Entering Friday, Bryson DeChambeau found himself tied atop a bunched leaderboard at Aramco LIV Golf Singapore. After shooting the round of the week, a second-round 6-under 65, he sits at 10 under through 36 holes. The Crushers GC captain enters the weekend with a three-shot lead over a robust chasing pack.
After beginning his second round with back-to-back pars, DeChambeau birdied the third, fourth and eighth holes, making the turn in 32 strokes. His back nine was smooth-sailing until the par-4 15th, when he overdrew an iron off the tee into the harbor. After taking a drop, he scrambled for a hard-earned bogey, protecting his lead in the process. DeChambeau bounced back immediately, making a birdie on the 16th. For the round, he finished with a total of six birdies, an eagle and the lone bogey on 15.
“Focus on my golf, what I can control,” said DeChambeau of his mindset entering the weekend. “I know it’s cliche, but you can’t get too wrapped up with what everybody else is doing and making sure I’m starting it on my lines the way I need to and rolling the putts on my lines like I need to. Barring that, I think I can give myself a good chance.”
DeChambeau’s closest competitors are three shots back at 7-under and include Thomas Detry, Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood and Richard T. Lee.
Detry of 4Aces GC is fresh off a runner-up finish at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong and has carried that momentum into the week in Singapore. His round included a chip-in eagle on the 18th hole (his 16th of the day) off the back of the green from 40 yards away.
The Belgian in embracing the tough golf course and remains confident heading into the final two rounds. “I’m up for the challenge,” he said. “It’s definitely a challenge out there, so anything under par is pretty good, and I managed to do that pretty well.”
Hong Kong winner Rahm continues to lurk dangerously on the leaderboard. The Legion XIII captain made 11 consecutive pars from holes 5 to 17 before finishing his round with a birdie on the par-5 18th to finish at 7 under.
“I played really good today. Felt like I played actually significantly better than yesterday, just little margins,” Rahm said. “Couldn’t really make many putts out there today. Made that one on 6 and from then on missed a lot of birdie chances.”
Oosthuizen shot a 4-under 67 that included six birdies and two bogeys. The Southern Guards GC captain has been fueled by a hot putter and ranks 5th in the field in Strokes Gained Putting at the halfway stage.
“I tried to give myself as many birdie putts as possible,” said Oosthuizen. “I felt I saw the greens really good today, the lines, and rolled the putter really good.”
Westwood, in just his second start after returning from a wrist injury, continues to play steady golf. The Majesticks Golf Club co-captain shot a 3-under 68 that included five birdies and two bogeys.
Lee, who’s looking to become the first LIV Golf Wild Card to finish better than 12th in a tournament, shot a 3-under 68.
Matthew Wolff , Marc Leishman and Charles Howell III all shot 3-under 68s as well and are four shots back of DeChambeau at 6 under.
On the team leaderboard, the Crushers GC surged to the top after carding a cumulative 10 under for the day. They hold a three-shot lead over the first-round leaders, Legion XIII. The champions from Hong Kong, 4Aces GC, are just one shot back of Legion XIII and four shots behind the Crushers.
TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS
Individual Top 10
1 (-10) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (67-65)
T2 (-7) – Thomas Detry, 4Aces (68-67); Louis Oosthuizen, Southern Guards (68-67); Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (67-68); Lee Westwood, Majesticks (67-68); Richard T. Lee, Wild Card (67-68)
T7 (-6) – Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (68-68); Marc Leishman, Ripper (68-68); Charles Howell III, Crushers (68-68)
T10 (-5) – Carlos Ortiz, Torque (69-68); Scott Vincent, Wild Card (69-68); Joaquin Niemann, Torque (69-68)
Team Top 3
1 (-15) – Crushers (DeChambeau 65, Howell III 68, Lahiri 70, Casey 71; Rd. 2 score: -10)
2 (-12) – Legion XIII (Rahm 68, Hatton 71, McKibbin 72, Surratt 72; Rd. 2 score: -1)
3 (-11) – 4Aces GC (Detry 67, Pieters 68, Johnson 69, Kim 73; Rd. 2 score: -7)
ROUND 2 NOTES
RD. 3 START TIME CHANGE: The shotgun start time for Saturday’s third round has been moved up to 8:05 a.m. Gates, Hospitality and the Fan Village at Sentosa Golf Club will open at 7:15 a.m. The live broadcast will begin at 8 a.m. (all times local).
BRYSON’S WELL-ROUNDED GAME: Bryson DeChambeau is known for his big drives, but his all-around game is clicking on all cylinders this week at Sentosa.
“Golf isn’t about hitting it 400 yards,” said the Crushers GC captain. “I proved that a couple years ago. You’ve got to have a good wedge game, good putting, good iron play. So, there is a balance.”
For the week, DeChambeau ranks first in the field in Strokes Gained Approach (+4.70), fourth in Strokes Gained Putting (+4.02) and 15th in Strokes Gained Off the Tee (+1.47).
“This golf course, you can’t swing it hard out here. You can hit it far, but you have to control your ball more than you can kind of just bomb it and let it go wherever,” DeChambeau explained.
DETRY’S GAME SUITS ANY COURSE: Last week, Thomas Detry finished runner-up at Hong Kong Golf Club, a short, positional track that neutralizes the power advantage a player like Detry may have. This week, Sentosa is asking players to hit the ball long and straight off the tee and dial in their long irons to score. Both courses are in Asia, but that’s where the similarities end.
