HONG KONG – Peter Uihlein grabbed a share of the lead Saturday at LIV Golf Hong Kong thanks to a roller-coaster 6-under 64. Ultimately, that up-and-down round was a good thing for the rest of the field.
[Related: What is LIV Golf? Format, everything to know about the 2025 season]
The RangeGoats GC star produced one eagle and eight birdies but suffered four bogeys to finish at 11 under and keep the competition tight. He’ll enter Sunday’s final round at Hong Kong Golf Club tied with Crushers GC’s Paul Casey and Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia for the lead, three shots ahead of their nearest chasers.
“I just watched the Peter Uihlein show today,” said Casey, who shot a 66 on Saturday and has yet to make a bogey this week. “It was impressive stuff. I’m very happy that I’m sitting here tied for the lead. … If Pete had not made a bogey today, he’d be about five shots ahead because of his firepower.”
“I kind of just view it as entertainment,” said Uihlein. “Obviously, I don’t like making bogeys, but I guess the adversity that kind of comes with it. I enjoy that. I enjoy the moment.”
Torque GC’s Mito Pereira also enjoyed a moment on Saturday, recording the 10th hole-in-one in LIV Golf history, at the 149-yard second hole. Pereira shot a 64 to lead his team to the top of the leaderboard at 25 under, two strokes ahead of Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII and Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC.
Torque and Legion XIII have won multiple LIV Golf tournaments, but the HyFlyers have yet to break through as a team. Mickelson also has a chance at an individual title; he’s tied for fourth with two Torque players, Pereira and Sebastián Muñoz.
The last time Mickelson won a tournament, he made history, winning the 2021 PGA Championship at age 51 to become the oldest golfer to win a men’s major. While he would love to win the LIV Golf individual title, he says a team victory on Sunday would be even more special.
“The experience of sharing it with teammates … I think that would probably mean a little more, which is very unusual to say in a game that’s such an individual sport,” Mickelson said.
[Read more: How to watch LIV Golf Hong Kong 2025: Date, time, TV channels, streaming]
Like Mickelson, Uihlein and Casey are each seeking their first LIV Golf individual title. Unlike Mickelson, both have celebrated multiple LIV Golf wins from a team standpoint. But Uihlein is tired of knocking on the individual door.
“I’ve had four runners-up, so getting that first win would be awesome,” said Uihlein, a two-time winner on The International Series. “I think that’s kind of the goal at the start of every year is to get a win. To get a team win would be nice as well, but an individual win would be fantastic.”
Casey, who has won 21 titles in 13 different countries in his career and came close last year at LIV Golf Hong Kong when he reached a three-man playoff, was asked what a win on Sunday might mean.
“Every win is special, from the most recent to the very first that I ever had,” he said. “Hopefully, I can answer that again tomorrow.”
[Read more: 2025 LIV Golf Hong Kong odds, predictions: Favorites, picks from the field]
Garcia’s Fireballs won the most recent LIV Golf tournament in Adelaide. Last year at LIV Golf Andalucía, Garcia won the individual title and was part of the team win on his favorite course, Valderrama. He matched Uihlein’s 64 on Saturday but did it with less stress, going bogey-free.
“It’s an ideal kind of golf course,” Garcia said of Hong Kong Golf Club. “It’s an old-style, traditional kind of style, which I love. It’s a similar course to what you might see in like Valderrama or something like that I’ve always enjoyed. Very happy to be here and playing and doing well. We’ll give it another shot tomorrow.”
[Read more: Paul Casey, Bryson DeChambeau jabs continue as Crushers GC start hot at LIV Golf Hong Kong]
TEAM SCORES
LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Saturday’s Rd. 2 of LIV Golf Hong Kong.
1. TORQUE GC -25 (Pereira 64, Muñoz 67, Niemann 68, Ortiz 68; Rd. 2 score: -13)
T2. LEGION XIII -23 (Surratt 62, Rahm 64, McKibbin 66, Hatton 67; Rd. 2 score: -21)
T2. HYFLYERS GC -23 (Tringale 64, Mickelson 65, Ogletree 67, Steele 70; Rd. 2 score: -14)
4. FIREBALLS GC -22 (Garcia 64, Ancer 65, Puig 67, Masaveu 73; Rd. 2 score: -11)
5. CRUSHERS GC -20 (Casey 66, Lahiri 66, DeChambeau 67, Howell III 73; Rd. 2 score: -8)
6. STINGER GC -19 (Oosthuizen 65, Grace 66, Burmester 67, Schwartzel 67; Rd. 2 score: -15)
7. RANGEGOATS GC -18 (Uihlein 64, Campbell 68, Watson 68, Wolff 69; Rd. 2 score: -11)
8. RIPPER GC -16 (Herbert 66, Leishman 66, Smith 68, Jones 69; Rd. 2 score: -11)
9. SMASH GC -12 (McDowell 65, Koepka 65, Kokrak 65, Gooch 70; Rd. 2 score: -15)
T10. CLEEKS GC -10 (Meronk 67, Bland 68, Kaymer 68, Kjettrup 69; Rd. 2 score: -8)
T10. MAJESTICKS GC -10 (Westwood 67, Poulter 70, Stenson 70, Horsfield 71; Rd. 2 score: -2)
12. 4ACES GC -7 (Reed 65, Varner III 68, Pieters 69, Johnson 72; Rd. 2 score: -6)
13. IRON HEADS GC -6 (Na 67, Schniederjans 70, D. Lee 71, Jang 75; Rd. 2 score: +3)
Wild Cards: C. Lee 69, Kim 68
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Get more from LIV Golf Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Read the full article here
