Tag: LIV

Bryson DeChambeau says ‘it’s disappointing’ he’s not on USA Olympic golf team after U.S. Open win

“Anytime you get a chance to represent your country, I’m all for it.”

When Bryson DeChambeau signed with LIV Golf two years ago, he figured that by now the league would receive Official World Golf Ranking points.

That hasn’t happened. And DeChambeau and others who joined LIV have dealt with the repercussions of their decision to leave the PGA Tour. The latest instance is DeChambeau’s frustration with not making the U.S. golf team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

After winning his second U.S. Open title Sunday, DeChambeau has cemented himself as one of the best players in the world this year. He finished T-6 at the Masters, then second at the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open win was a feather in the cap of what has been a brilliant year thus far, but he’s not being rewarded as he may have been in the past. He expressed as much Wednesday during his pre-tournament press conference at LIV Golf Nashville.

“It’s disappointing, but I understand the decisions I made, and the way things have played out has not been necessarily perfectly according to plan,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve done my best up until now to give myself a chance according to the OWGR, but I realize and respect where the current situation of the game is, albeit it’s frustrating and disappointing.”

Even before winning the U.S. Open, DeChambeau had no chance of making the team. He couldn’t earn enough points to gain a spot among the top four Americans in the OWGR. His only events to earn ranking points during the past two years are majors, and because LIV Golf events don’t receive points, there are 14 times a year he plays that aren’t recorded for ranking purposes.

His win Sunday moved him to No. 10 in the world, but it wasn’t enough to get into the top four Americans. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark will head to Paris to represent the Americans.

The 60 players who qualified for the Olympics were announced Tuesday. There are multiple LIV Golf players in the field, including Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann, among others.

In 2021, DeChambeau was on the team but had to withdraw a week before the competition when he got COVID and couldn’t travel.

“I have always loved representing Team USA, whether it’s been the world team amateur (World Amateur Team Championships), the Walker Cup, Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup. It’s been some of the greatest moments of my life. Anytime you get a chance to represent your country, I’m all for it.”

DeChambeau said it was unfortunate he couldn’t travel in 2021, but this year is different. While Scheffler and Schauffele are the other major winners this year, arguments could be made that DeChambeau should be on the team over Morikawa or Clark.

DeChambeau was asked Wednesday if he thought there would have been an agreement by now between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, or if he thought he would’ve been able to get points by now. His answer was telling.

“Yeah, either of those situations,” he said. “That’s kind of what I thought. It hasn’t worked out that way, and again, I respect the decision that I made, and it is what it is. It hurts, but you know what, there’s another one four years later.

“Hopefully 2028 will be a little different situation, and it will make it that much sweeter.”

Jon Rahm defends Rory McIlroy’s missed putt at 2024 U.S. Open: ‘They severely underplayed how difficult that putt was’

“You could see Rory aiming at least a cup left from three feet.”

If anyone knows about difficult putts to win the U.S. Open, it’s Jon Rahm.

The Spaniard birdied the 17th and 18th holes to win by one shot at Torrey Pines in 2021, and the final putt was a hard breaker on the closing par-5 to claim his first major title. Since then, he has added a Masters win to his resume and remains one of the best golfers in the world.

Last week, however, Rahm’s view was a bit different. An injury forced him to withdraw, leaving him on the couch watching coverage of the third men’s major championship of the year.

“I thought it was quite a show from the comfort of my home,” Rahm said Wednesday in his pre-tournament press conference ahead of LIV Golf Nashville. “It’s a very enjoyable tournament to watch. I haven’t gotten the chance to enjoy a major from start to finish like that and to get to see a lot of golf was really fun, and to see how everything unfolded.”

2024 U.S. Open
Rory McIlroy reacts on the 18th green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Fellow LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau won his second major title and second U.S. Open with a clutch up-and-down on the final hole. McIlroy, who led by two with five holes to play, made bogeys on three of his final four holes, including on the 18th. Many people have said McIlroy choked in his best chance to win a major since 2014.

