Carlos Ortiz leads Dustin Johnson by one shot after the first round at LIV Portland
Follow all the action as Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz take part of the lead into the final round of the second LIV Golf event.
Johnson carded eight birdies in a round of 68 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Oregon yesterday as the former world No. 1 attempts to snag the stunning £3.25million top prize. Ortiz, one of the newest recruits to the Saudi-backed breakaways, shot a 69 to ensure he joined Johnson at the top of the leaderboard with eight-under par. Her closest challenger is Branden Grace, who is two shots behind. His compatriot from South Africa, Justin Harding, starts a stroke further behind five strokes under par, while Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed still have an outside chance as they start four strokes off the lead.
One man who is certainly not ready to face charges is Phil Mickelson, who has endured another hot week following his disastrous performance at the US Open. The 52-year-old has six over par but will be back in action as there is no cut at LIV golf events. In the team competition, 4 Aces GC, captained by Johnson, lead by -15. The all-South African Stingers GC team, who won at Centurion Club last month, will start in second place. Follow all the steps below:
LIV Golf Portland
It was a disappointing day for DeChambeau, who is over for his round two, but the American makes absolute mincemeat of the par-5 17 by injecting a fade in what only looked like a short iron and he’s now becoming one have great eagle chance.
Tom KershawJuly 3, 2022 00:44
LIV Golf Portland
Johnson moves to -9! After missing two birdie chances, he gets the putter working on the par-3 12, and the two-time major champion is now one shy of the lead.
Tom KershawJuly 3, 2022 00:40
LIV Golf Portland
Johnson misinterprets his birdie putt and again gives him too much credit on the high side, and just like on 11, Grace got a perfect look from behind. This time, however, the South African’s own effort ran out of speed and ended up dying in front of the hole. Ortiz’s lead remains at one.
Tom KershawJuly 3, 2022 00:27
LIV Golf Portland
Grace climbs onto the 11th tee and lays his drive to the right. However, he gets free relief and can fade his approach around a tree and the ball just trickles onto the front of the green. It’s a great escape and he, Johnson and Ortiz will all be of similar length for birdie.
Tom KershawJuly 3, 2022 00:22
LIV Golf Portland
Oosthuizen has birded three of his last four holes to go to -7, three shots back.
At 10 a.m., all three players in the final group found the green. Ortiz and Johnson make their pars, but Grace has a great display of the latter’s effort and rolls in for his birdie. The South African advances to -9 and is now just a shot away from the lead.
Tom KershawJuly 3, 2022 00:08
LIV Golf Portland
After missing a short one on the last hole, Ortiz keeps his nerve to save par at 9. He makes the turn in 35, but what was once a four-stroke lead has been reduced to two by Johnson and Grace.
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 23:53
LIV Golf Portland
Patrick Reed is two under on his round so far, but at 11 a birdie opportunity sails past and he remains four strokes from the lead.
The lowest running round so far comes from Phachara Khongwatmai. The 23-year-old is under four on 10 holes in quite a turnaround after shooting 77 and 75 respectively on Thursday and Friday.
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 11:50 p.m
LIV Golf Portland
Grace hits the green at the 330-yard-8. and two putts to birdie. He moves to -8 and is quickly joined at that mark by Johnson, who stiffened his approach to just a few yards. Ortiz can only make par and the lead is now just two.
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 11:35 p.m
LIV Golf Portland
There’s the first crack in Ortiz’ armor. He pulls out a short putt to save par on the 7th, slipping back to -10. Johnson has an almost identical putt to birdie, knows the line, and rolls it down the center of the hole with confidence. Ortiz still has a three-shot lead, but the Mexican showed signs of nervousness and it’s a big change in momentum.
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 23:23
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 23:16