There were storms brewing ahead of Sunday’s final round at LIV Golf’s 10th event of 2023 at the Greenbrier, both on and off the course.

Due to the potential for inclement weather, Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf Greenbrier was brought forward to a shotgun start at 9.05am local time in West Virginia.

Meanwhile, David Puig, LIV Golf’s youngest player at age 21 is locked in a battle with Matthew Wolff for the individual title this weekend.

They shared a lot of laughs Saturday playing in the same group at LIV Golf Greenbrier. And now they share the lead going into the final round at The Old White course.

Wolff followed up his LIV-record tying 61 in the opening round with a three-under 67, while Puig shot 65, leaving both players at 12-under through the first 36 holes. That’s one stroke better than the trio of Bryson DeChambeau, Richard Bland and season-long points leader Talor Gooch, with four more players another stroke back.

Wolff and Puig will be paired again in the leading group that tees off on hole No. 1.

“I’m excited to play with him tomorrow,” Wolff said of the young Spanish star. “I’m excited to be tied for the lead. I’m going to go out there and give it my all, and we’ll see what happens.”

“The age helps probably to enjoy more … or have fun, maybe,” Puig said. “Looking forward to tomorrow.”

The third member of the lead group is Bland, who at 50 years old is the second oldest LIV Golf player.

“I’m trying to keep us oldies still relevant,” said Bland.

As a team, Puig’s Torque certainly had plenty of fun, with a cumulative second round score of 19-under with Mito Pereira’s 62 and Sebastián Muñoz’s 64 counting with Puig’s 65. That leaves Torque at 34-under and four shots ahead of Stinger. Four other teams are eight shots behind.

Torque are seeking their fourth team title of the season while hoping to close the gap with the league-leading 4 Aces, who are in 11th place after managing just even par on Saturday.

Bryson DeChambeau. LIV Golf

Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau might have had the most fun of any individual player on Saturday, shooting his lowest score in a LIV Golf tournament (61) to get to 11-under. His bogey-free round was fuelled by a hot putter, as he converted three birdie attempts of 27 feet or better, including a 47-footer at the 14th hole and a 32-footer at the fourth.

Add increased confidence with the new driver he put in his bag this week, and the Crushers captain is feeling good about his game. He took second place last month at LIV Golf Andalucía when Gooch birdied the final hole for his third win of the season.

“Obviously the putting was more important because that’s what allowed me to shoot that far under par,” said the 2020 US Open champ. “But the driving was on par if not better than that. Having this confidence off the tee is crucial to me playing well, and that’s what it’s provided me so far.”

Puig will be looking for his first professional win since turning pro last year. Wolff’s last pro win came in 2019 in just his third start after becoming a pro. Both players are just outside the top 24 in points who receive guaranteed spots at the end of the regular season for next year’s LIV Golf League.

Sunday at Greenbrier could be a big day for the two youngsters.

“I know we’re young but we’re here for a reason,” Wolff said. “I don’t really think anyone else is looking at us like, oh, we’re young. I think they all know we’re going to give it our best. There’s a reason we’re in the lead.”

The post Storms brewing in Greenbrier as Wolff and Puig lead chase for LIV Golf title appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Johnson — the 4 Aces team captain and Boston individual winner — has a healthy lead in both standings as we get set for Day 2 in Bangkok, but Bland looks ready to pounce, if DJ opens the door.

With Bland leading the way, Johnson is in a tie for 21st, thanks to a two-under 70 and four-event team winner cut an unhappy figure as he headed to the range for some post-round practice.

Johnson has a 39-point lead in the individual standings, and victory in Bangkok would secure the title and the $18 million bonus.

But a second win for Grace and Johnson failing to reach the top 24 would see the 34-year-old leapfrog the two-time major champ and lead by one point going into the Jeddah showdown.

“I’m just trying to win a golf tournament,” said Grace, a member of the all-South African Stinger team. “If I can do that, if I can keep my mind toward that, then the rest will happen. I’m just fortunate to be in a good position coming into this week, lying second and playing well and feeling good about the game. I just need to come out here and hit the shots and make the most of it.”

As for Bland and Chacarra, they are at opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to their professional experience, but they now share the same goal – build on their first-round 65s and give the top of the leaderboard some new names this weekend. That goes for both the individual and team competition, as Chacarra’s Fireballs GC leads the team standings at 14-under, followed by Bland’s Cleeks GC at 13-under.