Rahm doesn’t see it that way. Although he watched much of the broadcast on mute, Rahm said he thought the announcers undersold the degree of difficulty of McIlroy’s par putt on the final hole.

“One of the things that absolutely burned me, and I think it was Smylie (Kaufman) who said it, he severely underplayed how difficult Rory’s putt on 18 was,” Rahm said. “When he said it’s a left-center putt, if you hit that putt left-center and miss the hole, you’re off the green because of how much slope there is. You could see Rory aiming at least a cup left from three feet. They severely underplayed how difficult that putt was. Severely.”

Rahm went on to say unless you’ve been on the golf course and you’re playing it or you’ve played it, it’s hard to truly explain how difficult the golf course can be, especially when there are only seconds to get an explanation in.

Coverage takes and coming to the defense of his Ryder Cup teammate in one answer? Rahm is a jack of all trades.

As far as his injury ahead of LIV Golf’s ninth event of the season?

“The main reason for the withdrawal the two events was the infection I had and just to be precautionary towards not making it worse and seeing what steps I can take to prevent that from happening in the future,” he said. “The wound is still there. I’m not going to show any graphic pictures, but it’s still there. It’s manageable now. I’m not going to really make it worse. A lot of things to follow up from what happened to make sure it heals properly and it doesn’t happen again.”

Why Bryson DeChambeau won’t be on USA Olympic golf team regardless of 2024 U.S. Open finish

Should he be on the team?

Bryson DeChambeau is well on his way to a second major championship title. With 18 holes to go and a three-shot lead, there’s a good chance at the end of Sunday, DeChambeau will capture his second U.S. Open championship.

The win would be significant for DeChambeau. It would be his third top-six finish at a major this year. It would be another bullet point on an already stellar resume for the 30-year-old. It would also come with a big payday.

However, there is one thing DeChambeau won’t get for a win Sunday in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2: a spot on the United States Olympic men’s golf team for the games coming in August in Paris.

DeChambeau was slated to be on the team in 2021, alongside eventual gold medalist Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, but he got COVID the week before and was unable to travel. This year, he also won’t be making the trek to Le Golf National in France.

U.S. OPEN: Leaderboard | Hole-by-hole | How to watch

He has the Official World Golf Ranking to thank. Only 60 players make the field for the Olympic golf competition, with a max of four players per country if the four players are inside the top 15 in the OWGR.

The top 15 players on the OWGR are eligible for the Olympic Games, up to a maximum of four golfers from a single country.

After the top 15, the Olympic Golf Rankings consist of up to the top two eligible players per country, as long as that country does not already have at least two players in the top 15.

As it stands, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa are the four highest Americans in OWGR. Monday, June 17 is the cutoff for the Olympic competition, meaning the U.S. Open was the last chance for someone to play their way into the field, like Spain’s David Puig did.

DeChambeau is 38th in the world, which is pretty incredible considering he has only nine counting events in the system. With LIV Golf not receiving OWGR points for its events, DeChambeau and others are limited to the majors or other events to earn ranking points.

Even with a win, DeChambeau wouldn’t become one of the four highest ranked Americans. In fact, Patrick Cantlay is ranked a spot behind Morikawa, and Cantlay is likely the only American who can play his way on the team Sunday.

Last year, many people thought DeChambeau was snubbed being left off the 2023 Ryder Cup team. With his recent form, especially in the biggest events, it’s hard to imagine DeChambeau not teeing it up again in the Olympics, but it’s won’t happen, even if he wins his second major title Sunday.

Never-boring Bryson DeChambeau preaching ‘boring golf’ as key to success at 2024 U.S. Open

Boring golf from Bryson? No way.

Bryson DeChambeau is perhaps the most interesting man in professional golf.

The 2020 U.S. Open champion is a social media star, from his TikTok page to his YouTube videos. He also made waves earlier this year when he put 3D-printed irons into his bag, something that has led to a pair of top-10 finishes in the first two majors of the year.

