DORAL, Fla. — If you were busy watching the loaded college football slate on Saturday, here’s what you missed from the semifinals of the 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship.
Sebastian Munoz had the performance of the day and put the first point on the board with his 7-and-6 drubbing of Stinger GC’s Branden Grace. Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC went on to sweep Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger, 3-0, in the semifinals to lock up the first of four top spots in Sunday’s final round.
Crushers GC’s Paul Casey put up a similar effort against Richard Bland of Cleeks GC with a 6-and-5 shellacking that helped advance the Crushers, captained by Bryson DeChambeau, into the top four. The second clinching point came from DeChambeau in his captain’s match against Martin Kaymer, where the bulked-up bomber won, 4 and 3.
Cameron Tringale dog walked Patrick Reed around the Blue Monster course for most of the round before letting him off the leash after 15 holes, 4 and 3. That would be the lone win for HyFlyers GC as the 4Aces GC advanced to defend their 2022 title thanks Dustin Johnson’s 2-and-1 win over Phil Mickelson and Pat Perez/Peter Uihlein’s 4-and-3 victory over James Piot/Brendan Steele.
Sergio Garcia made quick work of Bubba Watson in the captain’s match between Fireballs GC and RangeGoats GC, 4 and 3. Harold Varner III/Thomas Pieters tied the match with their 2-and-1 foursomes win over Carlos Ortiz/Abraham Ancer. The season-long 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch – which earned the 30-year-old an $18 million bonus – put the deciding point on the board with his 2-up win over Eugenio Chacarra.
All 48 players will play 18 holes of shotgun start (1:15 p.m. ET) stroke play on Sunday in the final round, with all four scores counting towards the final team score. Only the four winners from Saturday’s semifinal round – 4Aces GC, Crushers GC, RangeGoats GC and Torque GC – will be competing for the $14 million top prize.
The teams that lost on Saturday – Cleeks GC, Fireballs GC, HyFlyers GC and Stinger GC – will be competing for places 5-8, while Friday’s quarterfinal losers – Iron Heads GC, Majesticks GC, Ripper GC and Smash GC – will play for places 9-12. You can watch from 1-6 p.m. ET on the CW or stream on the CW app or LIV Golf app.