LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship: Legion XIII survives scare, HyFlyers with biggest upset in the Quarterfinals

PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC pulled off the biggest upset during Friday’s Quarterfinals at the LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship. They now get the opportunity to knock off the league’s top-ranked team in a Semifinals showdown between friendly captains.

RELATED: Semifinals preview | Quarterfinals recap | Video highlights

The 10th-seeded HyFlyers were the only team to sweep all three of their matches on Friday, beating Sergio Garcia’s third-seeded Fireballs GC. Their reward is a Saturday matchup against Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII, a team that won four tournaments this season but barely survived against the upset-minded Cleeks Golf Club.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Mickelson said. “We look forward to the opportunity to take on the No. 1 team.”

Rahm, the two-time LIV Golf Individual Champion, is hoping to bounce back from a singles loss to Adrian Meronk that forced his teammates to win their other two matches. As captain of the top-seeded team, Rahm was able to choose any of the other Friday winners as an opponent. He opted to select the HyFlyers and then announced that he would face off against Mickelson – his good friend and fellow Arizona State alum – in one of the two singles matches.

“As of late, our most head-to-head matches have been on YouTube, so slightly different stakes,” Rahm said. “Really looking forward to it. He’s a great friend and a great competitor. No matter what, it’s going to be a fun day for both of us.”

It wasn’t a fun day for the defending Team Champions, as the all-Australian Ripper GC were knocked out of title consideration with a 2-1 loss to Stinger GC, a team they had beat last year in Adelaide in LIV Golf’s first-ever team playoff. The all-South African team now gets another chance at Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC, who eliminated the Stingers in the Team Championship in 2023.

“They beat us badly in Miami,” said Stinger Captain Louis Oosthuizen. “So, it’s a little bit of a revenge tomorrow.”

Six team-vs-team matchups took place Friday – two singles matches and one foursomes match, with the winning teams keeping their Team Championship hopes alive. The losing teams dropped to the bottom half of the bracket and can only hope to finish as high as seventh place.

Besides Legion XIII, Torque GC, HyFlyers GC and Stinger GC, the other two teams advancing to the Championship bracket are Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC.

DeChambeau won his singles match against Majesticks GC Co-Captain Lee Westwood while his foursomes pairing of Paul Casey and Charles Howell III knocked off the other Majesticks co-captains, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson, in decisive outcomes.

DeChambeau had the second pick behind Rahm for Saturday’s opponent and opted to face Smash. But in an interesting twist, DeChambeau announced he would face Talor Gooch instead of Koepka in singles. Gooch, a winner earlier this year in Andalucía, has been Smash’s best player this season.

“I’ve got my reasons,” DeChambeau explained. “it’s not personal, though. I can tell you that.”

Koepka instead will play Anirban Lahiri in the other singles match. The Smash captain lost to 4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson in a tight match Friday that went 18 holes, with Johnson winning 1 up via a birdie on the final hole. Smash advanced, though, with Gooch winning his match against Patrick Reed, while Graeme McDowell and Jason Kokrak posted the most decisive victory of the day, 6 & 5 over Harold Varner III and Thomas Pieters.

“We’re not going to mess with a winning formula,” Koepka said.

Rahm was the only other captain who lost his match but saw his team advance. Making his first Team Championship appearance – he missed last year due to illness – Rahm was 2-down with three to play. He made a birdie but followed with a bogey on the match’s 17th hole to lose 2 & 1.

He then had to sweat out the other singles match with his teammate Tyrrell Hatton going toe-to-toe with Richard Bland. The two Englishmen matched scores on the final five holes of regulation, but Bland three-putted on the extra hole after Hatton made his own clutch par putt after a tricky chip against the collar came up short.

“Tyrrell doing Tyrrell things,” Rahm said. “He seems to be unflappable hitting those short putts.”

As for Rahm, he’ll get a chance to redeem himself for Friday’s loss. He’s grateful to get another chance thanks to the wins from Hatton and the young foursomes duo of Tom McKibbin and Caleb Surratt.

“My daughter, who can’t even stand, would be better with a putter than me,” Rahm said. “Hopefully I can fix that. … Always full faith in my team. I’m just hoping their captain shows up tomorrow with a better level of golf.”

