Staff WriterReed, DJ, HV3 Lead the Way for The 4 Aces
For a second straight round, DJ’s 4 Aces (1st Place; 12-under par) made it known to the field that LIV Dallas is theirs for the taking.
Patrick Reed (1st Place; 9-under par) came out on top of the field with a Saturday score of 4-under par, squarely placing the 2018 Masters winner in the best position to win since joining LIV in 2022.
All day long Reed seemingly could not miss no matter the circumstances. Awkward bunker shot? Ball lands inches away from the pin. Need to make a shot through thick rough and over a tree line? Ends up next to the hole like he just walked up and dropped it there. Improbable 10-15-20 foot putt for another birdie? Sinks it. It was the first time in years that Reed truly set himself apart from the entire field, looking like he was on a different level than his colleagues.
Reed, who has been the subject of much conversation regarding filling one of the many vacant American Ryder Cup roster spots, finally has a chance to stake a claim to his rightful spot tomorrow.
“The golf game feels pretty solid,” Reed said. “Everything seems to be tight and where I want it to be. The biggest thing is going out there and not trying to press, not trying to force anything and really just go out and try to win the day as if it’s a Monday qualifier.”
‘Captain America’ as Reed is known, is one of America’s greatest golfers in Ryder Cup history, but has been held out of competition since his last appearance in 2018. A win in Dallas would prove, definitively, that Reed belongs once again.
4 Aces captain Dustin Johnson (T15; Even par) kept pace with a 2-over par Saturday. Still very much in the race for the individual win, it looks like anyone behind Patrick Reed will need at least a Sunday of 5-under par or better to challenge for the win – a feat only accomplished by Reed and HV3 during the opening round, and a certain Legion XIII player on Saturday.
Despite not having a spectacular outing, Harold Varner III (T4; 5-under par) figures to be in the mix with his captain and Reed going into championship Sunday.
Jon Rahm, Legion XIII Ready for Championship Sunday Push
No matter the stage, any time Jon Rahm (8th Place; 4-under par) ends moving day in the Top 10, there’s a good chance the Spanish superstar can win the tournament outright.
Standing pat for most of the day, Rahm will now have increased pressure from teammate Tyrrell Hatton who scored a tournament best 7-under par, propelling himself into T4.
Hatton’s elite performance came after a pedestrian 2-over par opening round where he was stuck in the middle of the field with several other golfers, all of whom are seemingly out of contention minus Hatton.
Combined with Tom McKibbin (T9; 2-under par), who will be featured in The Open next month, Legion XIII (T2; 8-under par) is still very much in the mix to win, but will likely be happy to beat out Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers for a second-place finish.
Richard Bland’s Decision to Skip U.S. Senior Open Championship Pays Off
Two days ago, we would have considered it highly questionable and extremely unusually for a major championship winner to decline an invite to defend his title.
That’s exactly what Richard Bland (T4; 5-under par) did last week, deciding to forego his title defense in favour of pushing himself deeper into the LIV Lock Zone (The Top 24 spots in the individual standings) to make sure he secures his spot in the league for 2026, and hopefully beyond.
Bland’s steady Saturday resulted in a 3-under par score, with four birdies to a single bogey. For Bland, winning his first LIV tournament on a day where for all intents and purposes he should be defending his major championship title, would be an astounding accomplishment.
LIV Dallas returns tomorrow at 1:05 PM ET.
Will Patrick Reed finally pull through and capture his first LIV victory, or can Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton or another challenger emerge victorious?
