Rahm takes the Adelaide lead, ahead of Campbell, DeChambeau

Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm tees off during the second round of LIV Golf Adelaide at Grange Golf Club on Friday. Image courtesy of LIV Golf.

From a correspondent

Adelaide, Australia; One of the rewards for winning LIV Golf Adelaide is the opportunity to celebrate with Grammy Award-nominated music artist Fisher.

Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm, a two-time defending individual LIV Golf champion, is two rounds closer to sharing the podium with the Australian star.

Rahm climbed to the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes at The Grange Golf Club, shooting a bogey-free 9-under par 63 in the second round on Friday to take a one-stroke lead at 13 under.

If he maintains that advantage over the next 36 holes, he will not only end a 16-month drought without an individual victory, but he will also be the center of one of the competition’s most festive post-round celebrations.

“To be able to share that stage with Fisher on Sunday as champion is something I think we would all like to do,” Rahm said.

“It’s just a unique experience.”

Rahm rolled a 47-foot putt for Eagle on the par-5 seventh and made five other putts between 10 and 25 feet Friday. In total, he made about 150 feet of putts.

On target

“I can’t remember the last time I made that many, but there were a lot. And the ones that didn’t go in looked like they might go in,” Rahm said.

“It was a fantastic day on the greens.”

Rahm’s closest pursuer on Saturday’s Moving Day is Ben Campbell of RangeGoats GC, who shot his own 63, fueled by a string of five straight birdies.

The New Zealander has not yet won a professional tournament in Australia, but he does have a lot of experience playing on the sand courts.

He also has a lot of support at the gallery, with family and friends making the short trip to cheer him on. He said a group of fifteen friends has a rule: one beer for each bird, two for an eagle.

Campbell had seven birdies and an eagle on Friday, so the total for 15 people is 135 beers.

“It’s amazing,” Campbell said of the support. “It’s so close to being able to play at home. Everyone was great.”

Another shot back is Crushers leader Bryson DeChambeau, who shot a 5-under 67, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 7th.

New 4Aces GC member Anthony Kim is in solo fourth after a bogey-free 67.

Smash GC captain Talor Gooch, who won the inaugural LIV Golf Adelaide in 2023, is in fifth place with Southern Guards GC’s Branden Grace.

Ben Campbell of RangeGoats GC signs a fan after the second round of LIV Golf Adelaide on Friday. Image courtesy of LIV Golf.

Impressive recovery

DeChambeau comes into contention despite problems with his wedges and some bad luck.

On Friday, a gust of wind on the par-3 14th pushed his ball into the greenside bunker, blocking it. It took two shots to escape, but he managed to save a bogey.

“I was scrambling all day,” said DeChambeau, looking for his first individual LIV Golf victory since last year in Korea, “and that’s something you just can’t do when you’re trying to win a golf tournament.”

It’s even tougher under prime scoring conditions, like Friday’s cloudless – and relatively windless – day.

Three rounds of 63 were completed, just one short of Gooch’s 2023 course record, and the fielding average of 69.035 was more than two strokes lower than Thursday’s opening round.

Thirteen different players made eagles or better on Friday, with Fireballs GC’s David Puig becoming the third-ever albatross in the competition.

Campbell and reserve player Wade Ormsby – a member of The Grange who filled in for HyFlyers GC captain Phil Mickelson – each produced a string of five straight birdies.

“Overall, with less wind today and the fairways being a little firmer, the course was easier,” Rahm said.

Going hard

“I think the scores reflected it. I’ve seen a lot of low rounds. But it can still be tough.”

Gooch said the conditions were similar to when he shot back-to-back 62s at The Grange in 2023.

“When you have so many great players in the field, in places like this, and there’s not a lot of wind, there’s going to be a few birdies,” he said.

In the team competition, the RangeGoats started strong, racing out to a seven-shot lead, but were eventually overtaken by the 4Aces, with both teams finishing in first place at 23 under.

Three teams, including home favorites Ripper GC, are one shot back.

Lucas Herbert had the lowest round of the day for the Rippers, a 7-under 65, which left him in seventh place.

As much as he would love 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 the 2024 LIV Golf first team play-offs.

“Probably more interested in team leadership than I am as an individual at this point,” Herbert said.

“I’ve had parties to win and I’ve had parties to win the team events, and I can tell you that the team events are a lot more fun when we win them.” (courtesy of LIV Golf)

Leaderboards: individual top 10

1. (-13) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (68-63)

2. (-12) – Ben Campbell, RangeGoats (69-63)

3. (-11) – Bryson DeChambeau Breakers (66-67)

4. (-10) – Anthony Kim, 4Aces (67-67)

T5 (-9) – Talor Gooch, Smash (72-63); Branden Grace, Southern Guard (71-64)

T7(-8) – Peter Uihlein, RangeGoats (69-67); Lucas Herbert, Ripper (71-65); Sebastián Muñoz, Torque (69-67)

10. (-7) – Joaquin Niemann, Couple (68-69)

Teamtop3

T1 (-23) – RangeGoats GC (Campbell 63, Uihlein 67, Wolff 70, Watson 73); 4Aces ranking (Detry 67, Kim 67, Pieters 69, Johnson 72)

T3(-22) – Legion XIII (Rahm 63, McKibbin 68, Hatton 69, Surratt 73); Ripper GC (Herbert 65, Smith 67, Smylie 70, Leishman 72); Torque GC (Muñoz 69, Ortiz 68, Niemann 69, Ancer 70)

Also read: DeChambeau and Leishman share the lead on day one at LIV Golf Adelaide

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