NCAA champion Michael La Sasso eyes first pro win at LIV Golf Indianapolis

WESTFIELD – For a second straight day, the individual and team LIV Golf leaderboards reshuffled at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield.

For a consecutive round, the league’s rising star Michael La Sasso put together another impressive performance during LIV Golf Indianapolis to position himself ahead of the pack by one stroke at 13-under with one more day to go.

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On Friday, the 22-year-old La Sasso (HyFlyers Golf Club) fired a career-best 10-under 60 to surge into a tie for fifth overall at 9-under.

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

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Second round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield

The 2025 NCAA champion followed with a 4-under 66 during Saturday’s third round to stay in front of four golfers tied for second, as 15 competitors sit within three strokes of the tournament lead.

La Sasso turned in a 1-over during Thursday’s opening round, but a record-tying round on the second day propelled him into contention for his potential first professional win.

“To be honest, there’s a lot of young guys doing a lot of good stuff. I’m friends with pretty much all of them, and I would say it definitely fuels a fire,” La Sasso said. “There’s been countless guys that I played with in college that have already won professionally now. If I could add my name to the resume, that’d be pretty sweet.”

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La Sasso, a North Carolina native, won the NCAA title while competing with the University of Mississippi. This past January, La Sasso turned professional, and now, he’s on the verge of his best finish this season.

Beginning with one of his 11 pars on the course’s second hole, La Sasso carded four birdies, two bogeys and an eagle on the 14th hole. He shot par on his final two holes, which secured him atop the leaderboard.

Majesticks Golf Club’s Laurie Canter, who led after Thursday’s first round, shared the top spot with La Sasso before a bogey on 17 dropped him to 2-under and 12-under in total by the end.

Canter is tied for second with 53-year-old Richard Bland (Cleeks Golf Club), Cameron Smith (Ripper Golf Club) and Thomas Detry (4Aces Golf Club) heading into the final round. Bland shot a 5-under 65 to deadlock for the low round of the day.

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Bland along with Detry and Canter are each seeking their first wins of the season.

“I got off to a really good start today,” Canter said. “I’m in the tournament tomorrow, got a chance.”

Defending LIV team champion Legion XIII moved into first place at 34-under with HyFlyers GC (33-under) and Ripper GC (31-under) remaining in the hunt.

Majesticks GC held the advantage at 17-under after the first round. The 4Aces GC climbed to the front at 31-under on day two. Majesticks GC fell to 10th at 23-under on Saturday, but Canter’s chase toward a tournament victory could play a factor.

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Canter finished seventh at LIV Golf UK and was 11th at LIV Golf New York prior to LIV Golf Indianapolis.

“You’ve got probably maybe the oldest guy in LIV and the youngest guy in LIV, so that’s a pretty cool story, and I kind of find myself rooting a bit for La Sasso just because I think he’s a really funny kid, and obviously he’s adjusting to life as a pro,” Canter said.

“I obviously want to beat him tomorrow, but I kind of look at him on the board thinking, you know, go on keep it up, so yeah, it’s cool that you potentially we’ll get someone who hasn’t won an event tomorrow. Obviously, I’d love for it to be me.”

The second oldest active player at LIV Golf Indianapolis is 47-year-old Bubba Watson (RangeGoats GC), who is tied for sixth with 46-year-old Sergio Garcia (Fireballs GC), Josele Ballester (Fireballs GC) and Younghan Song (Korean Golf Club) at 11-under.

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“It’s a seriously bunched leaderboard. I feel like after the first day the scoring would accelerate and go forward. We’ve had a bit more,” Canter said. “Yesterday was quite tricky with the wind, and today was just more wind, and I think just the kind of length and the way the golf course is playing, it’s kind of difficult to really separate yourself.”

La Sasso found a groove despite the rain and windy conditions.

“I think the golf course is doing a fantastic job, being able to keep this place as best they can. I know they’ve gotten a lot of rain up here recently, so I’m grateful that it’s able to be in such good shape, in my opinion,” La Sasso said.

“Like I said before, it’s just another day. I’m happy to be in this spot. It’s definitely been a while, so I’m excited more than anything. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but I’m ecstatic that I’m at this point.”

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The final round will determine the LIV Golf team season champion, the tournament’s individual champion and the league’s second- and third-place points leaders behind three-time winner Jon Rahm, who already clinched the title with 944.54 points earned.

Rahm shot a 4-under 66 on Saturday and is 10-under tied for 10th.

Crushers GC’s Bryson DeChambeau enters the finale tied for 10th also, as he looks to claim second in the LIV league standings. DeChambeau accumulated 726.20 points before LIV Golf Indianapolis, which awards up to 200 points.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NCAA champion Michael La Sasso eyes first pro win at LIV Golf Indianapolis