Double delight for Burmester and Stingers GC at LIV Golf Chicago
Stinger GC and Dean Burmester made it a South African title sweep at LIV Golf Chicago, needed dramatic playoff wins in both cases at Bolingbrook Golf Club for a first title in two years.
- Aug 11, 2025,
- Updated Aug 11, 2025 8:40 PM IST
Overnight leader Dean Burmester and Stinger GC gave LIV Golf Chicago a distinct South African flavour at Bolingbrook Golf Club on Sunday. Both he and the team needed to come through playoffs to seal victory, their trophy sweep being the 16th in 45 regular-season events.
Chicago was the second time the Stingers have swept the board after the inaugural LIV Golf event in London in 2022 when Charl Schwartzel won the individual title. It was also the fourth double of the season after Sergio Garcia and Fireballs GC did it in Hong Kong, Marc Leishman and Ripper GC in Miami, and Bryson DeChambeau and Crushers GC in Korea.
It was a testing end to the week in Illinois as Burmester sank a clutch birdie putt on the first playoff hole to clinch the individual title after he and Spaniards Jon Rahm and Josele Ballester had finished level on 9 under par totals.
A few minutes later, there was more reason to celebrate, as Stinger GC teammates Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel both birdied hole 18 to win the team playoff against Torque GC for whom Carlos Ortiz birdied but skipper Joaquin Neimann could only manage par. Both teams had finished on 17 under par totals.
The result gave the Stingers a first team title after 31 tournaments, since Tulsa two years ago. “The boys played well the whole week,” said captain Louis Oosthuizen. “For that (Burmester) win, and then for Charl and Branden to hit those two shots into 18 was very special.
“I know Branden is playing very well and I know what kind of player Charl is,” Oosthuizen explained of the decision to bench himself for the playoff. “It was actually in the end a very easy decision.”
Added Burmester, “The moment after the emotion of trying to win a golf tournament, there’s nothing sweeter than that. Then to have these two boys do it right behind me, all three of us birdie the playoff hole, is special.”
It was his second LIV Golf title and once again came at the expense of Spanish opponents after he defeated Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia, in a playoff in Miami last year.
Rahm and Ballester returned 2 under 69s with birdies on 18 in regulation to set up the playoff. Burmester had a 23-foot birdie putt to avoid both playoffs but he redeemed himself a few minutes later with a chip from the rough to set up his short birdie putt.
“Read it right to left and it went right to left and then went right and lipped in,” he said of his putt. “I was halfway through a fist pump and then had to pause and have a second go at it.
“After three bogeys in a row to start, I was like, fudge, I don’t know where I’m going. The head was nowhere. But I just kept at it, and Jason, my caddie, was just phenomenal. He was just like, we never give up. We’re not going to give up. We’ve been through too much crap to give up.”
Although Rahm lost the playoff, he closed the gap further on Niemann in the championship race, which will now be decided at Indianapolis next week. The Chilean holds a 12.27 points lead over Rahm with no one else in contention for the season-long championship.
Niemann has 208.43 points after his tie for 17th at Chicago, while Rahm has 196.16 points, and no other player can break into the top two in points. Crushers captain DeChambeau (140.74) will try to hold on to third place, the final bonus-paying position next week and the only players with a mathematical chance to catch him are Burmester, Smash GC’s Talor Gooch and 4Aces GC’s Patrick Reed.
The Niemann versus Rahm duel is reminiscent of last year’s regular-season finale, when the two players battled for the season-long crown in Chicago. Rahm won both the tournament and the championship.
Overnight leader Dean Burmester and Stinger GC gave LIV Golf Chicago a distinct South African flavour at Bolingbrook Golf Club on Sunday. Both he and the team needed to come through playoffs to seal victory, their trophy sweep being the 16th in 45 regular-season events.
Chicago was the second time the Stingers have swept the board after the inaugural LIV Golf event in London in 2022 when Charl Schwartzel won the individual title. It was also the fourth double of the season after Sergio Garcia and Fireballs GC did it in Hong Kong, Marc Leishman and Ripper GC in Miami, and Bryson DeChambeau and Crushers GC in Korea.
It was a testing end to the week in Illinois as Burmester sank a clutch birdie putt on the first playoff hole to clinch the individual title after he and Spaniards Jon Rahm and Josele Ballester had finished level on 9 under par totals.
A few minutes later, there was more reason to celebrate, as Stinger GC teammates Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel both birdied hole 18 to win the team playoff against Torque GC for whom Carlos Ortiz birdied but skipper Joaquin Neimann could only manage par. Both teams had finished on 17 under par totals.
The result gave the Stingers a first team title after 31 tournaments, since Tulsa two years ago. “The boys played well the whole week,” said captain Louis Oosthuizen. “For that (Burmester) win, and then for Charl and Branden to hit those two shots into 18 was very special.
“I know Branden is playing very well and I know what kind of player Charl is,” Oosthuizen explained of the decision to bench himself for the playoff. “It was actually in the end a very easy decision.”
Added Burmester, “The moment after the emotion of trying to win a golf tournament, there’s nothing sweeter than that. Then to have these two boys do it right behind me, all three of us birdie the playoff hole, is special.”
It was his second LIV Golf title and once again came at the expense of Spanish opponents after he defeated Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia, in a playoff in Miami last year.
Rahm and Ballester returned 2 under 69s with birdies on 18 in regulation to set up the playoff. Burmester had a 23-foot birdie putt to avoid both playoffs but he redeemed himself a few minutes later with a chip from the rough to set up his short birdie putt.
“Read it right to left and it went right to left and then went right and lipped in,” he said of his putt. “I was halfway through a fist pump and then had to pause and have a second go at it.
“After three bogeys in a row to start, I was like, fudge, I don’t know where I’m going. The head was nowhere. But I just kept at it, and Jason, my caddie, was just phenomenal. He was just like, we never give up. We’re not going to give up. We’ve been through too much crap to give up.”
Although Rahm lost the playoff, he closed the gap further on Niemann in the championship race, which will now be decided at Indianapolis next week. The Chilean holds a 12.27 points lead over Rahm with no one else in contention for the season-long championship.
Niemann has 208.43 points after his tie for 17th at Chicago, while Rahm has 196.16 points, and no other player can break into the top two in points. Crushers captain DeChambeau (140.74) will try to hold on to third place, the final bonus-paying position next week and the only players with a mathematical chance to catch him are Burmester, Smash GC’s Talor Gooch and 4Aces GC’s Patrick Reed.
The Niemann versus Rahm duel is reminiscent of last year’s regular-season finale, when the two players battled for the season-long crown in Chicago. Rahm won both the tournament and the championship.