LIV Golf’s unique competitive dynamics shine in Korea

Bryson DeChambeau desperately needed a win after his recent Sunday disappointments. His Crushers GC teammates were well aware of that – but it didn’t prevent close friend Charles Howell III from making him for work for it as they battled in Sunday’s final group at LIV Golf Korea presented by Coupang Play.

Howell posted the low round of the week, a 9-under 63, that threatened to once again derail DeChambeau, who had failed to convert 36-hole leads in the previous two LIV Golf events. But the Crushers captain answered this time with a spectacular back-nine performance, producing six birdies to shoot a 66 and win his first LIV Golf title in the last 21 starts.

Thanks to both players, the Crushers swept the individual and team trophies, doing so for the third time in their history and the 15th time overall by any LIV Golf team. Meanwhile, DeChambeau and Howell become the first set of teammates to finish first-solo 2nd since the inaugural 2022 beta-test season when Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka beat his then-teammate Peter Uihlein in a playoff in Jeddah.

The battle in Korea is the latest example of the uniqueness of LIV Golf’s dual individual and team component. Howell sought his second individual league win, but he knew if it happened, it would come at the expense of his captain and close friend DeChambeau. The timing couldn’t have been worse with DeChambeau coming off those string of missed opportunities – including last month’s Masters when he held the lead with 16 holes remaining in the final round before tying for fifth – while also gearing up for his next major start at the PGA Championship in two weeks.

And yet a great performance by Howell would improve the Crushers’ chances of winning their first team trophy of the year, which DeChambeau was also desperate to achieve.

Navigating those various emotions and perspectives is what makes LIV Golf such compelling theatre. Formula 1 racing has a similar component with its two drivers for each team.

“It’s a weird dynamic,” said DeChambeau said after his battle with Howell. “It’s much like Formula 1. You’re rooting for him as much as you can. … It’s fun being able to battle with your buddies, but I want to kick his ass so bad. We had a great time today, but it was intense.”

Added teammate Paul Casey: “Our friendship is deep on and off the golf course, but when it’s on the golf course, it’s business for us.”

DeChambeau dealt with a similar situation in winning his second LIV Golf individual title in Chicago in 2023. He shot a final-round 8-under 63 to rally past teammate Anirban Lahiri, who had a one-shot lead with three holes to play. Lahiri – seeking his first individual win of any kind since 2015 – tied for second that day, his fourth runner-up finish in his first 16 LIV Golf starts.

It made for conflicting emotions for DeChambeau and his Crushers, who felt bad for Lahiri even while also celebrating a sweep of both trophies. “I couldn’t be happier that I won,” DeChambeau said afterward, “but I feel so bad for Baan. … It’s one of those things you never want to see a teammate go through. But it is what it is.”

When Koepka beat Uihlein in 2022 on the third playoff hole, it was in the regular-season finale that also decided the top-three bonus-paying positions in the season-long Individual Championship race. Koepka was too far back to move into the top three, but Uihlein would’ve finished solo second to champ Dustin Johnson had he won the tournament.

Instead, he tied Stinger GC’s Branden Grace in season-long points, with Grace claiming the second-place bonus via tiebreaker due to his win earlier in the year. Uihlein settled for third, a difference of $4 million in bonus earnings.

Golfers are used to those swings of emotion – and potential ramifications – while competing individually. But the team aspect, especially on a close-knit unit like the Crushers, creates another level. Not to mention that DeChambeau and Howell were trading punches eye-to-eye in the final group. At one point, Howell made five consecutive birdies on the back nine, finally tying for the lead entering the final three holes. Chatter between shots was kept to a minimum as each focused on beating the other.

“Any time you shoot 9-under par in the last group, and you still don’t win, it’s a tough day,” said the 45-year-old Howell, a steady player who has four worldwide wins in his 25-year career. “But we got the team win. It’s been a while since we’ve stood on that podium as a team winner. It was really big for that as well.”

Said DeChambeau: “I was proud every time he made a birdie. I was happy for him. Then the competitor inside me said, ‘All right, I’ve got to match it.’ There were times where it was tough to feel like I was up there with him. He just kept going. It was a good battle.”

Meanwhile, the other Crushers were on the other side of the course, following the action from afar while also determined not to derail the team’s quest for a trophy. Neither Lahiri nor Casey had a chance to win individually, but they certainly had just as much impact on the team outcome with all four scores counting in each round.

“Our team model right from the get-go has been, if I do my best and I put my best golf out there, it’s going to help the team,” Lahiri said. “I think that’s what Paul and I did. We just had our head down. … Obviously the way Bryson and Charles played, they kind of just by themselves beat the whole field.”

While DeChambeau and Howell combined to shoot 15 under in the final round, Lahiri and Casey combined for 5 under, allowing the team to win comfortably by nine strokes. It the second largest margin of victory by any winning team this season.

“We take our performances very, very seriously,” said Casey, who opened with a 4-over 76 but finished with a 67. “So, when I dug myself a hole at the beginning of the week – I struggled with just the travel from Mexico City to here – it was a knuckle-down kind of focus of what I had to do and play a great round of golf like I did today.”

Having finally rid himself of his final-round demons, DeChambeau can now turn his attention to adding to his major collection with the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. Next month he’ll defend his U.S. Open title at Oakmont and then in July, it’s the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

He’s also in great shape to make a push for the season-long LIV Golf Individual Championship, having moved to second place at the halfway point behind Torque GC Joaquin Niemann. That task would be considerably more difficult had he not held off his teammate on Sunday.

“Glad to have pushed through in this victory and won this event, but there’s a lot of more work to be done this year,” DeChambeau said. “There’s three more majors, and my eyes are focused on that with all the other LIV events, doing my absolute best in every single event I show up to.”

INDIVIDUAL & TEAM TROPHY SWEEPS