LIV Greenbrier Preview: Howell’s return means a lot to Crushers’ Band of Brothers
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – As if Crusher GC needed an extra dose of motivation this week!
On the Old White course at Greenbrier, where Captain Bryson DeChambeau made history last year with his 61-58 weekend to win by six shots, the most dominant team for the past two seasons in LIV Golf has been reunited with Charles Howell III. The American is making a comeback after a stress fracture in his lower left tibia kept him out of action since Singapore on May 5.
Howell, champion in Mayakoba in 2023, has been one of the most consistent performers of the League. And even though his replacement John Catlin did a great job with three top-24s in his four starts, including a tied 7th place in Nashville, the wisdom and experience of one of the deepest thinkers in the sport was missed by the DeChambeau and his men.
Crushers were on the podium in the last three tournaments – second in Nashville and Andalucia and third in the UK – but still find themselves just 15.5 points ahead of Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII, who won their fourth team title of the season at LIV Golf UK by JCB.
“There are always things that you can do better. Greenbrier last year was amazing, but that was only because of what Bryson did. Despite his efforts, we still finished second as a team, so that is something we can improve on,” said Anirban Lahiri.
“I think we are pretty much locked as one of the top-three teams in Dallas, but we definitely want to finish the regular season as No.1. John (Catlin) did a fantastic job for us, but it is so good to have Chucky back. He is such an integral and important part of the team.”
Howell, who first felt the pain in his leg during the second round in Singapore, was eager to get back to action, even though it’s been less than a week that he started hitting balls.
“It’s great to be back. I’ve never really had an injury before, especially out for 12 weeks. Obviously, I never thought it would be to that extent and take the amount of time that it did. But all is well that ends well,” said Howell, who has dropped to No. 27 in the Individual Standings.
“I have some competitive rust. But I’m still able to hit some balls and my swing feels fine and stuff. Obviously, have to knock off a bit of rust this week from the competitive side of it but hopefully, I can do that pretty quick.
“I just want to see where I’m at and not be too hard on myself.”
DeChambeau, who felt he was getting closer to his 2023 Greenbrier form, said after a tied 11th finish in LIV Golf UK by JCB: “It’s going to be a different week and we will have to see if I can get another 58. Having said that, I feel like I am very close to the form that helped me shoot that weekend score. I am driving the ball well and I putted really nicely in UK. My iron play was slightly off and I need to get those wedges a bit sharper.
“I have played solid golf this season, but I would have loved to get a couple of individual wins. So, I have got two chances remaining to get it done, and I can’t think of a better place than Greenbrier to get my first win of 2024.”
In Friday’s opening round, DeChambeau will have the honor of starting from the first tee (1315 local time) alongside Joaquin Niemann, the Torque GC Captain and No. 1 in Individual Standings, and Jon Rahm, the Legion XIII Captain and No. 2 in the standings. Casey, Lahiri and Howell will play together from Hole No. 16.