Smith leads LIV Golf-London

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England — British Open champion Cameron Smith overcame a pair of bogeys at the start to post a 4-under 67, giving him a three-shot lead at LIV Golf-London.

Smith is playing his final event ahead of his British Open title defense in two weeks at Royal Liverpool. The Australian has yet to win this year.

Thomas Pieters, who joined LIV at the start of the season, had an even rougher time at Centurion Club. Along with a double bogey on the first hole, he dropped another shot at the seventh.

But his birdie on the seventh was the start of three in a row, and Pieters shot 31 on the back nine to stay in the game with a 67.

Marc Leishman was slowed by back-to-back bogeys early on the back nine and shot 69, AP reported.

Leishman and Pieters were joined at 9-under 133 by Louis Oosthuizen, who was 9 under for his round with four holes to play and had to settle for a 63.

Smith was at 12-under 130 going into the third and final round. His last victory was the LIV event outside Chicago last September.

In the team competition, Smith’s Ripper Golf Club was at 23 under and led by one over Stinger, with Oosthuizen as the captain.

Smash has been in the news for the wrong reasons this week. The captain, PGA champion Brooks Koepka, took to the media to unload on teammate Matthew Wolff, criticizing him of quitting on rounds and not working.

Wolff responded by saying he still was working on mental health and it was heartbreaking to hear Koepka’s criticism.

Koepka shot 66. Wolff’s two eagles were offset by four bogeys in his round of 69. Smash was in seventh place out of 12 teams.

Elsewhere, Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie West, two popular figures in women’s golf despite being separated by 19 years and 67 wins, stopped to hug as they walked up the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach, their farewell to the US Women’s Open.

For Bailey Tardy, she had hope this is only the beginning.

Tardy picked a good time and a beautiful location to play her best golf. The 26-year-old LPGA rookie made eagle on the par-5 sixth hole for the second straight day as part of her torrid start, and she held steady the rest of the day for a 4-under 68 and a two-shot lead.

Tardy has made only four cuts and hasn’t finished in the top 20 her rookie season. Now she has the 36-hole lead at the biggest event in women’s golf.

Adding to her good timing was being the first one out, before the wind was strong enough for Pebble to start showing a nasty side.

“It was not as windy on my front nine as the back nine. Definitely took advantage of that,” Tardy said. “Then just was able to hold on, I guess, through the wind.”

Tardy was at 7-under 137, one of only six players who remain under par going into the weekend, with even stronger wind in the forecast. Of those six, only Nasa Hataoka faced the flag-snapping wind of the afternoon. Hataoka shot 74.