QUARTERFINALS RESULTS

Friday’s six winning teams advanced to Saturday’s Semifinals of the Championship bracket while the six losing teams drop to the Rankings bracket. A look at each match Friday at the Michigan Team Championship.

1. LEGION XIII def. 11. CLEEKS GC, 2-1

Hatton, Legion XIII def. Bland, Cleeks, 19 holes. In a tense match that required extra holes and had nine lead changes, Hatton won the decisive point for his team’s victory with a tricky up-and-down from the collar.

Meronk, Cleeks def. Rahm, Legion XIII, 2 & 1. Meronk won four of the last seven holes to pull off the upset of the two-time LIV Golf Individual Champion.

McKibbin/Surratt, Legion XIII def. Kaymer/Kjettrup, Cleeks, 2 & 1. The Legion XIII youngsters, a combined 43 years old, won the final two holes with birdies.

2. CRUSHERS GC def. 12. MAJESTICKS GC, 2-1

DeChambeau, Crushers def. Westwood, Majesticks, 4 & 2. The Crushers captain rallied from an early deficit, taking the lead on the seventh hole of the match and finishing it off with a 15-foot birdie putt for the clinching point.

Horsfield, Majesticks def. Lahiri, Crushers, 2 & 1. Lahiri rallied twice in his first LIV Golf singles match after playing foursomes the previous three years, but Horsfield’s late eagle proved to be the winner.

Casey/Howell III, Crushers def. Poulter/Stenson, Majesticks, 5 & 4. The Crushers’ new-look partnership won the second and third holes of the match and never trailed after that, shooting 5 under on 14 holes played.

10. HYFLYERS GC def. 3. FIREBALLS, 3-0

Mickelson, HyFlyers def. Puig, Fireballs, 19 holes. The battle of the Arizona State alums – 32 years apart – went to the HyFlyers captain, who won on the first extra hole for his first singles win in LIV Golf to complete his team’s sweep.

Tringale, HyFlyers def. Ancer, Fireballs, 3 & 1. Tringale moved his league-best match play record to a perfect 6-0 in his career, winning the first three holes and leading the rest of the way.

Ogletree/Steele, HyFlyers def. Ballester/Garcia, Fireballs, 1 up. Ogletree’s long birdie putt on the match’s 16th hole was the difference in the tight match against the Spaniards.

4. TORQUE GC def. 9. RANGEGOATS GC, 2-1

Niemann, Torque def. Watson, RangeGoats, 2 & 1. Watson had the lead after 11 holes, but Niemann won three straight holes to rally and then made a par on the match’s final hole for the win.

Campbell, RangeGoats def. Pereira, Torque, 2 & 1. Campbell, making his first Team Championship start, lost the lead late to Pereira, but won with a par on the match’s 17th hole.

Muñoz/Ortiz, Torque def. Uihlein/Wolff, RangeGoats, 2 & 1. The Torque duo were 4-up through seven holes, including a stretch of three straight birdies, and never relinquished the lead.

8. SMASH GC def. 5. 4ACES GC, 2-1

Johnson, 4Aces def. Koepka, Smash, 1 up. In a back-and-forth match that saw six different lead changes, Johnson won with a birdie on the final hole.

Gooch, Smash def. Reed, 4Aces, 1 up. In a battle of former teammates, Gooch won three holes in a four-hole stretch to take control then held off Reed in a tight last nine holes.

Kokrak/McDowell, Smash def. Pieters/Varner III, 4Aces, 6 & 5. After starting the match with five halved holes, the Smash duo won six of the next seven holes – four of those with birdies – to quickly finish off the 4Aces.

7. STINGER def. 6. RIPPER GC, 2-1

Burmester, Stinger def. Herbert, Ripper, 4 & 2. Burmester, the recent winner in Chicago, continues his fine form, winning seven holes and taking control of the match at the midway point to deliver the winning point for the Stingers.

Smith, Ripper def. Grace, Stinger, 3 & 2. The Ripper captain won three of the first four holes and never trailed in a match that ended after his Rippers had been defeated.