Iron Heads, who have local hopes Sadom Kaewkanjana and Phachara Khongwatmai in their ranks, are third at 11-under.

The 49-year-old Bland, whose first win came at the 2021 British Masters in his 478th career start, shot a bogey-free round while finishing with three birdies in his last four holes.

“They put a few of the tees up, and a couple of the stronger par 4s played downwind, which was favourable for me because I’m not one of the long hitters,” said Bland. “You couldn’t design a better course for Bryson [DeChambeau], really.

“But we’re all good players. And obviously because the fairways are so wide, once you’ve got irons in your hands and the greens are quite soft, guys are going to shoot good scores, no matter where you are.”

At 22, Chacarra is the youngest player in this week’s field. He was the world’s No. 2 amateur before turning pro earlier this year to become a LIV Golf member. He’s still looking for his first top 20 finish, although his Fireballs team have finished in the money twice since he joined captain Sergio Garcia’s team.

“I’m living the dream,” Chacarra said. “I’m playing with Sergio. He’s my hero since I was little, and then I got Abraham [Ancer] and Carlo [Ortiz] that are really good friends, and they are helping me as much as they can every week.

“I didn’t play very good the first four weeks and I didn’t help much, so I like helping them and giving them the trust they put on me to be on their team.”

Branden Grace. Andy Lyons

TEAM TALK

In addition to the individual stroke-play competition, players are also competing as four-man teams during LIV Golf events. Starting with Bangkok, the best three scores in each roind will combine to produce the team score. The previous counting-score format was 2-2-3.

“I think 3-3-3 is just better,” said Sihwan Kim of third=placed Iron Heads. “Makes it more exciting for the teams.”

The total team prize money for each event is $5 million, with the winning team dividing $3 million, second place dividing $1.5 million and third place dividing $500,000 among its four team members.

In addition, teams are vying for seeds going into the Team Championship in Miami, the final event of the inaugural season with a $50 million purse. Teams have received points for their finishes in each event, and the top four teams in the points standings after next week’s event in Jeddah receive day one byes in Miami.

Team leaderboard
1. Fireballs, 14-under (Eugenio Chacarra 65, Sergio Garcia 68, Abraham Ancer 69)
2. Cleeks, 13-under (Richard Bland 65, Graeme McDowell 68, Laurie Canter 70)
3. Iron Heads, 11-under (Kevin Na 67, Sihwan Kim 67, Phachara Khongwatmai 71)
T-4. Stinger, 10-under (Branden Grace 65, Charl Schwartzel 70, Shaun Norris, 71)
T-4 Niblicks, 10-under (Harold Varner III 67, James Piot 69, Hudson Swafford 70)
T-4. Majesticks, 10-under (Ian Poulter 66, Lee Westwood 69, Henrik Stenson 71)
T-4. Smash, 10 under (Brooks Koepka 67, Jason Kokrak 69, Peter Uihlein 70)

Ian Poulter. LIV Golf

STATS

Driving accuracy – Ian Poulter, Kevin Na, Graeme McDowell, James Piot, Peter Uihlein, Carlos Ortiz, 100 per cent (14 of 14 fairways)
Driving distance – Bryson DeChambeau, 352.1-yard average
Greens in regulation – Sihwan Kim, 100% (18 of 18 greens)
Fewest putts – Branden Grace, Kevin Na, 24 putts
Most birdies – Ian Poulter, 8
Easiest hole – 584-yard par-5 6th, which played to a stroke average of 4.458.
Hardest hole – 484-yard par-4 8th, which played to a stroke average of 4.104, and the 177-yard par-3 16th, which played to a stroke average of 3.104.
Course stroke average: Rd. 1 (69.625). Par is 72.

The post Breaking down Day 1 from LIV Golf Bangkok as Grace, Chacarra and Bland lead the way and title race hots up appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 22-year-old began the year as the world No. 2 amateur, before turning professional upon joining LIV Golf in time for its second event at Portland, Oregon in June.

While he had yet to light up the field on his first four outings at LIV, that all changed on Friday as he showed his true potential as one of the game’s brightest young stars.

A bogey-free seven-under 65 allowed Chacarra to take top spot alongside two veterans of the game — England’s Richard Bland and South African Branden Grace, the Portland champ.

