Fuelled 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 won the all-scores-count shootout by two shots over RangeGoats. Torque finished third, while defending champions 4 Aces settled for fourth.

Last year, the Crushers did not reach the Team Championship final, as they were knocked out in the match-play semi-finals. 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 seven-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 three-under at the turn, then birdied the 10th and 11th holes before suffering his first bogey at the 12th to start his roller-coaster 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 second green.

Facing a blind shot from 109 yards, DeChambeau hit a wedge back over the grandstand and on to 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.”

Moments later, Casey followed with a clutch six-foot par putt on his final hole while the RangeGoats’ Thomas Pieters missed his from similar distance.

When the RangeGoats’ 2023 Individual Champion Talor Gooch bogeyed the 18th after finding the water with his tee shot, the Crushers had enough cushion to absorb DeChambeau’s bogey and RangeGoats captain Bubba Watson’s birdie on the 18th.

DeChambeau finished with a five-under 67, while Howell shot even-par 72 and Casey a 73.

Bryson DeChambeau. LIV Golf

“I thought this year would be special,” said Howell. “We started off with a win. Obviously, Baan [Lahiri] and Bryson have played phenomenal golf here recently.”

Although the RangeGoats came up short, Watson — who shot a bogey-free 67 — was proud of his team’s effort.

“The RangeGoats came out of nowhere,” Watson said. “We played great. We’ve got to improve a little bit. But gosh, finished second for the year. What a great place.”

As for DeChambeau, winning the Team Championship helps to make up for the disappointment in the regular-season finale in Jeddah when he came up short of capturing the Individual Champion title.

“Any time you get a win with a team, I’d say honestly that’s more important than individual stuff,” DeChambeau said. “Look, majors are great but there’s a team behind you there. I’ve got a team, my own team.

“But having the Crushers be front and centre of the first inaugural full season just means the world. We are part of history, and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys and definitely takes the sting out of last week. But the team is what it’s all about, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS

For Sunday’s Finals, all 48 players among the 12 teams competed in one round of stroke play, with all four players’ scores counting toward their team’s score. The four semifinal winners competed for places 1-4, with the teams defeated in the semifinals competing for places 5-8. The teams defeated in Friday’s quarterfinals competed for places 9-12. Of the prize money earned by each team, 60% goes to the team, with 10% going to each of the four participating players.

TIER 1

1. CRUSHERS (-11). Anirban Lahiri 65, Bryson DeChambeau 67, Charles Howell III 72, Paul Casey 73. Prize money: $14,000,000

2. RANGEGOATS (-9). Bubba Watson 67, Talor Gooch 70, Thomas Pieters 70, Harold Varner III 72. Prize money: $8,000,000

3. TORQUE (-6). Joaquin Niemann 66, David Puig 71, Sebastián Muñoz 72, Mito Pereira 73. Prize money: $6,000,000

4. 4ACES (E). Peter Uihlein 69, Patrick Reed 71, Pat Perez 73, Dustin Johnson 75. Prize money: $4,000,000

