In front of a sold-out, roaring South African crowd, Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau found himself in a playoff for the individual title for the second consecutive week. After outdueling LIV Golf Wild Card Richard T. Lee in Hong Kong, this time he had to stare down a fellow powerhouse in Jon Rahm in an epic heavyweight clash at LIV Golf South Africa.
After pulling his drive into the muddy left rough and taking relief from temporary water, DeChambeau produced a moment of pure brilliance — ripping a fairway wood that flew hole-high and settled just 12 feet from the cup for eagle.
After Rahm failed to get up and down from the greenside bunker, DeChambeau converted an easy two-putt to win on the first playoff hole. The win marks his second consecutive victory and the fifth LIV Golf victory of his career.
As the final putt dropped, DeChambeau, who shot a 5-under 66, was overcome with emotion, fully absorbing the magnitude of the moment.
“I’ve just got to say I love everybody,” DeChambeau said with tears in his eyes. “Thank you for supporting. South Africa was unbelievable. I mean, got to be the best LIV event we’ve ever had.”
Although Rahm fell just short of his second victory in three weeks, his 8-under 63 to force a playoff was tied for the round of the day and proof of his impeccable form heading into major championship season.
On the team leaderboard, Southern Guards GC was unable to convert a nine-shot front-nine lead into a victory on home soil. DeChambeau’s Crushers GC rallied to edge out the South African squad by one shot after shooting a combined 21 under on the day. The Crushers were led by Anirban Lahiri, who fired a clutch 8-under 63, which was tied with Rahm for the low round of the day. Paul Casey and Charles Howell III each shot 4-under 67s.
The win for the Crushers was their ninth regular-season victory, giving them the edge over Legion XIII as the winningest team in LIV Golf history.
“It’s huge. It’s huge for our momentum,” DeChambeau said of the Crushers team victory. “I said earlier this week that we just needed a little bit of time, and we’d start showing our true colors, and they went out and played stellar today, and I held it down.”
“That’s pretty awesome,” Howell III added. “Well, we’re also the only team that’s stayed together for the whole time. We’ve never split up. It’s been us. Just how about the golf there by Bryson again? That was pretty special golf.”
The Southern Guards were led by Dean Burmester, who carded 5-under 66 and finished T6, capping off an emotional week where he put on a show for the home fans.
“I mean, obviously a little gutted we didn’t get it done, but I’m proud to be South African,” Burmester said. “I think South Africa showed up, and we’ve put on the greatest show in golf. I think it’s clear to see they’re the greatest fans in the world, and they came out in the thousands, and they were behind us all the way.”
Captain Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace shot 4-under 67s and Charl Schwartzel shot a 2-under 69. The runner-up finish was a disappointing result, but the team is proud of what turned out to be one of the best golf tournaments in the history of South Africa.
Grace and 4Aces GC star Thomas Detry finished in a tie for third at 23-under after a 6-under 65.
LIV Golf South Africa Final Leaderboard
- 1. Bryson DeChambeau (-26) (-1 in playoff)
- 2. Jon Rahm (-26) (par in playoff)
- T3. Thomas Detry (-23)
- T3. Branden Grace (-23)
- T3. Abraham Ancer (-23)
- T6. Dean Burmester (-22)
- T6. David Puig (-22)
- 8. Carlos Ortiz (-21)
- T9. Anirban Lahiri (-20)
- T9. Charles Howell III (-20)
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.
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