When it comes to boring, DeChambeau is the polar opposite. He has become a fan favorite again in recent months because of his social presence, a title he didn’t have in the months after his move to LIV Golf. But this week, as he prepares for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, DeChambeau is preaching boring.

U.S. OPEN: Tournament hub | Hole-by-hole | Odds, picks | How to watch

“If I get my irons in a place where I’m hitting it in the middle of the greens and just playing boring golf, that’s the goal for me this week is try to play as boring a golf as possible,” DeChambeau said Tuesday in his pre-tournament press conference.”

Hearing DeChambeau saying he wants to play boring golf is like Stephen Curry or Caitlin Clark saying they are only going to shoot layups. Who wants to see that?

But that’s the challenge that Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina presents. While it can reward big tee shots, it’s a ball-striker’s course that will penalize shots barely offline, and the putting surfaces are punishing to any shots that aren’t in the correct location.

“Looking forward to a tough test of golf out here. Pinehurst is no joke,” DeChambeau said. “You have to hit it in the middle of the greens. And this is a Boo Weekley quote, but the center of the green never moves, so I’ll try to focus on that this week.”

MORE: Tuesday practice round photos at Pinehurst No. 2

DeChambeau has become so popular in part because he goes against the grain and is willing to try things no one else does, and he does it spectacularly. From single-length irons, swinging out of his shoes on drives and tinkering with every little aspect of his swing, he’s not afraid to go out on a limb to gain an advantage while on the course.

However, at a major championship test that’s a bit different than others, don’t expect DeChambeau to swing for the fences on every tee box.

“It stinks hitting a 6-iron off the tee compared to a driver, but sometimes you’ve got to do it and you’ve got to make the right decision for shooting the lowest score out here,” DeChambeau said. “There’s numerous holes like 3, I’d love to go for that green every single day, and I may go for it. I don’t know, you never know with me. Certainly on the tee box if it’s downwind, I’ll give it a go probably.”

DeChambeau finished a shot behind Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship, finishing at 20 under. It’s more than likely the winning score will be significantly less than that this week, but that doesn’t mean DeChambeau won’t entertain the crowds as he has during the first two majors of the year.

“I’m looking forward to a great challenge this week,” DeChambeau said. “It’s a lot of boring golf. It’s definitely different than Valhalla, but I’ll try to do my best to show the crowd some fun drives and some hopefully long-made putts.”

2024 LIV Golf Houston prize money payouts for each player and team

It pays to play well in the Saudi-backed league. Just ask Carlos Ortiz.

It pays to play well in the LIV Golf League, just ask Carlos Ortiz.

The 33-year-old won for the first time on the Saudi-backed circuit on Sunday after a 5-under 67 in the final round at Golf Club of Houston to claim the league’s eighth event of the 2024 season, LIV Golf Houston.

For his efforts, Ortiz will take home the top prize of $4 million. Adrian Meronk finished runner-up and will take home $2,250,000.

With $20 million up for grabs, check out how much money each player and team earned at 2024 LIV Golf Houston.