Marc Lieshman looks to have put his Chicago woes behind him and is T4 on six-under, while another up-and-coming youngster — Australia’s Jediah Morgan — sits one stroke further back on five-under.

A raft of players including big names Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia are lurking, but Chicago winner last time out Cameron Smith struggled to an even-par 72.

Koepka was among the players raving about the new club at Stonehill, saying: “There isn’t a blade of grass out of place here and it suits the big hitters. It really is one of the best courses out there.”

Bangkok is the penultimate event on the season proper in the Individual Championship — the players head to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia next week — before the Team Championship finale in Miami at the end of the month.

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The post Eugenio Chacarra adds more glamour to whirlwind year on LIV Tour at Bangkok — but Cameron Smith struggles appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 48-man field will play across 12 teams of four players each, which will be determined at The Draft on Tuesday, June 7.

MORE: Dustin Johnson to headline LIV Golf field in London

“Free agency has finally come to golf. This is an opportunity to start a movement that will change the course of history by bringing new and open competition to the sport we all love. The desire shown by the players to participate in LIV Golf demonstrates their emphatic belief in our model and confidence in what we’re building for the future,” said Norman, CEO and Commissioner of LIV Golf. “We couldn’t be happier at the diversity of our field, featuring players from around the world including major champions and those making their debut with us competing in their first professional event. We can’t wait to start our journey at Centurion Club with this group of first movers who are committed to growing the game in new and exciting ways.”

Here are the top five marquee players in the field

Dustin Johnson
The former world No. 1 was something of a surprise inclusion and will certainly draw in the crowds. The 37-year-old has two majors to his name (2016 US Open and 2020 Masters) and has racked up nearly 30 pro titles on tour. One of the most popular golfers on the planet.

Lee Westwood
The 49-year-old is one of the oldest guys still performing at the top on the main tours and is often mentioned as one of the best players never to win a major (he has three second-place finishes and three thirds across the four tournaments). He has been quite open and honest about looking for a bumper payday on the LIV Tour as he reaches the twilight of his career.

Sergio Garcia
The Spanish 2017 Masters champion dropped a not-so-subtle hint about his intentions to play on the LIV Golf tour when he was overheard saying he “cannot wait” to quit the PGA Tour after an errant penalty at the Wells Fargo Championship last month. A huge favourite in England, across Europe and the UAE.

Ian Poulter
Here is a man to watch for his fashion sense as much as his golf as he always dresses to impress during the big tournaments. While he has never won a major, the former world No. 5 has 17 wins on tour and is famed for his exploits for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup, meaning he always has a loyal band of followers.

Louis Oosthuizen
The South African shot on to the scene in 2010 when he won the Open Championship at St Andrews and has finished an agonising second in the other three majors a collective five times since, most recently at both the 2021 PGA Championship and US Open. Would love a money-spinning win before the Open heads back to the Old Course in Scotland as he searches for that elusive second major.

Here are Golf Digest Middle East’s five other players to watch:

Charl Schwartzel
The South African has been a fan favourite ever since he won the 2011 Masters at Augusta to claim the green jacket and his place in history. The 37-year-old has 13 pro titles on the PGA and DP World Tours and — win or lose — is always smiling on course.

Richard Bland
The veteran has been very outspoken about his intention to play the LIV Golf events, even if it means a ban from the DP World and PGA Tours. The 2021 British Masters champ has bloomed over the past couple of years and is playing the best golf of his life — possibly just at the right time.

Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat
One of the finest young exports to come out of Asia in recent years, TK is already a winner on the Asian Tour this season at the age of 15, where he became the youngest ever player to take a title on one of the main professional tours.

Adrian Otaegui
The 29-year-old Spaniard will hold a certain interest in the UAE as he is a Dubai resident. He has three DP World Tour wins to his name and recently hit the headlines by shooting a course record 63 at Al Hamra Club during the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in March, and just missed out on the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain in April.

