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Branden Grace saved his best for last, shooting a 65 on Saturday to finish 13 under par overall and win the LIV Golf Invitational in Portland, Oregon.
Starting the day in third place, two shots behind Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz, Grace made his move on the back nine. He tied Ortiz for the lead at 10 under with a birdie putt on No. 13.
Phil Mickelson’s struggles continued, as he finished in a tie for 40th place at 10 over par. Lefty closed the tournament with a 76 on Saturday after back-to-back rounds of 75.
The South Africa native took the lead for good two holes later. He hit a terrific approach shot to get on the green and drained a birdie putt. Ortiz had an opportunity to match, but his birdie attempt missed the hole.
Grace appeared to leave an opening for Ortiz and Patrick Reed to square things on No. 16. He was the only player in the final group who missed the green with his tee shot. The 34-year-old made up for it with a chip-in on his second shot for birdie.
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Ortiz left his birdie putt short of the hole, forcing him to settle for par and give Grace a two-shot lead with two holes to play. Grace added another birdie on 17 for good measure, allowing him to secure his first victory in a tournament since the 2020 South African Open.
Johnson and Ortiz started the day tied for the top spot. Ortiz kept up his high level of play, finishing with a 69 for the second consecutive round. He put himself in a good position to stay close to Grace for most of the round.
Ortiz was able to get a shot back with a birdie on No. 18, but it was too late to make up the margin that Grace had built for himself.
Johnson had his worst day of the weekend. The two-time major champion finished the third round with an even-par 72. He was eight-under overall, dropping three spots to fourth place.
There was a moment late in the third round when it seemed like Johnson was ready to make a move. He made a birdie on No. 11 that moved him to nine under, one shot off the pace.
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No. 17 caused Johnson problems when his second shot from the fairway landed in the bunker in front of the green. He wound up making bogey on the hole to fall back to eight under.
If not for Grace, Reed would have had the best score in the third round. The Texas native climbed three spots up the leaderboard with a five-under 67 to finish alone in third place.
The victory gives Grace the $4 million winner’s purse.
Even though Johnson didn’t turn in a great performance Saturday, he’s not going home empty-handed. He was captain of the 4 Aces GC squad that won the team competition. Johnson, Reed, Pat Perez and Talor Gooch took home the $750,000 team prize.
The next event on the LIV Golf International Series schedule will take place July 29-31 in Bedminster, New Jersey.
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