Follow all the action like Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz take part of the lead on the last lap of the second LIV Golf event.
Johnson made eight birdies in a round of 68 yesterday at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Oregon, as the former world No. 1 looks set to take home the dazzling top prize of £3.25 million. Ortiz, one of the newest recruits to the Saudi-backed breakout, shot a 69 to ensure that he joins Johnson at the top of the standings at eight under par. Their closest challenger comes in the form of Burning Grace, which is two shots back. Fellow South African Justin Harding starts a shot further adrift with five under par, while Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed are still in with a chance from the outside as they start four shots ahead.
A man who is definitely not ready to press charges is Phil Mickelson, who endured another scorching week after his disastrous performance at the US Open. The 52-year-old is six-over-par but will be back in action as LIV Golf events do not include a cut. In the team event, 4 Aces lead GC, led by Johnson, with -15. The all-South African Stingers GC team, which won at Centurion Club last month, will start second. Follow all the actions below:
LIV Golf Portland
LIV Golf Portland
22:10 † Tom Kershaw
Johnson can’t get up and down on 2nd after that faulty approach and he slides back to -7. However, there are no such problems for Branden Grace, who pulls off a birdie putt to join Johnson at that point. Ortiz has a nervous putt to save par, but he goes in to make sure his lead is now two shots.
LIV Golf Portland
22:02 † Tom Kershaw
Koepka makes a fantastic par on 3rd. His tee shot stopped just on the edge of the bunker, sending a clumsy chip down the mound. He opened the face, took a confident swing at it and the ball bounced no more than a few feet in front of him, rolled down and nearly caught the lip. He goes the return putt up the slope and stays at -5.
LIV Golf Portland
21:55 † Tom Kershaw
Johnson and Ortiz are both wayward off the tee at the 2nd, dragging their drives to the left and letting themselves approach blindly.
Ortiz has 172 yards in and finds the center of the green, but it will be a long two-putt from there.
Johnson is on a slope out of the rough and flies it long off the green. That’s going to be a tough up and down.
LIV Golf Portland
21:46 † Tom Kershaw
Ortiz rolls in that short birdie putt on the 1st. He played the hole to perfection and now has the absolute lead, with Johnson having to settle for par.
Justin Harding has had a great start to his round with back-to-back birdies and he’s at -7, two shots back.
LIV Golf Portland
21:42 † Tom Kershaw
Oosthuizen was unable to take advantage of the par-5 1st, but a fine approach in the 2nd gives him a good view of birdie.
World No. 73 Yuki Inamori hits a great approach with a 3-wood into the 18th green and will have nothing more than a tap-in to get into the red for the tournament.
LIV Golf Portland
21:38 † Tom Kershaw
Johnson is forced to set back quite a long way, but a great approach leaves him with a long birdie look. Ortiz only needs to wedge that in and he has a much better chance of taking the straight lead.
Elsewhere, Bryson DeChambeau led off with a bogey, but a massive drive resulted in a fine birdie in the 4th, bringing him back to -3.
LIV Golf Portland
21:30 † Tom Kershaw
Up front on the green, Justin Harding makes a perfect start and rolls into a tricky left-to-right slider for birdie. That puts him at -6, just two shots from the lead. Brooks Koepka matches him with a birdie to go to -5.
LIV Golf Portland
21:27 † Tom Kershaw
Patrick Reed was in good shape yesterday and shot a 68, and he will birdie on his first hole of the day. He’s four shots back.
It is time for the leaders to act now. Carlos Ortiz hits a perfect fade-down the first and he has a good chance of getting on the green in two at par-5. However, Dustin Johnson pulls his drive into the bunker and he will almost certainly have to stop.
LIV Golf Portland
21:19 † Tom Kershaw
The horn sounds and we are on our way. Remember that the leaders will tee off at the first just after. Greg Norman, meanwhile, is unleashed on the mic, delivering his usual roar.
LIV Golf Portland
21:11 † Tom Kershaw
We are only five minutes from the shotgun start at Pumpkin Ridge. Bryson DeChambeau talks about his chances of a late charge. The former US Open champion starts five shots ahead.
LIV Golf Portland
20:55 † Tom Kershaw
Here’s a look at what Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz had to say after finishing tied for the lead yesterday.
LIV Golf Portland
20:49 † Tom Kershaw
There are several English players in the field, although few have done too well. Sam Horsfield is the only one with a chance and started five shots ahead. Lee Westwood is at +3, with Richard Bland and Laurie Canter a little further back. Ian Poulter, meanwhile, is really exploring the depths of the leaderboard at +8 after two scorching rounds.
LIV Golf Portland
20:41 † Tom Kershaw
To learn more about who is benefiting most from the bottomless pit of money behind LIV, read this great report from Alan Shipnuck who spoke with players and agents on the ground in Portland.
How the money works on LIV Golf | The Fire Pit Collective
LIV Golf Portland
20:31 † Tom Kershaw
One man who won’t be in battle tonight is Phil Mickelson. The 52-year-old delivered a miserable performance at the US Open and there is little joy in Pumpkin Ridge either. A pair of 75’s has him at +6, some 14 shots off the lead.
LIV Golf Portland
20:18 † Tom Kershaw
If you missed yesterday’s action, catch up on the highlights below. Dustin Johnson threatened to walk away with it at one point, with eight birdies propelling him to -10, but a late outburst has made it a very open race.
LIV Golf Portland
20:13 † Tom Kershaw
Welcome to the independent‘s live coverage of the last day of the LIV Golf event in Portland.
Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz split the lead at -8 before the shotgun start at 9:15pm BST at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Branden Grace is two shots back, but Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed are out of action with -4.