Chase Koepka
If just for the name alone. The younger brother of a certain Brooks Koepka, Chase certainly knows his way around a golf course, too, with three amateur titles to his name, and runners-up spot at the Italian Challenge and Kazakhstan Open. He also finished fifth with brother Brooks at the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

The full field for the LIV Golf Invitational Series in London

(Name, Country, OWGR: Career Highlights)
Oliver Bekker, RSA, 93: Seven career wins
Richard Bland, ENG ,66: Two career wins
Laurie Canter, ENG, 114: One professional win
Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat (Am), THA, N/A: Youngest to win an OWGR event
Hennis Du Plessis, RSA, 128: Three professional wins
Oliver Fisher, ENG, 979: One professional win, 16 top-10 finishes
Sergio Garcia, ESP, 54: Major champion, 36 career victories
Talor Gooch, USA, 35: Two professional wins
Branden Grace, RSA, 118: 14 professional wins
Justin Harding, RSA, 111: 11 professional wins
Sam Horsfield, ENG, 72: Three professional wins
Dustin Johnson, USA, 13: Former World No. 1, Two-time major champion
Matt Jones, AUS, 68: Four professional wins
Sadom Kaewkanjana, THA, 125: Former Asian Tour Order of Merit leader (2 wins)
Martin Kaymer, GER, 210: Former World No. 1; Two-time major champion
Phachara Khongwatmai, THA, 133: Youngest player to win pro event (2013)
Sihwan Kim, USA, 138: Two Asian Tour wins
Ryosuke Kinoshita, JPN, 87: Three professional wins
Chase Koepka, USA, 1,543: Six professional top-10 finishes
Jinichiro Kozuma, JPN, 103: Two professional wins
Pablo Larrazabal, ESP, 65: Eight professional wins
Graeme McDowell, NIR, 376: Major champion, 16 professional victories
Jediah Morgan, AUS, 235: 2021-22 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit
Kevin Na, USA, 33: Nine professional victories
Shaun Norris, RSA, 69: 12 professional wins
Andy Ogletree, USA, 1,349: 2019 US Amateur Champion
Louis Oosthuizen, RSA, 20: Major champion; 20 professional wins
Wade Ormsby, AUS, 276: Four professional victories
Adrian Otaegui, ESP, 162: Three professional wins
Turk Pettit, USA, 720: 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Champion
James Piot (Am), USA: 2021 US Amateur Champion
Ian Poulter, ENG, 89: 19 professional victories; former World No. 5
David Puig (Am), ESP, N/A: Seven top-10 finishes in 2021 (NCAA)
JC Ritchie, RSA, 154: 10 professional victories
Charl Schwartzel, RSA, 120: Major champion, 23 professional wins
Hudson Swafford, USA, 91: Four professional wins; 12 top 10 finishes
Hideto Tanihara, JPN, 173: 16 professional victories
Peter Uihlein, USA, 319,: Former No. 1 Amateur; Four professional wins
Vincent Scott, ZIM, 109: Four professional wins
Lee Westwood, ENG, 74: Former World No. 1, 44 professional wins
Bernd Wiesberger, AUT, 90: 13 professional victories
Blake Windred, AUS, 250: Earned first professional win in 2021

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The post From DJ and Sergio to Bland and Koepka, your players to watch at the LIV Golf Invitational Series in London appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 49-year-old Englishman is playing the best golf of his long career since winning the 2021 British Masters and finishing runner-up at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic in February.

The Saudi-funded LIV Golf series begins at the Centurion Club just outside London on June 9, with the three-day event the first of eight competitions each offering prize money worth $25 million.

The DP World Tour has warned golfers that they could ban anyone who competes in the event, and prevent them from playing in competitions such as the Ryder Cup and Open Championship.

“I am going to play. If I get banned, I get banned,” Englishman Bland told the BBC. “Most of my career is behind me now as regards playing at the very highest level. I’m 50 years old in six months.

“I’m a realist. Mother nature does tend to catch up on you. I have an opportunity to play these events and secure my future and I’d be pretty foolish to turn that down.

Bland, the world No. 48,  has requested an exemption to play the 54-hole event.

“I haven’t been granted the release; I pretty much knew that a couple of weeks ago,” he said.

“Everybody has their own opinion and are they going to play or not going to play; you can only do what’s best for yourself.

“I understand some people might not like that but it’s an opportunity for me to make the next stage of my life very comfortable and how can I turn that down?”

Bland is competing at the US PGA Championship in Oklahoma this week. “The talk of the town is the LIV event; it’s all the players are talking about,” he said.

“I plan to play those events. That’s the decision I’ve taken and some people will agree with it and some won’t and that’s fine.”

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The post Defiant Richard Bland to play Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series event in England — even if it leads to DP World Tour ban appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
Greg Norman’s LIV Golf Invitational Series has another confirmed competitor as PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner Jed Morgan has confirmed he will play in the opening event at Centurion, England, ahead of the US Open in June.

