Southern Guards, DeChambeau lead entering final round in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG – In one of the most electric atmospheres in the history of LIV Golf, home favorites Southern Guards GC rallied to take a two-stroke lead over Fireballs GC and Torque GC entering championship Sunday at LIV Golf South Africa.
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The all-South African team combined for a score of 26 under after beginning the round facing a two-shot deficit. They’ve received a strong effort from all four players through the first 54 holes, but it’s been Branden Grace and Dean Burmester who have buoyed the team to the top spot with a chance to finish off the storybook result at The Club at Steyn City.
Grace got up-and-down for birdie on the 18th to move within two shots of Bryson DeChambeau, the individual leader and Crushers GC captain who shot a 7-under 64 to move to 21 under. DeChambeau and Grace will be in the final group off hole No. 1 on Sunday with Torque GC’s Abraham Ancer, who is tied for third with Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm.
“I think I have to be a little bit of a rhino tomorrow,” Grace said. “I have to be tough tomorrow. This is going to be a battle. Listen, [DeChambeau] is playing phenomenal golf. I feel that I'm also playing phenomenal golf. You just need a couple of things to go your way … it can change quickly.”
Burmester, who will tee off in the penultimate group with Rahm and 4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry on No. 1, shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 to move to 17 under, four shots behind DeChambeau.
“I think we've got a real drive to win this thing,” Burmester said. “… It's not every day that you shoot 6 under and you're the worst round in your four-ball and in your team. Hats off to the guys. We know that we're going to do more of the same tomorrow. There's going to be a ton of birdies. A lot of teams are going to be gunning for that top spot.”
Captain Louis Oosthuizen shot a 7-under 64, while Charl Schwartzel carded a 6-under 65, helping to spur the Southern Guards to the top of the leaderboard.
“We're feeding off the energy at the moment,” Oosthuizen said. “Me and Charl were playing so-so, and today we really felt the energy, and obviously Dean and Branden are playing well, so I think we can just go tomorrow and pull this thing through.”
On the individual leaderboard, DeChambeau began the day with a two-shot lead and maintained that advantage with a flawless bogey-free round. The Crushers GC captain, while warmly embraced this week in his first visit to South Africa, will have to contend with the raucous home crowd presumably backing Grace on Sunday.
“Tomorrow is going to be a great day. Gracey is playing some incredible golf, and it's fun to be alongside him playing some good golf, as well,” DeChambeau said. “He's got huge hometown support, and it's cool to feed off of that energy, so hopefully there's a little bit more energy, and I can kind of feed off of that.”
Ancer, who leads the field in driving accuracy this week, shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 and has improved his score by one shot each round. He’ll be seeking his second individual title of his LIV Golf career while also hoping to help Torque spoil the local party on the team leaderboard.
“We just need to stay focused, do the same thing, shoot low numbers, make some putts, and hopefully we'll be in a good spot,” Ancer said.
Rahm will be trying to wrestle the individual trophy away from the leaders to earn his second win in three weeks. The Legion XIII captain has only made one bogey through his first 54 holes but knows he will need to make plenty of birdies in order to come from behind.
“With the golf course being soft and at altitude, it still plays quite short,” Rahm said. “I think you've seen this course; you have to go make as many birdies as possible. You can come out there tomorrow, shoot 7 under, it very well may not be enough because of how gettable it can be."
David Puig and Detry are four shots back as well, with both players aiming for their first LIV Golf individual title.
“The energy was great,” Puig said. “Obviously Southern Guards and Bryson, right, it was crazy the entire round. I had a lot of fun.”
For the local crowd, however, the fun will be seeing their hometown heroes celebrate atop the podium on Sunday. The Southern Guards are desperate to reward their support.
“You want to do well for everybody, for the crowd, for yourself. You just want to do yourself proud,” Burmester said. “… We just said, boys, let's just go and effing win this thing. Let's just do it. It doesn't matter what it takes; we're just going to stand up and man up and will it into existence. That's our goal. We want to get out here, win this team thing, and make this the greatest golf event South Africa has ever seen.”
TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS
Individual Top 10
1 (-21) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (63-65-64)
2 (-19) – Branden Grace, Southern Guards (64-66-64)
T3 (-18) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (65-66-64); Abraham Ancer, Torque (66-65-64)
T5 (-17) – Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (67-64-65); Thomas Detry, 4Aces (66-67-63); David Puig, Fireballs (66-64-66)
T8 (-16) – Charles Howell III, Crushers (63-68-66); Carlos Ortiz, Torque (67-65-65)
T10 (-15) – Richard Bland, Cleeks (66-66-66); Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (64-70-64)
Team Top 3
1 (-60) – Southern Guards GC (Grace 64-66-64, Burmester 67-64-65, Oosthuizen 69-68-64, Schwartzel 66-70-65; Rd. 3 score: -26)
T2 (-58) – Fireballs GC (Puig 66-64-66, Garcia 64-70-64, Ballester 69-65-65, Masaveu 70-67-64; Rd. 3 score: -25)
T2 (-58) – Torque GC (Ancer 66-65-64, Ortiz 67-65-65, Niemann 67-65-67, Muñoz 70-67-66; Rd. 3 score: -22)
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ROUND 3 NOTES
SCOREABLE CONDITIONS AT STEYN CITY: On Saturday, 17 players shot bogey-free rounds, which is the most bogey-free rounds in a single day in LIV Golf history, beating the previous record of 11.
The scoring average of 66.42 was also the lowest in LIV Golf history.
THE EMOTIONAL FIRST TEE: Prior to the third round, Southern Guards members Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace had all experienced the emotion of teeing off on the first hole in front of their South African crowd. On Saturday, it was Dean Burmester’s turn.
“The boys tried to prep me for the first tee last night and this morning,” Burmester said. “Branden said it's going to be probably one of the coolest things you'll ever experience, and Louis said, just try not to cry. I ended up crying, and I ended up not feeling anything. I didn't feel my hands, my legs, my feet. I couldn't feel a damn thing. I'm surprised I got the ball on the tee. I was shaking.”
BURMESTER FOR PRESIDENT: Dean Burmester will start Sunday with a four-shot deficit entering Sunday, but there’s no denying he’s been one of the stars of the week at Steyn City. Whether it’s putting on a South African soccer jersey, taking pictures with the crowd or raising his fist in celebration, Burmester has brought the energy all week long.
“Dean for president, honestly,” said Jon Rahm, who played alongside the local favorite. “His shoulders might be so sore from waving at the crowd and thumbs up and everything. The fact that he somehow can get back and focus on his round with how much attention he gives the fans, it's incredible, but he created an atmosphere in that group that was extremely fun. Very few can rival how enjoyable today was with how great we all three played.”
THE MASTER AND THE PUPIL: HyFlyers GC captain Phil Mickelson played alongside his offseason recruit and the league’s youngest player, 21-year-old Michael La Sasso, for the first time this season Saturday.
Mickelson shot a 7-under 64, his second consecutive round without a bogey. LaSasso shot an 8-under 63, his lowest round since joining LIV Golf.
“It was awesome,” Mickelson said. “We had a lot of fun, and we both played very well, and we're pushing each other to keep making birdies, so we kept it going, and gosh, he shot 8-under …
“You could see his firepower, see what a talented player he is. I tried to keep up. I got off to a good start. I fell one shy of him today. He shot 8, I shot 7 under, and it was really a fun day.”
Mickelson has shaken off the rust quickly after missing the first four events of the season attending a family health matter.
“It's just fun to be back playing. I really missed it. I'm glad I'm here. I wish I played better the first day, but I'm really having fun. It's just fun to be back playing,” he said.
DECHAMBEAU LOVES SOUTH AFRICA: Bryson DeChambeau has been celebrated by the South African fans, who clearly love the two-time major champion. For DeChambeau, the feeling is mutual.
“The hospitality has been fantastic,” DeChambeau said. “I'm going on a safari on Monday, so I'm really looking forward to seeing more outside the city here and more of South Africa. Something I've always wanted to do. I was supposed to come here earlier this year before Riyadh, but it didn’t work out.
“Hopefully I can do something next year early and plan for that a little better. But we're going to go on a safari Monday, and I'll get to see more of South Africa, and I'll let you know if I see you after then. But the hospitality, the people, the community, the fans, it's A+ for me.”