TIER 2

5. STINGER (-7). Dean Burmester 67, Branden Grace 67, Charl Schwartzel 73, Louis Oosthuizen 74. Prize money: $3,250,000

6. FIREBALLS (-4). Carlos Ortiz 64, Eugenio Chacarra 73, Sergio Garcia 73, Abraham Ancer 74. Prize money: $3,000,000

7. CLEEKS (+4). Martin Kaymer 72, Bernd Wiesberger 72, Richard Bland 74, Graeme McDowell 74. Prize money: $2,750,000

8. HYFLYERS (+5). Cameron Tringale 70, Brendan Steele 71, Phil Mickelson 72, James Piot 80. Prize money: $2,500,000

TIER 3

9. RIPPER (-5). Matt Jones 66, Jediah Morgan 71, Marc Leishman 73, Cameron Smith 73. Prize money: $2,000,000

10. SMASH (E). Jason Kokrak 69, Brooks Koepka 70, Matthew Wolff 72, Chase Koepka 77. Prize money: $1,750,000

11. MAJESTICKS (+4). Henrik Stenson 69, Ian Poulter 72, Lee Westwood 74, Sam Horsfield 77. Prize money: $1,500,000

12. IRON HEADS (+5). Scott Vincent 70, Danny Lee 71, Kevin Na 73, Sihwan Kim 79. Prize money: $1,250,000

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The Crushers captain shot a seven-under 63 on Saturday to launch himself up to eight-under overall and in T-4 on the leaderboard. That has him lurking just four strokes behind his old rival Koepka.

The pair underwent a back-and-forth verbal feud in 2021, but have since buried the hatchet — as evidenced by the pat on the back as DeChambeau gave Koepka  after the latter’s press conference on Saturday evening in Jeddah.

“It was about shooting low today, as low as I could,” DeChambeau said after that pat on the back. “I knew Brooks and a few others were going to play well, and I needed to get it deep today.  I did that, but I would have liked to have finish off with a birdie or two coming in, have a better chance. But being four back as it is, this golf course, you can definitely do it.”

The Crushers are the trending team at the minute, coming off a win in Chicago and leading at 22-under ahead of the final round in Jeddah ahead of next week’s Team Championship final in Miami, and are second in the standings behind last year’s winners, the 4 Aces. DeChambeau has a simple plan to claim the crown this year.

“I just want the boys [Paul. Casey, Anirban Lahiri and Charles Howell III] to keep playing the way they are,” he said. “They’re a special bunch of guys, and they know how to get the job done when it matters.

“This year is going to be a lot different than last year, I believe, if we bring this form into next week. Very excited for the guys and seeing what we can do next week in Miami.”

DeChambeau was very clear on team-before-individual success.

“It’s about the team,” he insisted. “I definitely want to win the team championship [in Jeddah] and be first in the points list going to Miami. We’re that good of a team, and my boys have worked really hard this year. If we play well tomorrow, we definitely deserve to be up in that No. 1 spot. I’m definitely focused on that, focused on playing well tomorrow individually for the Crushers, and just going to give it my all.”

A win over Koepka probably wouldn’t go amiss either, though …

Main image: Bryson DeChambeau. LIV Golf

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For those out there who feel like giving up after that eagle chance lipped out or it took seven swipes to get out of a greenside bunker, look no further than Anirban Lahiri to inspire you to dust yourself down and give it another go.

The 36-year-old Indian, a seven-time champion on the Asian Tour, has had an impressive season so far in the face of adversity, helping his Crushers team take the top spot in the LIV Golf League 2023 opener at Mayakoba, before bouncing back from a disappointing showing at Tuscon with a runners-up spot at the International Series Vietnam behind Kieran Vincent and then matched that result at LIV Golf Adelaide in April, after starting the final round 11 shots behind eventual champion Talor Gooch.

“There have been some amazing strides on the Asian Tour,” Lahiri told Gold Digest Middle East. “I just missed out in Vietnam on the International Series and it is great getting to travel to all these places on the Asian Tour and also on LIV, with the likes of Singapore and Australia on the schedule.

Lahiri has had little time to relax as he is now gearing up for the International Series ‘UK Swing’, as well as having squeezed in LIV Golf events at Valderrama and a return to Centurion Club near London. 

“We are going back to England on both the Asian Tour and LIV Golf League, and then we have the wonderful bonus of heading to Scotland and St Andrews to play the Fairmont on the International Series, too, before we finish up back in Jeddah for the LIV Golf finale, where this journey all began really with the elevated PIF Saudi International joining the Asian Tour and really reinvigorating the tour.

“You couldn’t ask for more. We were in a rut with Covid, but thanks to LIV Golf Investments, the Asian Tour could not be in a stronger position, and then there is the added incentive of playing your way on to the LIV Golf League for 2024, with the Asian Order of Merit winner booking an automatic spot, while the next 30 or so go into a playoff for the remaining spots.” 