Morgan has already been confirmed as the Australian Order of Merit winner with one event still to go, thanks to his victory in the Australian PGA in his home of Queensland in December.

With the Order of Merit crown safe, the 22-year-old is now looking abroad for bigger opportunities and, unlike some of the DP World Tour and PGA Tour players, Morgan does not need to request a release from his tour to play in the lucrative LIV Series, which is worth $250 million over eight events.

Other players who have confirmed they are set to compete include PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson and DP World Tour stars Lee Westwood and Richard Bland.

Morgan is now eligible for his US Open bow at Brookline next month, immediately after the first LIV Series competition from June 9-11. He will also compete at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews in July.

As Morgan is not on the DP World Tour or PGA Tour we will not require permission to play in the Saudi-backed event.

“As this point I don’t need any permission,” Fox Sports Australia quoted Morgan as saying.

“I’m not worried. I shouldn’t have any issues at all — I’ve got no affiliation with Europe or the US. The opportunity with LIV is just insane.

“Having a couple of tournaments to lead up to the US Open will be nice. You always play your best golf after you’ve had a few tournaments to work out where you head’s at.”

Morgan is set to join the DP World Tour next season.

“I’m heading away to follow my dreams and I’m focused on what is ahead of me, but to win an Order Of Merit is something special, and the opportunities that it provides for me are priceless,” Morgan added.

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The post Australian PGA champ latest to sign up for LIV Golf Invitational Series appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Richard Bland receives a Silver Salver from DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley in honour of playing his 500th career tour event this week at the British Masters. Richard Heathcote

By Matt Smith
It was meant to be a celebratory weekend marking Richard Bland’s 500th DP World Tour appearance as he made his British Masters title defence at the Belfry.

But the 49-year-old’s announcement that he has requested a release to play in the money-spinning LIV Golf Invitational Series has put a different spin on the weekend at Sutton Coldfield.

The 49-year-old was asked if he had requested to play in the first of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf events at the Centurion Club, London, next month. He didn’t have a lot to say, but what he said was enough.

“I have,” said Bland. “And if it’s OK. That’s where I want to leave it. I want to concentrate on this tournament. I want to respect it. Right now, the DP World Tour is my 100 per cent focus this week. I want to make a good defence and we’ll leave it there if that’s OK.”

His chances are good this week. One year ago, the Englishman left the Belfry as the 134th best player on the planet, having just won for the first time in his 478th appearance. Today he is 53rd, testimony to his fine play over the past 12 months.

In the wake of his maiden victory, Bland grabbed seven more top-10s on the DP World Tour, including at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic. He led the US Open at Torrey Pines after 36 holes, was given the honour of hitting the opening tee shot in the Open Championship at Royal St George’s. By season’s end he was 11th on the DP World Tour money list. This year he lost out to Viktor Hovland in a sudden-death playoff in Dubai and made his (regular) PGA Tour debut at the Valero Texas Open, where he finished a creditable T-29. Heady stuff after 477 weeks of relative futility.

“What went on 12 months ago was obviously a dream come true,” said Bland, who lost his tour card at the end of the 2018 season and spent a year on the second-tier Challenge Tour. “It was something I had worked toward for 20 years. I knew I was getting closer to 500, so I looked at my schedule and tweaked it around a little bit. I didn’t play here and there to make it this week. Just to make it even more special.”

The Englishman became the oldest first-time winner in DP World Tour history, then aged 48 years and 101 days, when he claimed his maiden title with a play-off victory over Guido Migliozzi at the four-time Ryder Cup venue.

Now he has joined the likes of Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson seeking release from the DP World Tour and PGA Tour to compete in the eight-event, $250 million LIV Series, ensuring that — win or lose — he will stay in the spotlight a little after Sunday’s final hole at the Belfry.

With more big names set to join the LIV ranks in the coming days including — if the rumours hold true — two of the biggest names in Ryder Cup history.

When the first tee shot is Played at Centurion in England on June 9, we are sure Bland will be up against as a strong field as ever.

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The post DP World Tour: Bland’s British Masters defence on 500th appearance takes a twist as he opts to join LIV Golf Invitational Series appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 49-year-old Westwood said he and “many others” have asked to be released from the PGA and DP World Tour to play in the opening LIV Golf event in London in June. The $250 million series has raised eyebrows with the likes of top names such as Phil Mickelson seeking a release to compete in the lucrative events, with each of the eight competitions offering at least $25 million in prize money — a sum that outshines even that on offer on the PGA Tour.

