Jon Rahm seized control of the LIV Golf title race with a sublime round on Saturday, surging through the field to take a one-shot lead in the Individual Championship finale in Illinois.
The Spaniard carded a sensational bogey-free round of six-under-par at Bolingbrook Golf Club, moving to seven-under-par for the tournament and one shot clear of Sergio Garcia.
Rahm is also three shots ahead of fourth-place Joaquin Niemann, his only rival for the $18 million Individual Championship. Rahm held the lead heading into the event, but the Chilean snatched a slender advantage after round one.
But his two-under-par effort on Saturday paled in comparison to Rahm's performance, and Niemann has a mountain to climb on Sunday if he is to overthrow the two-time major champion and land LIV's richest prize.
Rahm joined the breakaway circuit late last year, inking a deal worth in the region of $500m. He faced plenty of criticism for turning his back on the PGA Tour as well as poor performances at the majors this season, but he is on track to respond to his critics in style by winning the LIV title in his debut season.
Rahm was frustrated with his performance in the opening round, but he could have no complaints with just 18 holes of the season remaining. He was in the same group as Niemann out on the course and he sent a resounding message to his rival with a high-quality performance.
“I try to keep reminding myself to stay within the tournament because if I do well in the tournament, everything else takes care of itself,” Rahm said. "So yeah, the goal is still to win tomorrow, and if I win, I'll leave here with two wins.
“It's a championship within a championship. It's a weird combination, but yeah, you're definitely aware of it every step of the way, especially having played with him the first two rounds.
“I think we've both had a lot of fun. Probably I had a little bit more fun today than he did, but he's a fantastic player, and tomorrow should be a really fun day.
“If we go down 18 and I can't win the tournament for whatever reason, but I'm still in a fight with Joaco, great.
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"But what's going to be the best way for me to enjoy the last few holes is if I have a really good Sunday and take a comfortable lead hopefully going into the last few holes so I can smile on that stretch through it. But it's going to be a really fun day, no matter what.”
Garcia (six-under) and round-one leader Brooks Koepka (five-under) are Rahm's main rivals for the $4m event title at Bolingbrook, with Ian Poulter and Adrian Meronk alongside Niemann at four-under.
Dustin Johnson, Bryston DeChambeau and Paul Casey are among a clutch of players in a tie for seventh place at three-under-par, holding an outside chance of victory on Sunday.
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