DECHAMBEAU, RAHM PREP FOR MASTERS: This week at Steyn City will be Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm’s final tournament appearance before April’s Masters at Augusta National, in which 11 LIV Golf players are invited.
Although the course doesn’t fully replicate Augusta National’s conditions, both players are using the event to prepare for their quest for a green jacket, which would be a first for DeChambeau or a second for Rahm.
“I'm just going to focus on myself, man,” DeChambeau said. “I know it's so cliche to say, but the more I focus on myself, the better I usually perform. I just want to get in my own bubble and focus on executing the best shots I can to prepare for Augusta.”
While DeChambeau is preparing his golf swing for the Masters, Rahm is using this week to prepare mentally.
“There's no golf course on the planet that can be comparable to Augusta National,” Rahm said. “You can do a good job mentally to try to prepare for it, but playing-wise, nothing plays like it. The crowd does help, though, in that sense. If you're playing the weekend at Augusta, you're going to have a lot of people following you. It's going to be a great atmosphere.”
ROUND 4 START CHANGE: The shotgun start for Sunday's final round has been moved up to 9:35 a.m. Gates at The Club at Steyn City will open at 8:15 a.m. The live broadcast will begin at 9:30 a.m. (all times local).
NOTES & NUGGETS
Bryson DeChambeau is 13 under on the par 4s, tying for sixth-best in LIV Golf history after 54 holes; his best performance on par 4s came in his 2023 Greenbrier win when he was 17 under at the 54-hole tournament.
This is DeChambeau’s seventh time to lead a LIV Golf tournament with one round to play; he converted one of his previous six leads into a win (2025 Korea).
Every player on the Southern Guards GC roster birdied (or better) the 4th, 5th, 10th and 18th holes Saturday.
Fireballs GC shot a cumulative 25 under, the team’s lowest-ever score in any round.
Branden Grace’s 19-under total is his lowest LIV Golf score through 54 holes.
Anthony Kim’s 3-putt avoidance streak continued Saturday, as the LIV Golf Adelaide winner has now played 335 consecutive holes without a three-putt, the second-longest streak in league history.
Branden Grace’s par-5 Greens in Regulations streak is now at 40, the eighth-longest in league history.
Jon Rahm suffered his first bogey of the week in the third round, as his par-or-better streak ended at 53 holes.
Josele Ballester hit all 18 Greens in Regulation on Saturday, the second time this season – and just the fourth time by any player in 2026 – that he’s hit every green.
Tom McKibbin’s 9-under 61 ties for the second-lowest round of any player this season and is his lowest score in his 58 career LIV Golf rounds.
Thomas Detry’s 8-under 63 is his lowest single round in his brief LIV Golf career (five starts) and his fourth bogey-free round of the season.
The par-4 13th and par-5 18th yielded no bogeys on Saturday, just the sixth time in league history than the field went bogey-free on two separate holes.
STATS LEADERS
Round 3
Driving Distance: Jon Rahm, 347.0-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Joaquin Niemann, 355.0 yards (15th hole)
Driving Accuracy: Thomas Detry, 92.86% (13 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Josele Ballester 100% (18 of 18)
Scrambling: 17 players tied at 100%, led by Bryson DeChambeau, Tom McKibbin, Ben Campbell and Phil Mickelson (5 of 5)
Fewest Putts: Tom McKibbin, 23
Bogey-free rounds: Tom McKibbin (62), Thomas Detry (63), Anirban Lahiri (63), Bryson DeChambeau (64), Abraham Ancer (64), Phil Mickelson (64), Peter Uihlein (64), Louis Oosthuizen (64), Dean Burmester (65), Josele Ballester (65), Brendan Steele (65), Dustin Johnson (65), Cameron Smith (66), Sebastián Muñoz (66), Younghan Song (66), Ben Campbell (66), Adrian Meronk (67)
Cumulative
Driving Distance: Matthew Wolff, 339.3-yard avg.
Driving Accuracy: Abraham Ancer, 88.10% (37 of 42)
Greens in Regulation: Caleb Surratt, 87.04% (47 of 54)
Scrambling: Richard Bland, (12 of 13) 92.31%
Fewest Putts: Bryson DeChambeau, 76