“This is my job. I do this for money. It’s not the only reason,” Westwood said. “But if anybody comes along and gives any of us a chance at a pay rise, then you have to seriously consider it.”

Defending British Masters champion Richard Bland has also requested to be released for Centurion Club over three days from June 9 to 11.

Westwood said the LIV Tour should not be seen as a threat to the PGA or DP World Tours.

“It’s being portrayed as an ‘us and them’, whereas the people from LIV Golf, all the reports I’ve seen, have said that they want to stand side-by-side,” said the 10-time Ryder-Cupper who has won 44 professional titles.

“People always have a problem with change, don’t they? They are sceptical about it and people like continuity and they like just the same to carry on.

“Change in competition is good in any walk of life. It shakes things up and keeps everybody on their toes and keeps everybody trying to improve and improve their product.”

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The post Lee Westwood and ‘many others’ request  PGA Tour and DP World Tour release for Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Shane Ryan
AUSTIN — On the par-5 sixth hole in his opening-round match against Richard Bland at the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay, Bryson DeChambeau blasted a 372-yard drive down the right side of the fairway, hit the 199-yard approach to eight feet and two-putted for a simple birdie. Bland found himself in trouble off the tee, and never had a chance to recover. It was vintage DeChambeau—a snapshot of what makes him such a world-class talent.

Unfortunately, it was one of few moments of brilliance in an otherwise sloppy match as DeChambeau returned from a six-week injury absence after withdrawing from the Saudi International in early February. The match against Bland ended in a tie, but that was mostly because the 49-year-old Englishman competing in the event for the first time threw away every chance to take an advantage against his opponent. That started on the first hole when DeChambeau blasted his opening drive way right into a concession tent and still managed to halve the hole with bogey.

One of the lowlights for DeChambeau came on the third hole, when he hit a 21-foot birdie putt exactly 11 feet, and stared at the poor effort in a state of mystification. His par putt raced four feet past the hole, and he was lucky to make bogey, but in what became a familiar script, Bland couldn’t do better than bogey either. The 15th hole might have seen both players at their lowest, when they each missed five-foot par efforts in what could have been a critical hole for each of them. All told, they tied each of the last eight holes, playing a gettable stretch in the stroke-play equivalent of one over.

In the midst of it, DeChambeau was also the beneficiary of a strange rules scenario in which officials gave him relief near a sprinkler head, but only because Thomas Pieters had been in the same spot earlier and after being denied similar relief, forced a change from the PGA Tour.

“I had a rules official come up, and he clarified to me that Thomas didn’t get relief,” DeChambeau said. “He goes, ‘yeah, but we changed it because it just wasn’t right,’ and apparently they can do that in match play. I feel really bad for him, and lucky break for me.”

In comments made to the Golf Channel Tuesday, DeChambeau said he hurt his hand playing ping pong in Saudi Arabia, and the injuries that caused him to enter and then withdraw before the start of both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship earlier this month included a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and a torn labrum in his left hip. He said he didn’t touch a club until last Friday, and he said that he still lacks confidence in his wrist movements, particularly on drives. In terms of lingering pain, though, he said that the bigger problem was acutally fatigue—this was his first appearance on the PGA Tour since he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January—after the match with Bland.

“They’re fine,” he said of his hand and hip. “Obviously, because I haven’t walked 18 holes in six weeks, it’s a bit tiring. … But as of right now it’s holding up well, and I pray it holds up the whole way.”

Despite the injury, he said after his round that he’s considering participating in a long-drive competition after the Masters, and that no, he wasn’t worried about further damage to his body.

“When I get to Augusta where I’m close to 200 [mph] ball speed again,” he said, “there’s a possibility that the next week, if nothing gives out and it’s structurally stable, that I’ll do that. I want to do it. I love it. … I know this is where my home is, but at the end of the day I want to expand out and try and give people a little bit of a show, too.”

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By John Huggan
DUBAI — There’s an old golf proverb, penned by the legendary Herbert Longhurst Darwin, that says the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic doesn’t really begin until the 10th tee on Sunday. OK, not really. But on the evidence of this epic event, it would be difficult to come up with a more apt description of a race to the finish that produced a seemingly endless run of ups, downs and everything in-between over the closing nine holes. Old Willie Shakespeare himself would have been hard-pressed to come up with a more dramatic scenario than that which played out at the Emirates Club.

