DeChambeau, Crushers sweep both trophies; Southern Guards one stroke back at LIV Golf South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – Bryson DeChambeau came to LIV Golf South Africa wanting to entertain new fans and help grow the game in a country he had never previously visited. The Crushers GC captain finished the week achieving his goals while sweeping both trophies – even if it meant breaking the hearts of the locals that embraced him as one of their own. 

DeChambeau defeated Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm on the first playoff hole to win his second consecutive LIV Golf individual title via playoff while his Crushers rallied to beat the home favorite Southern Guards GC by one stroke for the team title, their league-record ninth regular-season trophy. 

RELATED: Leaderboard | LIV Golf South Africa 2027 announced 

The victory at Steyn City left DeChambeau in tears, a fitting end to an emotional tournament from multiple perspectives, driven in large part by the passionate South Africans fans that turned the event into the country’s biggest golf tournament. South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa was on hand to congratulate DeChambeau on his victory, with DeChambeau responding by congratulating the country’s leader on the success of the tournament, with more than 100,000 tickets sold. 

“Just got to say I love everybody. Thank you for supporting,” DeChambeau said. “South Africa was unbelievable. I mean, got to be the best LIV event we've ever had.”

The country and the league plan to build on that momentum, with the announcement prior to the start of Sunday’s final round that LIV Golf South Africa will return to Steyn City in 2027, with the dates set for April 22-25. 

“This is more than golf. This is about our country,” said Gayton McKenzie, the South African Minister of Sport, Art and Culture who was instrumental in bringing the league to his homeland. “What LIV Golf has done, they've showcased our country like nothing I've ever seen.” 

The success of the tournament should help to soothe any disappointment felt by Louis Oosthuizen and his Southern Guards, who seemed poised to win the team title thanks to quick starts by Dean Burmester, who birdied his first four holes, and Branden Grace, who birdied three of his first four. As the midpoint of the final round approached, the Southern Guards led by nine strokes. 

But as the South Africans cooled off, DeChambeau and his Crushers heated up. Anirban Lahiri posted his second consecutive 8-under 63, tying for the low round of the day, while Charles Howell III and Paul Casey each played their final 12 holes in a bogey-free 4 under. 

When Lahiri ended his round with a birdie and Casey birdied his last two holes, the Crushers took the lead. Schwartzel, who battled back issues all week, provided a last-gasp birdie, but it wasn’t enough. The Southern Guards finished at 75 under – on any previous LIV Golf tournament, it would’ve been the winning score – while the Crushers won with a record 76 under.

Grace, who tied for third at 23 under, was in the final group with DeChambeau and realized down the stretch that he could force a potential team playoff by playing one stroke better than the Crushers captain. But rainy conditions in the final few holes made it difficult to play catch-up. DeChambeau saved par on the par-5 18th after an errant tee shot while Grace couldn’t convert the lengthy birdie attempt from 27 feet to tie. 

“I knew the last couple of holes it was kind of like between Bryson and myself, and he just at the end of the day made one better up-and-down than I did,” Grace said. “What a phenomenal up-and-down he made on 18. Listen, it's one of the best weeks of my life, in my golfing career, and to be able to spend it with three of my best mates is phenomenal.” 

As for DeChambeau, he returned to the 18th to face off against Rahm, who produced a spectacular 8-under 63 to force a playoff at 26 under after starting the day three strokes behind. 

DeChambeau once again hit his drive left into the mud but after receiving relief, he used a spectacular 3-wood from 295 yards to set up an eagle putt from 12 feet. Rahm, meanwhile, found the bunker with his second shot, and blasted out to 15 feet for his birdie attempt. He missed the putt, allowing DeChambeau to two-putt for birdie for his fifth LIV Golf individual win, tying him for second-most in league history.

“It's been a tough few weeks,” said DeChambeau, sitting among his three Crushers teammates in the post-round press conference. “It's not always sunshine and rainbows. But I can tell you that having these three great people up here and my caddie and the team around me really helped me persevere on through tough moments. 

“A lot of it was just stuff that I can't really explain, but ultimately, I'll tell you that I'm super-grateful for how this has all played out, and I'm super-emotional.” 

Knowing that they denied the home-standing Southern Guards a team victory on an otherwise successful week for the South Africans wasn’t lost on the winners. Casey made it a point to tell a disappointed Oosthuizen after the round how much the week had meant for the league as a whole. 

“I love winning but sometimes you feel bad,” said Casey, whose father grew up in Cape Town. “You’re like, I’m rooting for them as well. Louis should be so proud. What he and Charl and Gracie and Dean accomplished this week is a victory. 

“I know we pipped them. But they said, hey, we’re thinking there could be a LIV event in South Africa. We believe in this – and they made it happen. We have to thank them. Everybody at LIV should thank them for the energy they put into this, the relationships they have. I mean, the President is here. 

