Rahm Takes Third-Round Genesis Invitational Lead: Spanish parbuster Jon Rahm moved a round closer from recapturing the World No1 ranking as he took the third-round lead in the US PGA Tour Genesis Invitational at the Riviera on Saturday. The World No3 shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 65 in the third round for a 54-hole aggregate of 15-under 198. He is three shots ahead of overnight leader Max Homa, who carded a 69. Kevin Mitchell was a stroke down in third after shooting a 69. The Spaniard’s big round put him closer to capturing his third US PGA Tour title this year and experts betting for golf favor him to win the title and rise to World No1 by the end of the tournament.
Rahm Takes Third-Round Genesis Invitational Lead: Good Start
Rahm started the round with a tap-in birdie in the first hole. He rolled in birdies in the fourth, eighth and ninth holes to approach the back-nine at 13-under. He took the solo lead in the 11th hole with a birdie to put him at 14-under. He concluded the round with a 23-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole. Homa kept the pressure on the surging Rahm, as he buried birdies in the third, sixth, 10th and 13th and tied the Spaniard for the lead. However, he stumbled in the 15th and 16th holes where he shot back-to-back bogeys. The Spaniard will look to gain a third title of the year after victories at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and at La Quinta, California. It moved him to just 18 holes from supplanting Scottie Scheffler in the World No1 ranking a week after the American overtook Rory McIlroy with a win in the Phoenix Open.
Woods Sizzles
It was also a great day for 15-time major champion Tiger Woods. The American, who barely made the cut on Friday, carded one of his best rounds since coming off from right leg injuries he suffered in a February 2021 car accident. He carded a 4-under-par 67 in the third round for a 54-hole total of 3-under 210. He is tied for 26th with six others. The American carded the third-best round of the day behind Denny McCarthy (64) and Rahm (65). Americans Patrick Cantlay (68) and Gary Woodland (67) are in fourth and fifth places with a three-round total of 203 and 204, respectively.
Three More Golfers Sign Up for LIV Golf
Three more parbusters have signed up for the latest season of the LIV Golf League that will kick off next week. They are Danny Lee of New Zealand, Thomas Pieters of Belgium and Brendan Steele of the United States. According to reports, Lee, Steele and Pieters are transferring to the Saudi-backed series that has lured other top talents due to their 54-hole events and USD25-million purses. The 31-year-old Belgian is a six-time winner on the European Tour and was in contention for Europe’s Ryder Cup spot. The South Korea-born Lee, 32, gained New Zealand citizenship in 2008. A year later, he took home the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic as an amateur and won the 2015 US PGA Greenbrier Classic. The 39-year-old Steele is a three-time PGA Tour winner and his last title was in 2017 in the Safeway Open. The entry of these three golfers to LIV Golf will add more drama to the fledgling circuit that is home to some of the world’s top stars like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. It will also give further excitement for online sports punters who want to watch LIV Golf’s stroke-by-stroke action and earn more money at the same time.
