Legion XIII, Crushers and Stinger all advanced to the LIV Golf Team Championship finals with matching 2-1 victories on Saturday at The Cardinal at Saint John’s in Plymouth, Mich.
Spain’s Jon Rahm defeated Phil Mickelson of HyFlyers GC 2&1 to advance top-seed Legion XIII out of the semifinals.
“When it comes to me and Phil, neither one of us particularly had our best,” Rahm said. “… From 11 on, I played fairly consistent and gave myself a good chance pretty much on every hole. It was just nice to make that putt on 17 and just not give him a chance to possibly extend the match to 18. That felt really good.”
Bryson DeChambeau delivered a birdie on his final hole for No. 2-seed Crushers to get past Talor Gooch 1 up and eliminate Smash GC.
“I played well today,” DeChambeau said. “Talor, hat’s off to him. He shot 6-under, and it’s not easy to beat someone when they shoot 6-under. He started off strong, 2-under for the first three. I had to kick it into gear.”
Stinger GC made its way into the final as the No. 7 seed by getting past Torque GC in the semifinals behind a 2 up victory by Dean Burmester of South Africa over Chile’s Joaquin Niemann.
While Saturday’s semifinals included two singles matches and one foursome match, Sunday’s final will turn to stroke play with all four players on each team contributing to the team’s total score.
“My team played really well (Saturday), but it’s a different format for (Sunday), four scores counting,” DeChambeau said. “I think these teams up here are incredible teams, incredible golfers, and it’s going to be a tough test (Sunday) because it’s scoring conditions out there for sure. It’s about who makes the most putts and who wedges it close.”
In addition to Rahm’s victory over Mickelson in the semifinals, Legion XIII received a 3&1 victory in two-on-two foursomes from Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland and Caleb Surratt over Andy Ogletree and Brendan Steele.
The lone HyFlyers point came from Cameron Tringale, who defeated England’s Tyrrell Hatton 2&1.
DeChambeau clinched the match for Crushers, combined with a 2 up victory in foursomes from England’s Paul Casey and Charles Howell over Jason Kokrak and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell. Brooks Koepka earned the lone point for Smash GC with a 1 up victory over India’s Anirban Lahiri.
Niemann’s 2 up clinching win for Stinger came after South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel of South Africa earned a 2&1 victory over Sebastian Munoz of Colombia and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico. The point for Torque came from Mito Pereira of Chile, who defeated Branden Grace of South Africa 4&2.
“I think we all play to be in this situation, to have a shot at (the final),” Oosthuizen said. “(The team) had a rough season really, but made a big turn in Chicago. Then going into this week, we felt really comfortable. It’s going to be go big or go home. We’re going to try our best to upset everyone and see if we can get it done.”
–Field Level Media
