In the second round of LIV Golf Adelaide yesterday, golfer Brendan Steele of HyFlyers GC took the lead with an 8-under 64 at The Grange Golf Club. This gives Steele a one-shot lead at 14 under over Iron Heads GC’s Danny Lee on the individual leaderboard. Steele’s efforts have also placed the HyFlyers in second place in the team competition, trailing by one shot to Torque GC.
Steele understands the importance of his team’s position. He commented, “We’re definitely aware of it. We know everything that’s going on.” His teammate and club member, Phil Mickelson, echoed this sentiment, adding “this is the time, guys. This is our trip.”
Looking ahead, Steele faces competition. There are 14 players within five shots of the lead, including the season-long individual leader Joaquin Niemann, the recent individual winner Dean Burmester, and Cameron Smith, a favourite of the locals.
Steele’s performance on Saturday was good. His score of 8 under included nine birdies and is his best LIV Golf round relative to par. He believes a round of similar quality will be needed on Sunday to ensure his first victory in seven years. Steele admitted, “It’s going to be tough…It’s kind of a race to 20-under par I think at this point.”
In the team title race, the HyFlyers must overcome Torque GC. Torque dominated last season, winning four times and maintaining a spot in the top five for the first five tournaments this season. Saturday saw Torque receive three 5-under 67s from captain Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, and Sebastián Muñoz.
However, Ripper GC, led by local favourite Smith, could challenge the leading teams. The captain is tied for fifth at 11 under on the individual leaderboard and teammate Matt Jones is tied for ninth at 10 under. A victory for the Rippers could spark significant celebration in South Australia.
The support of local fans may prove to be the decisive factor. In the words of Matt Jones: “The amount of times people just yell out your name going down every hole… it’s fantastic to satisfy. They’ve showed up to support the team this week, and hopefully tomorrow (Sunday) can be a really good day for us.”
The final round at The Grange today promises a thrilling contest with tight leaderboards both for the individual and team events. Steele’s drive and the support for the local favourite Rippers may prove crucial in deciding the outcome.
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