“And the fans turned out. They were amazing. I’m like, sorry for winning, but I want to thank them for what they’ve done.”

FINAL LEADERBOARDS 

Individual Top 10 

1 (-26) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (63-65-64-66)*

2 (-26) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (65-66-64-63)

T3 (-23) – Branden Grace, Southern Guards (64-66-64-67); Thomas Detry, 4Aces (66-67-63-65); Abraham Ancer, Torque (66-65-64-67)

T6 (-22) – Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (67-64-65-66); David Puig, Fireballs (66-64-66-66)

8 (-21) – Carlos Ortiz, Torque (67-65-65-66)

T9 (-20) – Anirban Lahiri, Crushers (69-69-63-63); Charles Howell III, Crushers (63-68-66-67)

*-Won playoff on first extra hole

Team Top 3 

1 (-76) – Crushers GC (DeChambeau 63-65-64-66, Howell III 63-68-66-67, Lahiri 69-69-63-63, Casey 73-67-67-67; Rd 4 score: -21)

2 (-75) – Southern Guards GC (Grace 64-66-64-67, Burmester 67-64-65-66, Oosthuizen 69-68-64-67, Schwartzel 66-70-65-69; Rd. 4 score: -15)

3 (-72) – Torque GC (Ancer 66-65-64-66, Ortiz 67-65-65-66, Niemann 67-65-67-68, Muñoz 70-67-66-70; Rd. 4 score: -14)

Click here for full leaderboard

ROUND 4 NOTES

DEAN’S WEEK: Dean Burmester was the emotional fulcrum for his Southern Guards GC and their home fans this week at Steyn City. He started the final round with four consecutive birdies before playing the final 14 holes in a bogey-free 1-under to shoot a 5-under 66, tying for sixth. 

"I had a phenomenal week, honestly,” Burmester said. “I could never have imagined a greater week for all four of us to be welcomed like this at home. It's the greatest feeling I think any of us will ever feel. 

“Each of us got to tee off on this first tee here, and each of us walked off saying exactly the same thing: We couldn't feel anything. It was the greatest thing I've ever felt on the golf course. I'm just proud to be South African; that's it.”

SCHWARTZEL PERSEVERES: Southern Guards GC’s Charl Schwartzel opened his final round with 12 pars before ultimately shooting a 2-under 69 to finish tied for 24th, an impressive performance given that he nearly withdrew prior to the tournament due to back issues. 

“I'm very proud of the way I fought through it,” said the Johannesburg native. “I wasn't able to hit the driver, back was too sore, but I made the best of what I had. I tried my best. Today the putter went a little cold on me, but these guys played amazing. The whole week, just to play in front of everybody, everybody we played with was just complimenting on how amazing this is. 

“At the end of the day, that was what we set out to achieve was to create this, and this actually blew out our expectations. It's just amazing.”

LAHIRI COMES UP CLUTCH: Anirban Lahiri had a rough start to the season, finishing worse than 50th in two of his first four starts of the season. Over the weekend at Steyn City, he made up for it – and then some. 

Lahiri fired back-to-back 8-under 63s on Saturday and Sunday to help the Crushers climb the leaderboard. On Sunday, his 63 was tied for the lowest round of the day, a key effort to his team’s victory. 

"I went into today with the same mindset and attitude that I go into every day, to be honest. But it was nice to have found some rhythm and momentum," Lahiri said. "It's been a tough year. I've put a lot of work in, and I haven't had anything to show for it, and I got comfortable yesterday after a long time.  I was just trying to do the same thing, keep it simple.  I was enjoying myself out there, enjoying the crowds, enjoying the event."

RAHM IN PLAYOFFS: It’s a credit to Jon Rahm that he keeps finding his way into playoffs since joining the LIV Golf League, but the Legion XIII captain remains in search of his first individual playoff win. Rahm is now 0-for-4 in playoffs after his loss to DeChambeau. 

He did partner with Tyrrell Hatton in last year’s Team Championship to defeat the Crushers’ duo of DeChambeau and Paul Casey in a dramatic finish on the second playoff hole. 

Rahm, the two-time LIV Golf Individual Champion, remains the points leader through five tournaments this season with a lead of 102-plus points over DeChambeau. 

DETRY CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Thomas Detry has had a strong start to the season and has proven to be an invaluable addition to 4Aces GC. This week, he finished in a tie for third, continuing his strong play. 

In Sunday's final round, his final round 6-under 65 was the best fourth round of his LIV Golf career. It marked his third top-10 finish in five events, and he has reached the podium in every LIV Golf start so far (individually or with the 4Aces). Detry now ranks 5th in the season-long standings. 

NOTES & NUGGETS

The tournament produced a scoring average of 67.76, the sixth-lowest in LIV Golf history.

