Dustin Johnson moved into a share of the lead with Carlos Ortiz after the second round of the LIV Golf Series stop in Portland on Friday.
Johnson, the former world No 1 whose two major titles include the 2020 Masters, briefly threatened to make it a runaway before three late bogeys saw him settle for a four-under par 68 and an eight-under total at Pumpkin Ridge.
The American, 38, goes into the final round of the 54-hole, shotgun start event level with overnight leader Ortiz, who birdied the final hole to cap a 69. They are two strokes ahead of South African Branden Grace, who also signed for a 69.
"I'm really happy with the way I'm swinging it," said Johnson, who at 17th in the world is the highest-ranked player to make the jump to the lucrative new circuit. "Tomorrow I just need to go and do the same thing, just drive in the fairway."
Johnson made his LIV debut in the inaugural event in the UK last month while Mexico's Ortiz is playing for the first time.
Ortiz, who won his lone PGA Tour title at the Houston Open in 2020, joined the list of players suspended by the US circuit after teeing off in the upstart Saudi Arabia-backed series.
The DP World Tour has also sanctioned members lured by the massive paydays on offer that included signing bonus and a $20 million purse for this week's 48-player field with an additional $5m prize money on offer in a team competition.
DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley launched a scathing attack Friday on players who threatened the tour with legal action unless their sanctions – fines and suspensions – for competing in LIV Golf were rescinded.
Pelley called their demands, made in a letter that was published in The Telegraph, contained inaccuracies and that the players knew "there would be consequences if they chose money over competition."
Golf Digest reported on Friday that the series has accelerated growth plans for 2023 with 14 events rather than 10 and plans a name change to the LIV Golf League.
The report, citing an unnamed LIV Golf official, said the expansion is a product of signing several top players ahead of this week's event, including Americans Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, and Matthew Wolff.
match info
Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')
Liverpool 0
HWJN
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
THE SPECS
GMC Sierra Denali 1500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Price: Dh232,500
Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
6.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m, Winner: Mayehaab, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Monoski, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Eastern World, Royston Ffrench, Charlie Appleby
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Madkal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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More coverage from the Future Forum
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)
Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)
Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)
