South Africa’s Dean Burmester surged to a two-shot lead at LIV Golf Chicago after firing a 6-under 65 in Saturday’s second round at Bolingbrook Golf Club.
Burmester, 36, sits at 9-under overall as he eyes his second career LIV Golf title and his first win of the 2025 season. On a blustery day that saw conditions challenge much of the field, Burmester produced a round that included five birdies and an eagle. He made only one bogey on the day at the par-4 eighth.
Burmester will enter Sunday’s final round with a narrow cushion over Jon Rahm and rookie Jose Luis Ballester, both at 7-under after strong second rounds.
“For me to kind of have a chance coming this late in the season is kind of what I need and what I wanted,” Burmester said after his round. “Just to have a chance to win on a Sunday is special, and to do it against one of the best players in the world in Jon and a new exciting kid in Ballester is going to be special. It’ll be fun. Going to have to brush up on my Spanish, but it’ll be a good day.”
Ballester, just 21 and making his seventh professional start, turned heads again with a 5-under 66 highlighted by an eagle and five birdies. The Fireballs GC rookie, who finished T7 at LIV Golf UK at the end of July, continues to impress and has helped vault his squad into a tie atop the team standings.
“I’m really excited for the test tomorrow,” said Ballester. “I’m super pumped to play with Jon. It’s something that when I came to college here in the States, I always looked up to him, and being able to share a final pairing with him is going to be really fun.”
Rahm, captain of Legion XIII, carded a 4-under 67 as he chases not only the tournament title but also the season-long individual points crown.
Bryson DeChambeau (-6), Carlos Ortiz (-5) and Paul Casey (-5) round out the top five of the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s final round.
Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia, who were tied for the lead after Friday’s first round, both shot two-over 73 on Saturday to drop into a tie for 12th.
In the team competition, Stinger GC, Crushers GC, and Fireballs GC are locked in a three-way tie at 10-under with one round to play.
–Field Level Media