The par 5s played exceptionally easy with only a 2.6% over-par rate — the lowest number of scores over par on par 5s in LIV Golf history.

A record 47 bogey-free rounds were recorded this week, the most in a single LIV Golf tournament (previous highs: 41 in 2026 Riyadh and 35 in 2026 Hong Kong).

Three teams – Crushers GC (-76), Southern Guards (-75) and Torque GC (-72) – shattered the previous LIV Golf team scoring record. All three beat the old mark of 69 under set by Ripper GC earlier this year in Riyadh. Fireballs GC (-69), Legion XIII (-64), and Cleeks GC (-61) also set new team scoring records for their clubs. Note that this season is the first for LIV Golf to play 72-hole tournaments.

The Southern Guards posted 87 birdies this week – their highest total in any LIV Golf tournament and the 4th-most in league history. It marked their 6th runner-up team finish.

Crushers GC went 40-under on the par 4s, their best performance on par 4s in a tournament and tying the LIV Golf record (set by Torque at Greenbrier 2023).

Jon Rahm’s final-round 8-under tied for his 3rd-best round in LIV Golf history. He has now finished runner-up seven times in LIV Golf, including three times this season. 

Rahm went 12-under on the par 4s, tying his career-best mark on par-4 holes.

Thomas Detry’s final-round 6-under 65 was the best of his LIV Golf career. It marked his third top-10 finish in five events, and he has reached the podium in every LIV Golf start so far (individually or with the 4Aces)

Martin Kaymer’s par-3 par or better streak extended to 41 consecutive holes, moving him into a tie for eighth in LIV Golf history

Branden Grace’s par-5 GIR streak reached 43 consecutive holes, moving him into sixth place in LIV Golf history

Three-putt avoidance streaks: Anthony Kim extended his to 353 holes (2nd in LIV Golf history) while Josele Ballester extended his to 252 holes (7th in LIV Golf history)

STATS LEADERS

Round 4

Driving Distance: Luis Masaveu, 335.7-yard avg.

Longest Drive: Luis Masaveu, 347.3 yards (15th hole)

Driving Accuracy: Charles Howell III, Ian Poulter, 92.86% (13 of 14)

Greens in Regulation: Jon Rahm, Laurie Canter, 94.44% (17 of 18)

Scrambling: 15 players tied at 100%, led by Marc Leishman (6 of 6) 

Fewest Putts: Peter Uihlein, Martin Kaymer, 24

Bogey-free rounds: Jon Rahm (63), Anirban Lahiri (63), Laurie Canter (64), Bryson DeChambeau (66), Dean Burmester (66), Younghan Song (66), Tyrrell Hatton (67), Charles Howell III (67), Victor Perez (67), Marc Leishman (67), Jason Kokrak (68), Charl Schwartzel (69)

Cumulative

Driving Distance: Matthew Wolff, 335.2-yard avg.

Longest Drive: Peter Uihlein, 359.8 yards (Rd. 2/15th hole)

Driving Accuracy: Abraham Ancer, 87.50% (49 of 56)

Greens in Regulation: Laurie Canter, 86.11% (62 of 72)

Scrambling: Dean Burmester, 93.75% (15 of 16)

Fewest Putts: Bryson DeChambeau, 106

Fewest Bogeys: Jon Rahm, Dean Burmester, 1 

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF ROUND 4

DANCING IN THE RAIN

Despite persistent rain throughout the evening, thousands of fans packed the concert grounds at Steyn City for LIV Golf’s After Play concert to watch global superstar DJ Calvin Harris deliver a setlist jam packed with chart-topping hits from his repertoire. Adoring fans sang and danced as one, while pyrotechnics and fireworks lit up the night sky to cap off a truly unforgettable Saturday for LIV Golf South Africa attendees.

SUNDAY SESSION

Sunday’s After Play music lineup started with indie-pop sensations St. Lucia, whose members include South African born Jean-Phillip Grobler and Patti Beranek, and long-time hitmaking duo GoldFish headlined the afternoon’s festivities to close out the weekend.

SPOTTED ON DAY FOUR

Day 4 of LIV Golf South Africa was lush with local and international celebrities seen in the suites and stands all over Steyn City. 

Most prominently, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa arrived at Club 54 on the 18th hole, to cheer on the Southern Guards as they chased a team victory. Ramaphosa was also tasked with handing over the winning trophies at the podium presentation. 

This week has seen a host of international sports stars in attendance. Springboks Handre Pollard, Willie le Roux and Andre Esterhuizen were all present in the Southern Guards hospitality venue, while ex-Bafana hero Mark Williams and Zakhele Lephasa were joined by comedians Vafa Naraghi and Primo Baloyi spotted enjoying the spoils in Club 54.