Oosthuizen/Schwartzel, Stinger def. Jones/Leishman, Ripper, 4 & 3. The South African veterans bounced back from an early deficit by winning three consecutive holes and never trailed the rest of the way, with Schwartzel ending the match with a birdie putt from the fringe.

SEMIFINALS MATCHES

The three winners from Saturday’s Championship Bracket will compete for the Team Championship on Sunday, while the other teams will compete in the Rankings bracket.

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

Winning teams will play for the Team Championship title on Sunday’s stroke-play finals; losing teams will play for final positions 4-6.

1. LEGION XIII vs. 10. HYFLYERS GC
Singles: Rahm vs. Mickelson; Hatton vs. Tringale
Foursomes: McKibbin/Surratt vs. Ogletree/Steele

2. CRUSHERS GC vs. 8. SMASH GC
Singles: Lahiri vs. Koepka; DeChambeau vs. Gooch
Foursomes: Casey/Howell III vs. Kokrak/McDowell

4. TORQUE GC vs. 7. STINGER GC
Singles: Niemann vs. Burmester; Pereira vs. Grace
Foursomes: Muñoz/Ortiz vs. Oosthuizen/Schwartzel

RANKINGS BRACKET

Winning teams will play for final positions 7-9 on Sunday; losing teams will play for final positions 10-12.

3. FIREBALLS GC vs. 11. CLEEKS GC
Singles: Ancer vs. Meronk; Ballester vs. Bland
Foursomes: Garcia/Puig vs. Kaymer/Kjettrup

5. 4ACES GC vs. 12. MAJESTICKS GC
Singles: Johnson vs. Stenson; Reed vs. Horsfield
Foursomes: Pieters/Varner III vs. Poulter/Westwood

6. RIPPER GC vs. 9. RANGEGOATS GC
Singles: Smith vs. Campbell; Herbert vs. Wolff
Foursomes: Jones/Leishman vs. Uihlein/Watson

QUARTERFINALS NOTES

TORQUE’S LAST DANCE: In the Torque GC lineup this week is Mito Pereira, one of the six players who will be relegated from the league after this week due to finishing in the Drop Zone (49th or lower in points) during the regular season.

Sebastian Munoz, the Torque member who won last week’s LIV Golf Indianapolis in which Pereira’s fate was sealed, has dubbed this The Last Dance for Torque. The team is now using it as a motivating factor this week.

“It’s pretty sad to lose him on the team,” said Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann of his fellow Chilean teammate. “He’s such a good influence for the team, and he brings such a good vibe to be all four together. Playing for Mito is big for us … It’s a good motivation for us to kind of finish the season in this way, so Mito can leave with a better feeling.”

PERFECT TRINGALE: No LIV Golf player has a better match play record at the Team Championship than the HyFlyers’ Cameron Tringale, who is now 6-0 after his 3 & 1 singles win over Fireballs’ Abraham Ancer. The unassuming Tringale isn’t the one to brag about his record, though.

“We are greatly aware of the record, but he doesn’t talk about it,” said HyFlyers Captain Phil Mickelson. “On our team, my role is the talking, and he is the playing. So, he doesn’t really speak much. He just goes out and shoots low scores, and he’s been tough to beat.”

MOTIVATED SMASH DUO: A year ago, the Smash foursomes duo of Jason Kokrak and Graeme McDowell were upset in the Quarterfinals by their opposing Iron Heads duo of Jinichiro Kozuma and former LIV Golf player Scott Vincent in 19 holes.

The Smash veterans were the most impressive performers on Friday with their 6 & 5 win over 4Aces GC’s Thomas Pieters and Harold Varner III.

“They were definitely motivated, just the way they kind of finished the match last year,” said Smash Captain Brooks Koepka. “G-Mac is a good foursomes player, and I think they suit up really well with each other. Today proved that. I’m excited to see what they can do tomorrow.”

SUN DEVILS SHOWDOWN: Phil Mickelson beat young David Puig in a singles match between former Arizona State players, and the HyFlyers captain faces another Arizona State player in Jon Rahm in Saturday’s singles. There’s another Arizona State player still in the Championship bracket, Crushers’ Paul Casey. It’s doubtful Mickelson will face Casey if both players advance to Sunday, as Casey is playing foursomes with Charles Howell III.