Joaquin Neimann wins again, Crushers GC scorch Jeddah turf for team title

Joaquin Niemann won his second title of the LIV Golf League season from three starts and Crushers GC, who number India star Anirban Lahiri in their ranks, swooped in the final round for a comprehensive victory at LIV Golf Jeddah on Sunday.

It set a record for the biggest rally by any team in the final round and Bryson DeChambeau and the Crushers delivered a reminder to the rest that they are the team to beat as no other side came even close to their dominant performance.

“Shooting 20-under on any golf course is a big deal, and to do it on a course like this on such a windy day is actually, I think, one of the best Sunday team performances that you'll see for a while,” said Lahiri on livgolf.com.

Added DeChambeau, who led the way for his team with an 8-under 62, the best individual score in the field Sunday, “It was just a top priority for us to play our best, and this obviously showed today. Especially in these types of conditions, when it's really windy, we do pretty well. We just hold our head high. I don't know what else to say.”

Charles Howell III added a 64 (tying for second low of the day) and Lahiri’s 65 was the joint fourth lowest. Paul Casey chipped in another sub-70 round with a 69 as the Crushers moved to the top of the season-long team standings with 68 points following a second place finish at the season-opener I Mexico and fourth at Las Vegas.

Starting Sunday trailing second day leader Stinger GC by a massive 11 shots, the Crushers went 20 under – eight shots better than any other team – to finish on 38 under for the four-stroke victory over the Stingers. Las Vegas winner Smash GC finished third.

The previous largest final day rally by any winning team came last season in Adelaide when 4Aces GC won after starting the final round with a seven-stroke deficit.

In the individual event at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, Niemann fired a closing 4 under 66 to finish on 17 under and claim a four-stroke victory. The 25-year-old captain of Torque GC also won the season opener at Mayakoba in an extended playoff in failing light over Sergio Garcia.

The two victories took the Chilean star to the top of the season’s standings and continued his sizzling form that began when he won the Australian Open. “It's probably my best moment, the best I've ever played before,” Niemann was quoted as saying. “I just want it to keep going in the same direction.

“I want to feel, and I want to think I'm the best all the time. I think that's the only way to be confident and play good golf.”

Stinger captain Louis Oosthuizen and team mate Charl Schwartzel, tied for second individually behind Niemann. It was Schwartzel’s best finish after victory at the inaugural London event in 2022, while Oosthuizen equalled his best result. The two finishes helped ease the disappointment of missing out in the team event, as the South African squad held a 10-shot lead at one point early Sunday before the Crushers stormed past them.

“I think a good team score today, I would have said would probably be 10 under,” Oosthuizen said. “To shoot 20 under like they did, there's not much you can do against that.”

Down the order, Anthony Kim who made his return to professional golf after a near 12-year absence, carded his best score of the week with a 4-over 74. Kim, who 76-76 in the first two rounds, was 16 over for the week, the highest score among the 53 players who completed all three rounds.

Kim, however, felt there had been enough to build on ahead of his next start at LIV Golf Hong Kong.

“I'm very encouraged,” Kim said. “I'm excited about what's coming. My game is starting to shape up. I'm doing things that I used to do before. I'm just looking forward to a great year. I definitely played a lot better than the score actually showed. I felt more comfortable today than I did the first two days. I shot 4-over par, but it could have been an under-par round if I had just cleaned up a few things.

“Unfortunately, it's still taking me a couple holes to get comfortable. I think most of my over-par scores are the first six holes. If I can just figure a way to get my mind right before I get out there, I think I'll be in great shape.”

Final scores

1. Crushers GC -38 (DeChambeau 62, Howell III 64, Lahiri 65, Casey 69; Sunday score: -20)

2. Stinger GC -34 (Oosthuizen 67, Schwartzel 68, Burmester 69, Grace 71)

3. Smash GC -33 (Koepka 66, McDowell 66, Gooch 67, Kokrak 70)

4. Torque GC -32 (Ortiz 65, Niemann 66, Pereira 68, Muñoz 69)

5. Legion XIII -24 (Rahm 68, Hatton 69, Vincent 70, Surratt 71)

6. Fireballs GC -23 (Garcia 65, Puig 67, Ancer 70, Chacarra 72)

7. Iron Heads GC -23 (Lee 64, Vincent 67, Na 71, Kozuma 72)

8. HyFlyers GC -23 (Mickelson 67, Ogletree 69, Steele 70, Tringale 70)

9. Ripper GC -18 (Jones 66, Smith 70, Leishman 71, Herbert 73)

10. 4Aces GC -15 (Johnson 67, Perez 67, Varner 71, Reed 73)

11. Cleeks GC -12 (Meronk 69, Bland 70, Kaymer 71, Samooja 72)

12. RangeGoats GC -5 (Uihlein 70, Pieters 71, Watson 71, Ormsby 72)

13. Majesticks GC -3 (Horsfield 68, Stenson 70, Poulter 71, Westwood 74)