Iron Heads GC pulled off another huge upset over Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC but there were plenty of other news and notes from the semi-finals at the LIV Golf Dallas Team Championship.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: After competing in match play for the first two rounds of the Dallas Team Championship, the final day that will determine the season-long champion will consist of stroke play in which all four scores count, mimicking the final round of every LIV Golf tournament this season.
No player can hide on Sunday and avoiding high scores will be just as important as going low, especially on a Maridoe course that is one of the toughest faced by LIV Golf players this season.
“Anything under par out here is an amazing score,” said Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith.
Of the four teams – Legion XIII, Ripper GC, 4Aces GC and Iron Heads GC – competing for the Team Championship in the top tier, Legion has been the most productive team in the all-scores-count final round this season with a cumulative score of 84-under. But that was with captain Jon Rahm leading the way.
Rahm will not play Sunday after withdrawing due to illness. His spot will be taken by reserve John Catlin.
“You just have to treat it like another Sunday,” said Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton, Legion’s second in command. “Yeah, just go out there and try your best. It's going to be quite an exciting finish with all four scores counting.
“I think the course will probably play a little bit different to how it did today. Being set up for match play, I think there was a few more tees forward than what we'll probably face tomorrow.”
Ripper was 69-under in final rounds this season, while the 4Aces were 48-under. The Iron Heads were 3-over in the final round, the only team not to finish under par. They were 26 shots worse than the next best total.
But the Irons Heads have momentum after their two rounds of match-play upsets and they seem to have found a putting stroke that others have struggled to match.
“I think our team is getting better,” Kevin Na said. “Some of the guys are young players in the world stage but they're only getting better every week we play in the experience they're building and the confidence they're building.”
Na has said this week that in match play, anything can happen. Will that be the same for stroke play? Dustin Johnson, the 4Aces captain, said he could still see surprises happening on Sunday.
“Especially one round of stroke play,” Johnson said. “Obviously over four days, stroke play is not really going to have too many surprises. Still, you do every once in a while. It’s golf.”
CRUSHERS DISAPPOINTED: The top-seeded Crushers will not have a chance to repeat Sunday. The best they can do is a fifth-place finish competing in Tier 2 after losing to the Iron Heads in the semi-finals.
“We’re disappointed,” said Paul Casey. “We will go away and process it. Such small are the margins out here, you got to get everybody firing on their cylinders from the get-go.
“Although we have fallen short and we won't be playing for the championship tomorrow, I love the format. It’s great. It showcases golf in different ways, the fact we can play match play and stroke play in the same tournament is great.”
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS TIERS
TIER 1: These four teams won their semi-final matches and will compete for the 2024 LIV Golf Team Championship and positions 1st through 4th on the final leaderboard.
Legion XIII (second seed) Ripper GC (third seed) 4Aces GC (10th seed) Iron Heads GC (13th seed)
TIER 2: These four teams lost in the semi-finals and will compete for positions fifth through eighth on the final leaderboard
Crushers GC (first seed) Fireballs GC (sixth seed) Stinger GC (seventh seed) HyFlyers GC (12th seed)
TIER 3: These five teams lost in the quarter-finals and will compete for positions nineth through 13th on the final leaderboard.
Smash GC (fourth seed) Torque GC (fifth seed) Cleeks GC (eighth seed) RangeGoats GC (nineth seed) Majesticks GC (11th seed)
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