in Dubai when the recent Middle East conflict began, among the group of LIV Golf players stranded after the airport was closed. Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm helped arrange a private flight from the region for seven players and a caddie, with Detry among them. 

Detry, in his first season on LIV Golf, is now solo third after 36 holes at Hong Kong Golf Club, shooting a second-round 7-under 63 to move to 13 under, one shot behind Burmester and Ortiz. Rahm, meanwhile, shot 62 and is now solo fourth at 12 under. 

“I’d better play well hopefully to be able to pay that back,” said Detry, who arrived in Hong Kong 24 hours before the start of the tournament. “That was incredibly generous from Jon with all the uncertainty.” 

It’s doubtful Rahm will be as magnanimous this weekend as he seeks to end a streak of 26 consecutive starts without a win. He’s been runner-up in his last four LIV Golf starts dating back to last season, including the first two tournaments this season in Riyadh and Adelaide. 

On Friday, he shot the lowest score in the field, a round that included an eagle at the par-5 13th and ended with birdies on four of his final five holes. Of his 10 rounds this season, he’s shot 63 or better three times.

“Coming down the stretch in pressure situations, I'm going to need to play a little bit better than that or at least swing a little bit better than I have so far,” said Rahm, the two-time LIV Golf Individual Champion and current points leader. “Clearly I'm doing just good enough to be in the hunt.” 

Of course, both Detry and Rahm still have work to do to catch the co-leaders, each of whom has experience in closing out LIV Golf tournaments. 

Ortiz backed up his opening 10-under 60 with a rollercoaster 4-under 66 that included seven birdies and three bogeys. His best stretch was in the middle of his round when he birdied five out of eight holes to move to 14 under. 

“Kind of a rough start,” said the Torque GC star, the winner in Houston in 2024. “I wasn't in position a lot in the first few holes. Had to scramble. I made a few bogeys. But honestly, I'm just trying to get good reps. My swing has changed a little bit and the feels have changed. I'm just getting really comfortable with the new swing.” 

Burmester, playing in the same group as Ortiz, was just 1 under through his first 10 holes Friday before making four consecutive birdies. On the fourth tee, he received some treatment on his neck, which helped loosen him up. He then ended his round with a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-4 18th to grab a share of the lead with his 6-under 64.

“Today I woke up a little stiff,” said the Southern Guards GC star, who has won tournaments in each of the last two seasons. “I slept a bit funny, which is weird, and worked hard in the physio bed and came straight back after the wait for the first tee and managed to get my physio out there, and that made a massive difference. Got a little bit of work done on 4 tee and then I was away.” 

The contenders expect the final 36 holes to require an equally aggressive mindset, with 22 players within seven shots of the lead. And while Talor Gooch’s Smash GC has a five-shot lead over Torque in the team competition, plenty of golf remains with all four scores counting in each round. 

“36 holes left times four, what's that, 144 holes?” said Smash veteran Graeme McDowell , who produced the shot of the day Friday with an ace at the 181-yard fifth hole and is now tied for 8th at 10 under. “So, there's a lot of golf. That's two tournaments' worth. Four scores to count every day. It's very volatile. Smash are up there. Riyadh and Australia, we didn't really finish the job. Gooch is a great player. This is a good golf course for him, as well. 

“Like I say, a lot of work to do this weekend, but one of the great things about LIV, it's not just about yourself. Golf is an incredibly individual sport, but when you're going for that sort of team victory, as well, it's a lot of fun, and really that little extra motivation.”

TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS 

Individual Top 10 

T1 (-14) – Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (62-64); Carlos Ortiz, Torque (60-66)

3 (-13) – Thomas Detry, 4Aces (64-63)

4 (-12) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (66-62)

T5 (-11) – Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (65-64); David Puig, Fireballs (65-64); Richard Bland, Cleeks (66-63)

T8 (-10) – Harold Varner III, Smash (66-64); Graeme McDowell, Smash (67-63)

T10 (-9) – Scott Vincent, Wild Card (63-68); Anirban Lahiri, Crushers (66-65); Lucas Herbert, Ripper (66-65); Lee Westwood, Majesticks (67-64)

Team Top 3 

1 (-35) – Smash GC (McDowell 63, Varner III 64, Kokrak 68, Gooch 69; Rd. 2 total: -16)

2 (-30) – Torque GC (Ortiz 66, Ancer 67, Niemann 67, Muñoz 71; Rd. 2 total: -9)

T3 (-26) – Legion XIII (Rahm 62, Surratt 64, McKibbin 65, Hatton 70; Rd. 2 total: -19)

T3 (-26) – Southern Guards GC (Burmester 64, Oosthuizen 65, Grace 66, Schwartzel 67; Rd. 2 total: -18) 

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ROUND 2 NOTES 

G-MAC’S ACE: Smash GC’s Graeme McDowell  recorded the 14th ace in LIV Golf history with his hole-in-one with a 7-iron at the 181-yard fifth in Friday’s second round. He said that’s his 15th career ace. 

