Former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson surged into a tie for fourth place at the LIV Golf Andalucia event on Saturday, carding a 7-under 64 at Real Club Valderrama in Sotogrande, Spain.
Johnson rebounded from an opening-round 5-over 76 by hitting a hole-in-one on the 186-yard, par-3 third hole.
The ace helped his 4Aces team secure an eight-shot lead over Legion XIII in the team standings at 12 under.
The hole-in-one was the second of the tournament after Lucas Herbert's earlier feat, marking the 17th and 18th aces in LIV Golf league history.
Despite double-bogeying the 17th hole and playing the par-5 holes at even par, Johnson recorded the lowest round of the day.
He sits five shots behind individual leader Tyrrell Hatton, who holds a two-stroke advantage over Thomas Detry.
"It's always cool to make a hole-in-one," said Johnson, captain of LIV's 4Aces.
"The previous two days I had hit really good shots; just did not turn out good.
Today, when this one was in the air, I was like, this is as good a shot as I can hit."
The American golfer expressed satisfaction with his ball-striking performance over the last two days, noting a stark contrast to his initial round where missed putts led to a high score despite solid execution.
"I know it's weird, but I didn't play bad the first day," said Johnson, who previously finished fourth in South Korea.
"It was a really easy 5-over. Then obviously came back and played really nicely the last two days.
Even today, I know I shot 7 under, which is a really good score, but I played the par 5s even."
Johnson shares the fourth-place position at 5 under through 54 holes alongside Jon Rahm, Abraham Ancer, and Cameron Smith as tournament play heads into the final round.
Hatton maintained his lead at 10 under by shooting a bogey-free 3 under on the front nine on Saturday.
He attributed his performance to a putter setup he began using after missing the previous event for the birth of his daughter.
"It's the same shape as what I've been using for the last few years," said Hatton.
"It's just got an insert, so the ball comes off a little bit quicker … I feel comfortable with it.
Different grip. Hopefully it works well tomorrow."