“This week and last week, it couldn’t be any different,” Detry said. “I love both type of golf courses, and I love hitting 4- and 5-irons into a par 4 and I love having tiny little greens where you have to hit a 7-iron and a wedge. I think it’s two different styles of golf course, but it’s really fun. I’m just embracing it. I think it’s a great little change.”
Detry has an all-around game that works on any golf course, as he’s proven this season as well as last year when he finished tied for fourth at the PGA Championship.
“I’ve already proved it in the past that I can play well anywhere, short courses, long courses,” he said. “I hit it far enough so I can compete in majors, as well.”
LOUIS LOVES A CHALLENGE: Since 2024, Louis Oosthuizen has racked up top-10 LIV Golf finishes at Sentosa (2025 Singapore), Maridoe (2025 Dallas), Doral (2024 Miami) and Valderrama (2024 Andalucía).
In contention once again at a difficult track, the former Open Champion continues to demonstrate his ability to thrive in some of the toughest tests in golf.
“I like playing a tough golf course because I feel like half the field sort of has got the mentality of it’s going to be very difficult and I’m going to struggle out there,” Oosthuizen explained. “I feel if you go out and really don’t worry when you make a bogey because you feel a lot of guys in the field are making bogeys anyway and just keep going.”
For Oosthuizen, Sentosa fits the bill as one of the courses that suits his game.
“This golf course is one of those where you obviously have to hit the ball pretty good, but if you make a bogey, it’s not the end of the world,” he said. “You’re not going to lose that many spots to the field. I’m not a big lover of a golf course where if you don’t shoot 6-under then you’re going backwards. I enjoy this type of golf course.”
G-MAC’S ACE(S): Graeme McDowell aced the 156-yard par-3 second for the 15th hole-in-one in LIV Golf history. The Northern Irishman has now made aces in back-to-back weeks and becomes the first LIV Golf player to make two hole-in-ones in his LIV Golf career.
“It cost me a very expensive bottle of wine last week in Hong Kong, and I guess it’s going to cost me another very expensive bottle of wine, which I look forward to,” McDowell said with a smile after his round.
UNDER-PAR RECORD: In shooting a 3-under 68 on Friday, Jon Rahm shot his 23rd consecutive LIV Golf round under par, extending the league record. Southern Guards GC’s Branden Grace shot an even-par 71, halting his under-par streak at 21 consecutive rounds.
NOTES & NUGGETS
Bryson DeChambeau’s lead of three strokes is the second-largest overnight lead he has held on LIV Golf; he led by four strokes through two rounds en route to winning in Korea last year
The Crushers’ cumulative total of 10 under Friday was the best score of any team; it’s the first time this season the Crushers have posted the low team score in any round
4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry has been in the top three at the halfway point in three of his first four LIV Golf tournaments since joining the league in the offseason; no other player has been in the top three through 36 holes more than twice
Southern Guards GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen is tied for second – the first time he’s been in the top two through 36 holes at any LIV Golf tournament since 2023 London
Majesticks Golf Club Co-Captain Lee Westwood is inside the top two through 36 holes for the first time in his LIV Golf career
Richard T. Lee, also in a tie for second, becomes the first Wild Card player to be in the top two after the second round
Cleeks Golf Club Captain Martin Kaymer shot a 1-under 70, the only bogey-free round on Friday and his first bogey-free score since the opening round in Hong Kong in 2025. Kaymer is just the third player in LIV Golf Singapore tournament history to record 17 pars in a single round (Abraham Ancer, Rd. 2 in 2025; Scott Vincent, Rd. 1 in 2024)
Fireballs GC’s Josele Ballester carded eight holes under par Friday (seven birdies, one eagle), his best total in his LIV Golf career
Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia become the first player to hit 2,000 Greens in Regulation in LIV Golf history when he hit the green with his second shot on his final hole, the par-4 11th
Anthony Kim has now played 245 consecutive holes without a three-putt – the seventh longest streak in league history
Smash GC is the only team shooting under par on par-4 holes (-3) through two rounds but are the worst performing team on par 5s (-1)
Torque GC’s Sebastian Munoz has yet to suffer a bogey on a par 3 or par 5 this season, extending the league’s longest active streaks in both categories. Dating back to last season, he has now played 58 consecutive par 3s at par or better (third-longest streak in league history) and 60 consecutive par 5s at par or better (11th longest all-time)
Just 17 players of the 57 players in the field are yet to take a penalty drop through two rounds
The par 4 ninth and 13th holes each played easier from the rough than from the fairway on Friday; both holes averaged 4.00 stroke average from the rough and 4.06 (ninth) and 4.04 (13th) from the fairway
STATS LEADERS
Round 2
Driving Distance: Dustin Johnson, 330.8-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Dustin Johnson, 356.3 yards (18th hole)
Driving Accuracy: Joaquin Niemann, 92.86% (13 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, Richard Bland 83.33% (15 of 18)
Scrambling: Dustin Johnson (7 of 7), Martin Kaymer (7 of 7), Joaquin Niemann (3 of 3), 100%
Fewest Putts: Josele Ballester, Anthony Kim, 24
Bogey-free rounds: Martin Kaymer (70)
Cumulative
Driving Distance: Dean Burmester, 323.3-yard avg.
Driving Accuracy: Joaquin Niemann, 82.14% (23 of 28)
Greens in Regulation: Jon Rahm, 83.33% (30 of 36)
Scrambling: Thomas Detry, 93.33% (14 of 15)
Fewest Putts: Thomas Detry, 52
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.
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