England’s Tyrrell Hatton carded a 7-under 64 on Saturday to grab the lead heading into the third and final round at LIV Golf Nashville in College Grove, Tenn.
Hatton did nearly all of his damage on the back nine, recording six of his seven second-round birdies over the final seven holes. He rattled off three birdies in a row at Nos. 12-14 and Nos. 16-18, with a par at No. 15 being the only “blemish” during that stretch.
Thanks to the strong finish, Hatton now sits at 13-under 129 for the tournament, three shots ahead of John Catlin (66 on Saturday).
“Got off to a little bit of a slow start in terms of scoring through the first 11 holes,” Hatton said. “It was a little bit scruffy from tee to green in places, and it was nice to hole that putt on 12, and obviously chipping in on 13 was a bonus. … And holing a long putt on 14.
“I definitely had momentum on my side and carried that through to the finish. Very happy with how the back nine played out.”
Catlin went for six birdies and one bogey to go 5 under for the second straight day at The Grove. He is playing in just his second LIV Golf event as he continues to fill in for Charles Howell III on Crushers GC. Howell is out with a left tibia injury.
“Everybody has been very, very welcoming. It’s felt like a pretty easy transition,” Catlin said. “I knew most of the guys coming in. I’ve been a pro for 11 years. I’ve played on pretty much every tour in the world. I’ve had a chance to meet all these guys before, and coming back, it just kind of felt like, ‘Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while.'”
Bryson DeChambeau, the captain of Crushers GC who is fresh off his U.S. Open win, is tied for third with Spain’s Jon Rahm after firing a 5-under 66 on Saturday. Rahm came away with low-round honors with a 63.
“Just being able to compartmentalize, focus on the golf at hand and execute to the best of my ability,” DeChambeau said. “When things don’t go my way, try to feed off the crowd a little bit to get me pumped up again, and if I hit a great shot, then interact with the fans as much as possible.
“It’s what I like to do. I just feed off of it no matter if it’s good or bad. They are certainly a raucous crowd, which I love. I think it’s awesome. Hopefully more of that (Sunday).”
Rahm racked up nine birdies, including three straight at Nos. 9-11. He had to withdraw ahead of the U.S. Open because of a foot infection, an injury that is starting to affect him less and less.
“I played nearly 18 holes pain-free. I mean, that’s probably why I hit it so much better,” Rahm said Saturday. “Yesterday it bugged me a little bit, and it’s just in the back of your head for a second, at least it was yesterday, but not today. Never really questioned not being able to swing it, and I think that’s what made the difference.”
Cameron Smith of Australia (65) and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz (66) are tied for fifth, five strokes behind Hatton. Harold Varner III (64) and Englishmen Lee Westwood (66) and Sam Horsfield (68) are tied for seventh at 7-under 135.
Mexican Abraham Ancer, the first-round leader Friday, struggled to a 4-over 75 on Saturday to fall into a tie for 27th.
Rahm and Hatton have Legion XIII leading the team competition at 28 under. Crushers GC is in second at 23 under, followed by Majesticks GC at 19 under.
–Field Level Media