Individual prize money

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Carlos Ortiz -15 $4,000,000
2 Adrian Meronk -14 $2,250,000
T3 Patrick Reed -13 $1,250,000
T3 David Puig -13 $1,250,000
5 Sergio Garcia -11 $800,000
T6 Anirban Lahiri -10 $608,333
T6 Graeme McDowell -10 $608,333
T6 Lucas Herbert -10 $608,333
T9 Brooks Koepka -9 $396,875
T9 Cameron Tringale -9 $396,875
T9 Martin Kaymer -9 $396,875
T9 Paul Casey -9 $396,875
13 Dustin Johnson -8 $340,000
14 Matthew Wolff -7 $320,000
T15 Talor Gooch -6 $285,000
T15 Henrik Stenson -6 $285,000
T15 Sebastian Munoz -6 $285,000
T18 Charl Schwartzel -5 $235,000
T18 Dean Burmester -5 $235,000
T18 Lee Westwood -5 $235,000
T18 Tyrrell Hatton -5 $235,000
T18 Bryson DeChambeau -5 $235,000
T18 Jason Kokrak -5 $235,000
T24 Sam Horsfield -4 $182,500
T24 Richard Bland -4 $182,500
T24 Marc Leishman -4 $182,500
T24 Abraham Ancer -4 $182,500
T24 John Catlin -4 $182,500
T24 Kieran Vincent -4 $182,500
T24 Thomas Pieters -4 $182,500
T24 Kevin Na -4 $182,500
T32 Harold Varner III -3 $151,600
T32 Jinichiro Kozuma -3 $151,600
T32 Kalle Samooja -3 $151,600
T32 Caleb Surratt -3 $151,600
T32 Joaquin Niemann -3 $151,600
T37 Phil Mickelson -2 $141,500
T37 Brendan Steele -2 $141,500
T39 Mito Pereira -1 $136,500
T39 Matt Jones -1 $136,500
41 Eugenio Lopez Chacarra E $133,000
T42 Peter Uihlein 1 $127,750
T42 Andy Ogletree 1 $127,750
T42 Scott Vincent 1 $127,750
T42 Pat Perez 1 $127,750
T46 Hudson Swafford 2 $124,000
T46 Ian Poulter 2 $124,000
T48 Anthony Kim 4 $90,000
T48 Cameron Smith 4 $90,000
50 Danny Lee 5 $60,000
51 Bubba Watson 6 $60,000
52 Branden Grace 8 $50,000
– Jon Rahm WD
– Louis Oosthuizen WD

Team prize money

Position Team Score Earnings
1 Cleeks GC -33 $3,000,000
T-2 Smash GC -31 $1,000,000
T-2 Fireballs GC -31 $1,000,000

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Carlos Ortiz wins 2024 LIV Golf Houston in same city he won lone PGA Tour event

It’s the first LIV Golf win for Ortiz.

Carlos Ortiz is a fan of the city of Houston.

Ortiz picked up the first LIV Golf win of his career Sunday, shooting 5-under 67 to finish at 15 under and capture 2024 LIV Golf Houston by one shot over Adrian Meronk.

Ortiz and Meronk started the day tied for the lead, and they remained tied with only four holes to go at Golf Club of Houston. However, on the par-5 15th, Ortiz made birdie while Meronk made bogey, and the two-shot swing was enough to give Ortiz his first win since the Asian Tour’s International Series Oman in February.

It’s Ortiz’s second professional win in the city of Houston, also capturing the PGA Tour’s 2020 Vivint Houston Open. That is his lone Tour victory.

Cleeks GC took home the team title, its first, at 33 under. Smash GC and Fireballs GC tied for second at 31 under.

The next LIV Golf event is slated for two weeks in Nashville at The Grove. Next week, Meronk will be among the 12 LIV Golf players headed to Pinehurst No. 2 to compete in the 2024 U.S. Open.

Jon Rahm withdraws from LIV Golf Houston 2024 during the second round

Will we see Rahm at Pinehurst next week?

On Friday, Jon Rahm looked extremely uncomfortable after his tee shot on the par-3 seventh at the Golf Club of Houston during the first round of LIV Golf Houston in Texas. Later on during the broadcast, LIV said Rahm was dealing with a cut between two of his toes.

Well, on Saturday, the star Spaniard withdrew from LIV Golf Houston due to an infection.

Next week, the world of golf will travel to North Carolina for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. Rahm, the 2021 U.S. Open winner at Torrey Pines, is currently one of the betting favorites at 16/1 despite his poor performances in majors so far this season (T-45 at the Masters, MC at the PGA Championship).

