SERGIO SHOOTS 63; FIREBALLS TIED FOR 2ND IN JEDDAH
KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia – Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia tied his season-low score with a 7-under 63 to move into contention Saturday at LIV Golf Jeddah presented by ROSHN.
Garcia is 9 under through two rounds at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, leaving him tied for second with Crushers GC’s Charles Howell III. The two are three shots behind Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka, the defending champion of LIV Golf Jeddah.
Garcia finished with four birdies on his final five holes to make a big move near the end of his second round
“I think that I played nicely,” said Garcia, who also shot 63 at LIV Golf Greenbrier. “I got a lot out of my round, and I’m very happy with that.”
Fueled by their captain, the Fireballs also moved into contention for the team trophy at Jeddah. Eugenio Chacarra shot 66 and Abraham Ancer shot 67 for a team counting score of 14 under. The Fireballs are now at 19 under through two rounds, tied with Smash GC for second place, three shots behind Crushers GC.
In the previous LIV Golf event in Chicago, Crushers won the team title with Fireballs finishing second.
“Very happy that we all played well,” Garcia said. “The obviously did well too. … We’ve just got to go out there and have another good one tomorrow.”
The Fireballs are too far behind in the season-long points race to contend for one of the top four seeds and a bye for the Team Championship in Miami. But with another good finish in Jeddah, that can go into the final event of the 2023 season with plenty of momentum.
“Yeah, momentum is always good,” Garcia said. “It’s always important. It’s always positive. Obviously having a couple good weeks coming into Miami, it’s great.
“At the end of the day, you still have to go out there, you still have to play, you still have to perform. It’s not like you’re 1-up on the first hole because you’ve been playing well lately.
“Hopefully we’ll have a great day tomorrow again and get ready for Miami and see what we can do there.”