Three men were involved before Rory McIlroy launched his 3-wood approach into the water fronting the 18th green en route to a ruinous bogey. Then two in a playoff in which Viktor Hovland defeated Richard Bland with a birdie at the first extra hole. But those barest of facts conceal an afternoon like no other in the 33-year history of the longest-standing member of DP World Tour’s “Middle East Swing.”

Consider this. Standing on that fateful 10th tee, long-time leader Justin Harding was tied with McIlroy on 11 under par. A host of players were piled up behind, just about the least obtrusive being Hovland. At that stage the fifth-ranked player in the world (he’s now two places higher) was eight under. Only three shots back and clearly not out of contention. But it’s safe to say few if any in the large crowd were paying the Norwegian any attention.

Hold on though. Things were about to happen. While McIlroy’s 6 at the par-5 10th was bad enough, when Harding made the same score on the par-3 11th all hell suddenly broke loose. And when McIlroy followed up that fine putt on 10 with two more for birdies on the 11th and the 13th, it looked for all the world as if the Northern Irishman was cruising to his third victory in this event.

Then he wasn’t. Up ahead, Hovland followed a seemingly ambition-ending three-putts for bogey on the short 15th with an inspired burst of play he would later call the best of his life “in the circumstances.”

MORE: Watch Rory McIlroy find the water and splash away his chances in Dubai

A “bomb” of a putt for birdie at the 16th disappeared below ground before a “great drive” on the penultimate hole found the putting surface on the 359-yard par 4. In went the eagle putt from 10 yards. Suddenly, Hovland was thinking “win” rather than “high finish.”

“I didn’t even know how far 17 was playing,” he said. “But I knew that it was playing downwind and that I had to give it all that I had. I hit a little high toe on the face, which was pretty nice, and just launched a little higher, knuckled a little bit. I don’t know where it pitched but probably just short of the green and released to 30 feet.

“I knew standing over the putt that it was to tie the lead,” he continued. “But I also knew that the guys behind still had the [reachable par-5] 13 and some easier holes to make birdie on. So I knew I probably had to birdie the last as well to get them thinking a little bit.”

He was right in that assessment. And he did make the birdie on 18 that saw him land on 12 under par after a Sunday 66 and set what was still a formidable target.

Playing the 14th, McIlroy knew he needed to play the last five in one under to pip Hovland. And, as it turned out, Bland.

Almost unobtrusively, the unassuming Englishman—an unlikely first-time winner of last year’s British Masters in what was his 478th European Tour event—was picking his way through the back nine. Birdies on 10 and 11 were followed by a string of pars before a third dip below par took him to 11 under. A birdie on the 18th would tie Hovland and maybe increase the pressure, if only a little, on McIlroy.

Unable to reach the distant green in two, Bland laid-up short of the pond and wedged to roughly 25 feet. Knowing he had to hole it, the 48-year-old Englishman (who led last year’s U.S. Open at the halfway point) rolled it in for a closing 68. Bland had his tie with Hovland and when McIlroy made a water-strewn bogey on the final hole, the playoff was set.

Ross Kinnaird
A 25-footer for birdie on the 18th hole put an excited Richard Bland into the playoff in Dubai.

One more hole was all it took, Hovland’s two-putt birdie enough to clinch his sixth career victory, his second on the DP World Tour and the $1,360,000 first prize.

“I didn’t really think this was possible going into today,” was Hovland’s understandable reaction. “I knew I had to shoot a really low number, but a lot of things had to go my way and thankfully they did.”

Yes, yes. But was this really the best finish of his life? On second thoughts, maybe not.

“I do distinctly remember a little match that I had in college,” Hovland said. “We used to do a little Ryder Cup thing, me and Kristopher Ventura against Zach Bauchou and Sam Stevens. We were basically playing for dinner in stroke play best-ball. It was kind of getting dark and pretty feisty. We all didn’t want to lose, believe me. Anyway, we were down three strokes with three to go, and I finished birdie, birdie and then eagle on the last to beat them by a shot. They were so mad, and it just brought me so much joy. So I will always remember that one. It was pretty satisfying.”

But not nearly as lucrative.

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