Lahiri is also loving the team bonding on the LIV tour, as he plays alongside Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey and Charles Howell III for the Crushers, who are fifth in the season-long team standings at the halfway stage, with the highlights being a win, a third and two fourth-place finishes. 

“LIV Golf is amazing, there is a real unity in the team with Casey and Bryson each bringing their own ideas and experience to the table, while Charles has been playing phenomenal golf with that win in Mayakoba to open the season and get us the double,” Lahiri said.

That team unity was something Lahiri leaned on — along with family support and his own resilience — as tragedy struck during that period in Adelaide.

Lahiri shot 66 and 65 over the weekend at The Grange, matching his 13-under par show (67-64) over the final two rounds at the International Series Vietnam the week before. At KN Links as well, he came close, falling one short of winner Vincent.

The two performances came after a couple of tumultuous weeks for the family, which saw him reach Vietnam without playing golf for a fortnight.

Lahiri was preparing for the LIV Golf event in Orlando when he got a call from India that his mother-in-law, battling cancer, had to be rushed to hospital after she took a turn for the worse. He immediately flew back to Pune to be by her side with his family before heading to Vietnam for the International Series event two weeks later. While there he heard the news she had been moved to palliative care.

In Adelaide on Sunday, moments after finished his round of 65, Lahiri discovered his mother-in-law passed away during the round.

“The last few weeks have been tough for the family. Mom was in a lot of pain the last few days. So, we’re just relieved that she is probably at peace and she’s in a better place now,” Lahiri said at the time.

“It’s hard to wrap your head around a lot of this. So just trying to process it right now. It breaks my heart not to be there with my wife Ipsa and my children. I’m here in Adelaide, but mentally and in spirit, with them. I guess these are some of the professional hazards that we have to deal with, and I am so very proud of my wife.”

Unable to return for the funeral, Lahiri instead poured his emotions into his golf and remained on tour for the LIV event in Singapore. Remarkably, he finished inside the top 20.

Doug Defelice/LIV Golf

Lahiri said his run of form was due to gaining a new perspective in life, and taking that to the course.

“I did not have any expectations when I reached Vietnam. The family was going through a very challenging phase. We were just taking it one day at a time,” he told the LIV Golf website.

“I was forced to hit the refresh button. You have to still look at the positives and try to receive the messages that the universe is sending. What happened the last few weeks made me kind of reset and re-establish my goals, my perspectives in life.

“I think mentally I’ve managed to just get clearer, more focused, and get more involved in my processes. Honestly, I am just counting my blessings and enjoying a new perspective. Probably, I am just playing with a lot less fear and probably not trying so hard and just letting go a little bit more.

“I’ve always found that a very hard thing to do. I think all golfers find that hard. But you know, the last couple of weeks, it’s come a little easier.”

The Asian Tour Order of Merit champion in 2015 is proud to be the only Indian on the LIV Golf roster, and is delighted to see the next generation of golfers coming through. Now at the age of 35, Lahiri is happy to help pass the torch to the likes of Shubshankar Sharma and Aditi Ashok.

“Jeev [Milkha Singh] held my hand through the Asian Tour and on DP World Tour as I was learning the ropes, and now it is my turn to help the younger players,” Lahiri said.

“Sharma has done some great things in the past decade with eight wins and is up around 60th in the world. He also had a great showing in Abu Dhabi [at the HSBC Championship] with a seventh-place finish and is showing the way for the future.

“Aditi is doing great things for the women’s game and has had some stunning results this year, with her win in Kenya followed by a third in Morocco and then a runners-up in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International behind world No. 1 Lydia Ko.

“The team events like the Aramco Team Series and LIV are really helping enhance the game on both men’s and women’s tours and it is an exciting time.”

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