‘The most dynamic player on the planet and a great captain’: Paul Casey hails Bryson DeChambeau after their LIV Golf win
England’s Paul Casey hailed captain Bryson DeChambeau after their Crushers GC brought down the curtain on the first full season of the LIV Golf League by winning the Team Championship in Miami.
DeChambeau’s Crushers GC finished on 11 under par at Trump National Doral, two shots better than Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats after the final round of stroke-play in which all four players’ scores on each team counted.
Anirban Lahiri starred with a seven-under-par 65, while DeChambeau put in a captain’s performance with a 67 which included an extraordinary birdie at the par four 16th after his monster tee shot landed on the second green.
The Team Championship was consolation for DeChambeau after missing out in a three-horse race to win LIV Golf’s individual crown in Jeddah last week and, according to Casey, just reward for his leadership this season.
“Not only is he, to me, the most dynamic player on the planet, he’s also been a great captain this year,” said Casey, whose 7&5 win over compatriot Richard Bland on Saturday helped the Crushers reach the final.
“He’s been a great guy, he’s supported us – because in a season you’re not peaking all of the time, you have ups and downs, all of us, including him – but he’s been a phenomenal captain and I’m so proud of just being part of this awesome team. I love all of these guys.”
Victory earned Crushers GC £11.5m, of which the team retained £6.9m and each player received£1.15m. It was Casey’s first victory since March 2019, when he successfully defended the Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour.
The former world No3 could only manage a round of 73 on Sunday, with Charles Howell III contributing a 72, but the form of Lahiri and DeChambeau, who won two individual LIV Golf titles this year, saw them home.
“Any time you get a win with a team, I’d say honestly that’s more important than individual stuff. Look, majors are great but there’s a team behind you there. I’ve got a team, my own team,” DeChambeau said.
“Having the Crushers be front and center of the first inaugural full season means the world. We are part of history, and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. It definitely takes the sting out of last week. But the team is what it’s all about, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Lahiri’s 65 was particularly sweet given the Indian’s runner-up finishes in the individual scoring in Adelaide and Bedminster. He finished the season 13th in the standings.
“I had a couple of Sundays where I let myself down,” he said. “But I wasn’t going to let the team down today.”
Watson’s bogey-free 67, a pair of 70s from individual champion Talor Gooch and Thomas Pieters plus Harold Varner III’s 72 earned the RangeGoats second place and £6.6m, with Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC taking third ahead of Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces.