Favoured teams enter LIV Golf championship finale in Miami

From a Correspondent

Miami: The top four seeds at LIV Golfs’ Team Championship survived upset bids in tense match-play semi-finals on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s final championship round of the 2023 season.

Defending champion 4Aces GC, Crushers GC, Torque GC and RangeGoats GC, advanced to the top tier and will meet in stroke-play competition on the iconic Blue Monster at Trump National Doral.

Unlike regular-season events in which three scores counted for the team competition, every player’s score will count on Sunday.

“It takes a whole team effort tomorrow,” said 4Aces captain Dustin Johnson. “I like it. It’s four teams and we’re battling for the trophy.”

The final round will begin with a shotgun start at with players in foursomes determined by their tiers. The captains of the top four teams will tee off at 1:18 p.m. EDT.

Johnson survived a late rally by HyFlyers GC captain Phil Mickelson to win his singles match, 2&1.

Key battle

The outcome was pivotal after the HyFlyers’ Cameron Tringale beat Patrick Reed, 4&3, in the other singles match while the 4Aces’ Pat Perez and Peter Uihlein won their foursomes match against Brendan Steele and James Piot.

Johnson was 2 up through 13 holes, but Mickelson tied the match two holes later. Johnson responded by winning the next two holes for the 4Aces’ 2-1 team win.

“I played a lot of golf with Phil and I knew it was going to be a good match,” Johnson said. “It always is. … I knew it was going to come down to me and Phil.”

Season individual champion,Talor Gooch of the RangeGoats was 1 down through 15 holes to young Fireballs star Eugenio Chacarra. With the other two matches split, the RangeGoats’ fate was in his hands, and Gooch responded by winning the final three holes.

“He put up a great fight,” Gooch said of Chacarra, who was the best player in Friday’s quarter-finals with a 6&5 win over the Majesticks’ Sam Horsfield.

“It was a dogfight. I made a few mistakes that he capitalised on. Fortunately, we were able to come through in the end.”

Stellar run

Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau had a stellar performance in beating Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer. DeChambeau played his final 11 holes in nine under.

The Crushers won the other singles match, with Paul Casey’s 7&5 win over Richard Bland, to advance with a 2-1 victory.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us,” said DeChambeau, whose team lost in the semi-finals in 2022. “Last year we left pretty sour, and this year is a different story.

“We’ve got some guys that are playing some better golf and I’m playing a little bit better. Hopefully, I can do that tomorrow and give ourselves an opportunity to win. We’ve been prepping for this all year.”

Torque GC, who won a league-best four tournament titles this season, swept Stinger GC 3-0. Sebastian Munoz had the most dominant victory of the day, beating Branden Grace, 7&6, and Niemann never trailed in his 2&1 win over Louis Oosthuizen.

“We still have one more day,” Niemann said. “But this is the position that we wanted to be in.”

Gooch has the opportunity to win both the Individual and team championships, a feat that Johnson accomplished last season. He also has the chance to win the team title with two different teams, having played for the 4Aces last year.

“This was the plan from the get-go,” Gooch said. “We’re in position. It’s time to go do it.”

Semi-final results

4Aces GC beat HyFlyers 2-1

Dustin Johnson (4Aces) def. Phil Mickelson (HyFlyers), 2&1. In a tense battle, Mickelson clawed his way back from 3-down, but Johnson won the 16th and 17th holes with birdies to post the key victory.

Cameron Tringale (HyFlyers) def. Patrick Reed (4Aces), 4&3. Tringale won four early holes (three with pars) to grab the quick lead and controlled the match from there for his second match win of the week.

Pat Perez/Peter Uihlein (4Aces) def. James Piot/Brendan Steele (HyFlyers), 4&3. The Aces duo won four holes during a five-hole stretch midway through the round and maintained a comfortable lead.

Crushers GC beat Cleeks GC 2-1

Bryson DeChambeau (Crushers) def. Martin Kaymer (Cleeks), 4&3. DeChambeau never trailed and was 9 under through his final 11 holes to put away the pesky Kaymer.

Paul Casey (Crushers) def. Richard Bland (Cleeks), 7&5. Casey won six of the first eight holes with birdies and cruised to victory against the in-form Bland.

Graeme McDowell/Bernd Wiesberger (Cleeks) def. Charles Howell III/Anirban Lahiri (Crushers), 3&2. The Cleeks pair won their second match of the week, winning three of the last five holes with birdies.

Torque GC beat Stinger GC 3-0

Joaquin Niemann (Torque) def. Louis Oosthuizen (Stinger), 2&1. Niemann never trailed after winning three of the first four holes with birdies.

Sebastian Munoz (Torque) def. Branden Grace (Stinger), 7&6. After halving the opening hole, Munoz won the next six (five with birdies) and was never threatened.

Mito Pereira/David Puig (Torque) def. Dean Burmester/Charl Schwartzel (Stinger) 2 up. Torque rallied from an early deficit by winning four holes during a five-hole stretch midway through the round before holding off a late Stinger rally.

RangeGoats GC beat Fireballs GC 2-1

Sergio Garcia (Fireballs) def. Bubba Watson (RangeGoats), 4&3. Garcia never trailed after winning the first two holes and opened up the margin with three late birdies.

Talor Gooch (RangeGoats) def. Eugenio Chacarra (Fireballs), 2 up. Gooch, the 2023 Individual Champion, was pushed to the limit by the young Fireballs player but rallied by winning the final three holes with a birdie and two pars.

Thomas Pieters/Harold Varner III (RangeGoats) def. Abraham Ancer/Carlos Ortiz (Fireballs), 2&1. The RangeGoats duo was 4 up after eight holes and held off a late surge from the Fireballs.

On the final day, all 48 players among the 12 teams will compete in one round of stroke play, with all scores counting toward their team’s score.

The four semi-final winners compete for places 1-4 and $14 million in prize money, while the losing teams will battle for places 5-8.

The teams defeated in Friday’s quarter-finals will vie for places 9-12. Larger prizes will go to teams based on their finishing position, with $14 million earned by the team champion. (courtesy livgolf.com)

Tier 1

4Aces GC: Dustin Johnson (captain), Pat Perez, Patrick Reed, Peter Uihlein

Crushers GC: Bryson DeChambeau (captain), Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri

Torque GC: Joaquin Niemann (captain), Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira, David Puig

RangeGoats GC: Bubba Watson (captain), Talor Gooch, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III

Tier 2

Stinger GC: Louis Oosthuizen (captain), Dean Burmester, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel

Fireballs GC: Sergio Garcia (captain), Abraham Ancer, Eugenio Chacarra, Carlos Ortiz

HyFlyers GC: Phil Mickelson (captain), James Piot, Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale

Cleeks GC: Martin Kaymer (captain), Richard Bland, Graeme McDowell, Bernd Wiesberger

Tier 3

Iron Heads GC: Kevin Na (captain), Scott Vincent, Sihwan Kim, Danny Lee

Majesticks GC: Henrik Stenson (co-captain), Ian Poulter (co-captain), Lee Westwood (co-captain), Sam Horsfield

Ripper GC: Cameron Smith (captain), Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Jediah Morgan

Smash GC: Brooks Koepka (captain), Jason Kokrak, Chase Koepka, Matthew Wolff

Also read: Koepka retains Jeddah title as Gooch is the overall champion