Jon Rahm seems to be dealing with an injury at 2024 LIV Golf Houston a week before U.S. Open

Rahm won the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Jon Rahm has yet to finish outside the top 10 during his debut LIV Golf season (seven starts), but when he’s joined the rest of the golf world he’s tied for 45th at the Masters and missed the cut at the PGA Championship.

This week, the Saudi-backed circuit is in Texas for LIV Golf Houston at the Golf Club of Houston where Rahm, the captain of Legion XIII, looks to be dealing with an injury.

During the first round Friday, Rahm hit his approach shot into the par-3 seventh — his fifth hole of the day — and immediately started to grimace and limp away after contact.

According to Tee Times Pub on X/Twitter, he was having his foot worked on before teeing off.

This is something to keep an eye on with the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina coming up next week. Rahm won the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines and tied for 10th last season at Los Angeles Country Club. He’s currently one of the betting favorites at 14/1.

Update: The LIV broadcast said Rahm is dealing with a cut in between two toes.

LIV Golf’s Richard Bland wins senior major at 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship

In 2021, Bland won his first DP World Tour event in his 479th start.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — After putting poorly for the first three rounds of 84th KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, England’s Richard Bland put his putter “Gamer” on notice.

Sunday at Harbor Shores, “Gamer” delivered, and Bland, a member of LIV Golf who was in the field on a special exemption from the PGA of America, shot the day’s best round at the par-71, 6,744-yard Jack Nicklaus designed course by Lake Michigan — an 8-under 63 — to capture his debut senior major by three strokes.

The 51-year-old Bland, who earned $630,000 with the victory over Australian lefthander Richard Green, was thinking about changing putters after he shot a three-over 74 Saturday. Instead, he kept “Gamer” in his bag, and it helped him survive an 80-minute weather delay and an 83-player field which produced 36 under-par rounds.

The 6-foot-4 Green, who shared the opening round lead with Bland at seven-under 64, produced a final-round 65 that included a pair of back-nine eagles at Nos. 12 and 15, his fourth and fifth of the tournament. Green was one stroke ahead of fellow lefthanded countryman Greg Chalmers, who closed with a 68. Finishing tied for fourth at 12-under 272 were Australia’s Scott Hend (66) and low senior PGA of America golf professional Jason Caron (66) of the Mill River Club in Oyster Bay, New York.

“I was so frustrated when I finished yesterday that I actually went out and practiced with the other putter I brought,” Bland said. “I was literally going to use it. That was it. But I got here a little early this morning and did probably an hour on the putting green with my ‘gamer’ just to kick it up the backside, so to speak.”

Message delivered, mission accomplished. Bland made eight birdie putts and one eagle putt — an eight-footer at the 514-yard 15th hole — to offset two bogeys, one a three-putt on the 192-yard 13th hole.

The victory meant even more for Bland, who dedicated it to his brother Heath, who has been battling cancers for the past year. “I’m just so pleased that I could do this for him,” said Bland, who got emotional on the 18th green after his victory. “Like I said, this doesn’t feel like it’s my tournament. It’s his.”

Possibly Bland’s biggest made putt of the day came at the 433-yard 14th after Chalmers had rolled in a 40-foot birdie to go to 15-under. Bland followed with an eight-footer to save par and remained a stroke behind Chalmers going to the 15th tee.

“To Richard’s credit, he iced it,” said the 50-year-old Chalmers, who bogeyed his final three holes. “He stepped up on the next hole (15), hit two beautiful shots on the par-5 and made eagle. Then the second shot he hit on 16 was world-class. To be able to be in the right rough and turn it into that pin, (Bland) won this golf tournament. He played beautiful golf today.”

Bland’s eagle putt at 15 — set up by a good drive and “the best 4-iron of my life” — allowed him to go to the 419-yard 16th with a one-shot lead over Chalmers, whose approach to the hole was long and left into dense rough. With storm clouds quickly approaching and with Bland’s own approach already in birdie range, Chalmers whiffed his third shot.