“They're all kind of becoming a bit of a blur over the years,” McDowell said. “It's been about 30 years of them. They're all fun. They're all special. Nice to do it with a card in your pocket in a tournament. I think that's probably half-a-dozen maybe in tournament play.” 

Of the five aces recorded by LIV Golf players at Hong Kong Golf Club, McDowell has the first at the fifth hole. 

“There's a couple of wedge par-3s here that you're kind of licking your chops. No. 5, you don't really stand on that tee licking the chops too much,” he said. “My caddie was trying to steer me a little left of the flag, and I said to him, I think we have enough club in our hands to kind of go after it a little bit. I didn't really listen to him.” 

On Thursday, Cleeks Golf Club newcomer Victor Perez aced the second hole. Hong Kong Golf Club has now yielded five aces in LIV Golf competition, most of any host course:

• Joaquin Niemann, 2024, 8th hole, Rd. 3

• Kalle Samooja, 2024, 2nd hole, Rd. 3

• Mito Pereira, 2025, 2nd hole, Rd. 2

• Victor Perez, 2026, 2nd hole, Rd. 1

• Graeme McDowell, 2026, 5th hole, Rd. 2

WOLFF’S HARD WORK: RangeGoats GC’s Matthew Wolff has gotten off to a strong start this season, and his solid form has carried over through the first two rounds at Fanling. The 26-year-old opened with a 5-under 65 and followed with a 6-under 66 as he moved into a tie for fifth at 11 under entering the weekend. 

It’s the first time he’s finished a LIV Golf round in the top five since the second round in Singapore in 2024. Wolff credits a productive offseason for the resurgence after a challenging stretch over the past few seasons. 

“I put in a lot of work,” he said. “Golf is one of those funny games. I feel like when your swing feels good, it's easy, and then when it doesn't, it's impossible ... It's been fun. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but it feels a lot better than it did last year.” 

DEAN & CARLOS AGAIN: Dean Burmester and Carlos Ortiz will be in the final group for the second consecutive day at Hong Kong Golf Club, this time as co-leaders. On Friday, Ortiz started the second round with a two-shot lead over Burmester. 

“I love Dean. Dean is awesome,” Ortiz said. “It's actually very cool watching him hit the ball. He hits it a long ways, and he's hitting it beautiful. He's hitting these beautiful draws. I really enjoy watching him play good golf. We're good friends, and it's awesome to play with a good friend.” 

GARCIA’S STREAK ENDS: Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia saw his streak of consecutive bogey-free holes at Hong Kong Golf Club end at 69 when he bogeyed the par-4 seventh Friday. Garcia had not suffered a bogey at Fanling since the middle of his first round last year en route to winning the individual title.

NOTES & NUGGETS 

• Just three players are over par, which ties for the second fewest players over par through two rounds in LIV Golf history

• 35 under is tied for Smash GC’s lowest score ever after two rounds; the team also shot 35 under at Greenbrier in 2024 and eventually won

• Legion XIII is the first team in LIV history to start a round outside the top 10 and finish inside the top 3; Jon Rahm’s team started Friday tied for 11th and is now tied for third

• Carlos Ortiz last led after Rd. 2 of LIV Golf Adelaide in 2025, where he finished second; he led after two rounds at LIV Golf Houston, where he went on to win 

• Graeme McDowell 's 63 in Rd. 2 ties for his lowest score on LIV Golf; he’s among the original LIV Golf players who competed in the first event in London in 2022

• Matthew Wolff   has had four separate streaks of three or more birdies in a row this week, tied for the most in LIV Golf history with two rounds still to play

• Elvis Smylie has increased his streak of consecutive par-3 holes played without making a bogey to 39, which ranks in the top 10 in league history. 

• 7-under is tied for Richard Bland's best round on LIV Golf relative to par, with the other coming in Rd. 2 of LIV Golf Greenbrier in 2023

• 98.2% of players have hit the fairway on the fourth hole through two rounds, making it the easiest fairway to hit in LIV Golf history at the halfway stage

STATS LEADERS 

Round 2

Driving Distance: Bryson DeChambeau, 344.0-yard avg.

Longest Drive: Bryson DeChambeau, 360.9 yards (11th hole)

Driving Accuracy: Talor Gooch, Tom McKibbin, Elvis Smylie, Josele Ballester, 92.86% (13 of 14)

Greens in Regulation: Thomas Detry, 94.44% (17 of 18)

Scrambling: 9 players at 100%, led by Wade Ormsby (5 of 5)

Fewest Putts: David Puig, 23

Bogey-free rounds: Thomas Detry (63), Richard Bland (63), Tom McKibbin (65), Louis Oosthuizen (65), Thomas Pieters (66), Wade Ormsby (66), Bryson DeChambeau (66), Charles Howell III (67)

Cumulative

Driving Distance: Bryson DeChambeau, 338.7-yard avg.

Driving Accuracy: Younghan Song, 92.86% (26 of 28)

Greens in Regulation: Thomas Detry, 91.67% (33 of 36)

Scrambling: Charles Howell III, 90.91% (10 of 11) 

Fewest Putts: Carlos Ortiz, David Puig, 49

Most Birdies: Carlos Ortiz, 16