GREENBRIER RECAP: DECHAMBEAU’S HISTORIC 58 LIFTS CRUSHERS TO SECOND PLACE

DeChambeau’s romp finally came to an end only because the Old White Course ran out of holes. It was crowned by a 40-footer birdie putt on the 18th that was an epitome of precision – snaking its way and taking all the undulations of the terrain before settling right in the middle of the cup.

Two rounds like that should have taken his team to the top of the podium, but the fact that they still finished second to Torque GC, was further validation of the team format LIV Golf has adopted. Ninth on the leaderboard after the opening round, Crushers surged to reach 46-under par. It would have been good for a win in most tournaments, but Torque just combined better and finished on 49 under.

It was DeChambeau’s first win on LIV Golf, and his league-leading 20th consecutive sub-par score this season. It helped the 29-year-old Texan climb to fifth place in the Individual standings with 104 points. Crushers also moved to fifth place in the Team standings, the 24 points taking them to a total of 122.

Here’s a recap of Crushers GC’s performance at LIV Golf Greenbrier:

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU (-23, Champion)

Tough as it is not to gush over a 58, it is nigh impossible not to fawn over the fact that it came after a round of 61. DeChambeau was 21 under for his 36 weekend holes, and 23 under for his last 39 holes after finishing with two birdies in his closing three holes on Friday.

Bare statistics are incapable of capturing the dominance of DeChambeau, but they do a good job of showing how well he played. The Crushers captain was first in number of putts (76) and second in Driving Distance (341.3 yards), which came with a new Krank Golf driver in his bag.

Just to add more gloss to that Sunday round, he had only one birdie putt outside 20 feet the whole day. There is more… he reached 58 despite making a bogey in the round and did not eagle any of the two par-5s.

But most impressive was that he followed up a 61 with a 58. Most golfers would admit how difficult it is to follow a super-low round with another.

A major champion and a multiple winner in his career, DeChambeau called it “the greatest moment of his career” and added: “It’s beyond words. I’ve been working so hard for a long time, and I knew something special was going to come at some point. I just didn’t know when.”

With his six-shot win over Mito Pereira, DeChambeau moved to fifth place in the Individual standings.

CHARLES HOWELL III (-12, T12th place)

Winner of LIV Golf’s inaugural tournament in Mayakoba this season, Howell III is well known for his consistency and Greenbrier was no different. The American made just one bogey in the three rounds – on the seventh hole of his opening round – and only had red numbers to show on the board thereafter.

Only Harold Varner III (51) hit more greens in regulation than Howell III’s 49, which played a crucial role in his three-day scores of 65, 66 and 67.

ANIRBAN LAHIRI (-10, T18th place)

The only Indian player in LIV Golf, Lahiri was just the kind of solid support Crushers needed on the two days that belonged to their captain. With DeChambeau on fire, Lahiri’s weekend 66 and a bogey-free 65 was crucial in lifting his team to a second place.

Lahiri was left ruing two late bogeys on the opening day, which dragged him down to a one-under par 69. But the 35-year-old, who was also DeChambeau’s partner in his nine-hole match against Phil Mickelson and Cameron Tringale at the beginning of the week, was pleased with his weekend form which saw him make 11 birdies.

PAUL CASEY (-5, T36th place)

It was a what-could-have-been kind of week for the Englishman. Having had to pull out of London with an ankle injury, it was good to see him recuperate in time to take his place in the team. Casey was second in the field in terms of Greens in Regulation, finding 49 of the 54, but 97 putts and dead last in the putting stats resulted in no better than 5-under par total and 36th in the points leaderboard.

STAT REVIEW

Field ranking in parentheses

Fairways Hit

DeChambeau – 30 (T18)

Lahiri – 30 (T18)

Howell III – 29 (T22)

Casey – 21 (T40)

Driving Distance Avg.

DeChambeau – 341.3 (2)

Howell III – 310.5 (23)

Lahiri – 300.2 (T31)

Casey – 299.7 (33)

Greens in Regulation

Howell III – 49 (T2)

Casey – 49 (T2)

DeChambeau – 43 (T17)

Lahiri – 41 (T29)

Total Putts

DeChambeau – 76 (1)

Lahiri – 86 (T14)

Howell III – 93 (T38)

Casey – 97 (47)

Total Birdies

DeChambeau – 27 (1)

Lahiri – 15 (T12)

Casey – 12 (T30)

Howell III – 11 (T35)