Carlos Ortiz leads Dustin Johnson with a single shot after the first round at Live Portland
Catch all the action as Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz take center stage in the final round of the second LIV Golf event.
Johnson made an eight bird card in a round of 68 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Oregon yesterday as the former World No. 1 looks to snatch the £3.25 million grand prize. Ortiz, one of the newest Saudi-backed dissident recruits, shot 69 targets to ensure he joins Johnson at the top of the leaderboard in eighth place. Their closest competitor comes in the form of Branden Grace, who shoots with two strokes. His South African teammate Justin Harding starts one shot at a distance five below par, while Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed are still in outside fortunes as they start four shots off the lead.
There is certainly one man not ready to be charged and that is Phil Mickelson, who suffered another scorching week after his disastrous performance at the US Open. The 52-year-old is six times as old, but he’ll be back in action because LIV Golf events don’t have a cut. In the team event, 4 Aces GC, led by Johnson, leads at -15. The Stingers GC team from South Africa, who won the Centurion Club last month, starts in second place. Follow all the procedures below:
Life Golf Portland
Grace leads the green at 330 yards 8th and two Birdie pitches. He moves to -8 and is quickly joined by Johnson, who tightens his approach a few feet away. Ortiz can only equalize and now the lead is only two.
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 23:35
Life Golf Portland
There is the first notch in Ortiz’s shield. He pulls a short throw to save the tie on the seventh and then goes back to -10. Johnson has an almost identical hit to the bird, knows the line and confidently rolls it down the middle of the hole. Ortiz still had three shots ahead but there were signs of tension there from the Mexican and that’s a huge shift in momentum.
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 23:23
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 23:16
Life Golf Portland
Ortiz’s momentum slowed a bit with Pars at 5 and 6 but the Mexican was still ahead with four shots.
The team happened a little closer, with the four ace shots (Johnson, Perez, Reed, Gotch) twice in front of the fireballs (Ortiz, Anser, Garcia, Lopez).
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 23:07
Life Golf Portland
LIV Golf has just announced Paul Casey as their latest big signing. The Englishman, who once said he refuses to play in Saudi Arabia due to being a UNICEF ambassador, has missed the PGA Tour with a back injury since March.
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 23:02
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 22:48
Life Golf Portland
Few have seen Matthew Wolf decline after such an exciting start to his PGA Tour career, with his top-five claiming the US Open and the PGA Championship in 2020. He has slipped to nearly 50 places in the world rankings but his impressive serving style The ninth as a reminder of his talent. That’s the flick to make it a succession bird for the 23-year-old. It is now at -3.
Tom KershawJul 2, 2022 22:43
Life Golf Portland
4th Ortiz birds too! The Mexican is three-under through four holes, and after seeing that shot fall, Johnson misses a short one of his own par. Ortiz now has four shots ahead of Harding. Johnson returns to -6 where Reed and Grace join him.
Tom KershawJul 2, 2022 22:34
Life Golf Portland
Patrick Reed entered the competition with back-to-back finches at 5 and 6. He’s now at -6, four shots over Ortiz’s lead.
Ortiz had only one win on the PGA Tour before defecting to the LIV. By a great deal of fate, on that occasion at the Houston Open in 2020, Dustin Johnson was the runner-up.
Tom KershawJuly 2, 2022 22:29
Life Golf Portland
It was a great start for Carlos Ortiz. He hits a fine approach at 211 yards 3 par 3 leaving an uphill birdie hit. Confidently twist it to go to -10. Johnson can only level out while Grace, having chosen to step away from the sidelines and take a cliff, sees his momentum halted by a ghost.
Tom KershawJul 2, 2022 22:19
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