Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC opened the 2023 LIV Golf League by lifting a team trophy. On Sunday, they bookended the 14-tournament full season with the League’s biggest prize, the Team Championship.
Fueled by Anirban Lahiri’s spectacular bogey-free round, steady play by Charles Howell III and Paul Casey, and a riveting back-nine performance from their captain DeChambeau, Crushers GC won the all-scores-count shootout by two shots over Range Goats GC. Torque GC finished third, while defending champion 4Aces GC settled for fourth.
Last year, the Crushers did not reach the Team Championship final, as they were knocked out in the match-play semifinals. But the team started the new season with a bang, winning in Mayakoba on the strength of Howell’s individual victory.
DeChambeau found his form in mid-season and won two individual titles, with the Crushers winning again in Chicago. They completed the journey to the top at Trump National Doral, shooting a combined 11 under.
“Last year really left a sour taste in our mouth,” DeChambeau said as he celebrated with his teammates on the 18th green of the iconic Blue Monster course. “I can’t be happier with this team of mine. I don’t know what else to say. I’m at a loss of words right now. … These guys are the best.”
Lahiri was the team’s top performer on Sunday, shooting a 7-under 65 that included consecutive hole-outs at the par-4 seventh (for birdie) and par-5 eighth (for eagle). It was a terrific effort for a player who had come so close to winning an individual title in 2023 with two runner-up finishes and another podium result.
“I had a couple of Sundays where I let myself down,” Lahiri said. “But I wasn’t going to let the team down today.”
DeChambeau was 3 under at the turn, then birdied the 10th and 11th holes before suffering his first bogey at the 12th to start his rollercoaster back-nine. He then birdied the 13th from 36 feet, bogeyed the 14th, then birdied the 15th from 35 feet.
But the most dramatic moment came at the drivable par-4 16th, with the Crushers’ lead reduced to one stroke. DeChambeau’s tee shot hit the top of the Birdie Shack grandstand behind the green and finished on the front edge of the 2nd green.
Facing a blind shot from 109 yards, DeChambeau hit a wedge back over the grandstand and onto the 16th green, then made the birdie putt to increase the Crushers’ lead to two.
“My drop zone, I was going to drop in a sidehill lie out of the rough over palm trees. It was just not feasible,” DeChambeau explained. “I got a perfect lie in front of the green on 2 … I was like, it’s a 109-shot, whatever, let’s go. And hit it to 20 feet and made an incredible putt.”
Lahiri was the team’s top performer on Sunday, shooting a 7-under 65 that included consecutive hole-outs at the par-4 seventh (for birdie) and par-5 eighth (for eagle). It was a terrific effort for a player who had come so close to winning an individual title in 2023 with two runner-up finishes and another podium result.
“I had a couple of Sundays where I let myself down,” Lahiri said. “But I wasn’t going to let the team down today.”
DeChambeau was 3 under at the turn, then birdied the 10th and 11th holes before suffering his first bogey at the 12th to start his rollercoaster back-nine. He then birdied the 13th from 36 feet, bogeyed the 14th, then birdied the 15th from 35 feet.
But the most dramatic moment came at the drivable par-4 16th, with the Crushers’ lead reduced to one stroke. DeChambeau’s tee shot hit the top of the Birdie Shack grandstand behind the green and finished on the front edge of the 2nd green.
Facing a blind shot from 109 yards, DeChambeau hit a wedge back over the grandstand and onto the 16th green, then made the birdie putt to increase the Crushers’ lead to two.
“My drop zone, I was going to drop in a sidehill lie out of the rough over palm trees. It was just not feasible,” DeChambeau explained. “I got a perfect lie in front of the green on 2 … I was like, it’s a 109-shot, whatever, let’s go. And hit it to 20 feet and made an incredible putt.”