One of the rewards for winning LIV Golf Adelaide is the opportunity to celebrate with Grammy Award-nominated musical artist FISHER.
Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm, the two-time defending LIV Golf Individual Champion, is two rounds closer to sharing the stage with the Australian star.
Related: Bryson DeChambeau, Marc Leishman share opening lead
Rahm moved to the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes at The Grange Golf Club, shooting a second-round bogey-free 9-under 63 on Friday to take a one-shot lead at 13 under.
View this post on Instagram
If he maintains that advantage over the next 36 holes, he’ll not only end a drought of 16 months without an individual victory, he’ll also be the focal point of one of the league’s most festive post-round parties.
“Being able to share that stage with FISHER on Sunday as the champion is something I think all of us want to do,” Rahm said.
“It’s just an unique experience.”
Rahm rolled in a 47-foot putt for eagle at the par-5 seventh and made five other putts between 10-25 feet on Friday. Overall, he made approximately 151 feet of putts.
“I can’t remember the last time I made this many, but it was a lot – and the ones that didn’t go in looked like they were going to go in,” Rahm said.
“It was a fantastic day on the greens.”
Rahm’s closest pursuer going into Saturday’s Moving Day is RangeGoats GC’s Ben Campbell, who shot his own 63 fueled by a string of five consecutive birdies.
View this post on Instagram
The New Zealand native has not won a professional tournament in Australia, but he has plenty of experience playing its sandbelt courses.
He also has plenty of support in the gallery, with family and friends making the short trip to cheer him on. He said a group of 15 mates has a rule – one beer for every birdie, two for an eagle.
Campbell had 7 birdies and 1 eagle on Friday, so that total number for 15 people is 135 beers.
“It’s great,” Campbell said of the support. “It’s as close to I get playing at home. Everyone has been amazing.”
Another shot back is Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau, who managed a 5-under 67 highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 7th.
View this post on Instagram
New 4Aces GC member Anthony Kim is solo fourth after a bogey-free 67. Smash GC Captain Talor Gooch, who won the first LIV Golf Adelaide in 2023, is tied for fifth with Southern Guards GC’s Branden Grace.
DeChambeau finds himself in contention despite issues with his wedges, along with some bad luck.
On Friday, a gust of wind at the par-3 14th pushed his ball into the greenside bunker, leaving it plugged. It took two shots to escape, but he managed to salvage a bogey.
“I was scrambling all day,” said DeChambeau, seeking his first LIV Golf individual win since last year in Korea, “and that’s something you just can’t do if you’re trying to win a golf tournament.”
It’s even more difficult under prime scoring conditions such as Friday’s cloudless – and relatively windless – day.
Three rounds of 63 were recorded, just one off the course record set by Gooch in 2023, and the field stroke average of 69.035 was more than two strokes lower than Thursday’s opening round.
View this post on Instagram
Thirteen different players made eagles or better on Friday, with Fireballs GC’s David Puig making the league’s third-ever albatross.
Campbell and reserve player Wade Ormsby – a member of The Grange filling in for HyFlyers GC Captain Phil Mickelson – each produced a streak of five consecutive birdies.
“Overall, with less wind today and the fairways being a little bit firmer, the course was easier,” Rahm said.
“I think the scores reflected it. I saw a lot of low rounds out there. But still, it can get tricky.”
Gooch said the conditions were similar to when he shot back-to-back 62s at The Grange in 2023.
“When you’ve got this many great players in the field, this type of place, if you don’t get much wind, there’s going to be some birdies made out there,” he said.
In the team competition, the RangeGoats started strong and raced out to a seven-shot lead but were eventually reeled in by the 4Aces, with both teams tied for first at 23 under.
Three teams, including the home favorite Ripper GC, are a shot back.
Lucas Herbert had the Rippers’ lowest round of the day, a 7-under 65 that left him tied for seventh.
As much as he’d like to win the individual title, he already knows what it feels like for the all-Australian foursome to claim the team trophy in Adelaide, having done so in 2024 in LIV Golf’s first team playoff.
“Probably more interested in the team leaderboard than I am the individual at the moment,” Herbert said.
“I’ve had parties for winning and I’ve had parties for winning the team events, and I can tell you the team events are a lot more fun when we win those.”