“I read the lie pretty sitting down,” Chalmers said, “so I went with speed and an open face, and I actually went straight underneath the golf ball. I just misread that lie.”

Chalmers got his fourth shot on the green and then waited 80 minutes through the delay before making his bogey putt. He then failed to get up and down out of a bunker at the par-3 17th, allowing Bland to take a three-stroke lead to the 18th tee.

“Even though I didn’t finish as strongly as I would have liked, I take solace that I was three-over at the start of the tournament on Thursday and here I am, finished third outright,” said Chalmers, who doesn’t have a full exemption on the PGA Champions Tour. His $238,000 third-place check will make it easier for him Tuesday when he attempts to qualify for the 54-hole Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.

Green’s first of two eagles came on the par-4, 423-yard 12th where he hit “half an 8-iron” in from 139 yards. The other came on the 15th where he hit a 4-iron over the Paw Paw River to 12 feet and sank the putt for his fifth eagle of the week.

“I can’t remember the last eagle I made prior to this week,” Green said. “Five in a week — just awesome. Hey, somehow I got the score down and finished second.”

Green was in the next-to-last pairing of the day with Caron, who started with two birdies and finished with five in a front-side 31 and added a sixth birdie at the par-5 10th to get to within one shot of the lead at 13-under.

“I was so impressed with his game,” Green said of the 51-year-old Caron, who settled for a 66 with seven birdies and shared fourth with Australia’s Hend (66) at 12-under 272

“Being able to come out here and compete definitely shows me that I can hang still a little bit,” said Caron, who competed on the PGA Tour in 2000 and 2003 before settling in as a club professional.

Finishing a stroke behind Caron and Held at 11-under 273 were American Chris DiMarco (69) and South Africa’s Ernie Els, who shared the third-round lead with Chalmers at 10-under but managed only a final-round 70. Finishing in solo eighth was defending Senior PGA champion Steve Stricker, who closed with a 68 for 274, one stroke better than South Africa’s Retief Goosen (67) and American Stewart Cink (69).

LIV Golf announces Maridoe Golf Club in Dallas will host 2024 Team Championship

The 2024 LIV Golf Team Championship will be LIV’s second event in Texas.

At the halfway point of its 2024 schedule, LIV Golf has announced where the 2024 LIV Golf Team Championship will be.

Maridoe Golf Club in Carrolton, Texas, about 20 minutes outside of Dallas, will host the 2024 LIV Golf Team Championship, set for Sept. 20-22. Last year, the event was in Miami at Trump National Doral. Now, the league in its third season is heading to Texas for its finale.

Maridoe is T-10 in Golfweek’s Best ranking of private courses in Texas. The course can tip out at more than 7,800 yards.

“Our LIV Golf players are looking forward to playing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with its great golf tradition,” LIV CEO Greg Norman said in a release. “Texas is legendary for producing and hosting great golfers who set a high bar while competing for championships. Our LIV Golf Team Championship at Maridoe Golf Club will be a great experience for our players and all the fans in attendance.”

The LIV Golf Team Championship is comprised of three days of stroke and match play. Last year, Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC won the team title at Doral.

Last month, LIV Golf announced Bolingbrook Golf Club in Bolingbrook, Illinois, will host the 2024 Individual Championship the week prior, ending the league’s two-year relationship with Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

“Members of Maridoe Golf Club are pleased to host the LIV Golf Team Championship in September,” Maridoe Golf Club Founder Albert Huddleston said. “Maridoe has been honored to previously host the Southern Amateur, Trans-Mississippi Amateur, East West Cup Matches, USGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship as well as two 2020 COVID tournaments won by Scottie Scheffler and Brandon Wu. Maridoe is designed to be an enjoyable but demanding member’s club while always ready to provide a great test for elite golfers to entertain golf enthusiasts.”

The 2024 LIV Golf Team Championship will be LIV’s second event in Texas this year, following LIV Golf Houston in June, the next event on the schedule. It’s set a week before the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.