Andalucía Recap: Crushers endure the heartbreak of two playoff losses
SOTOGRANDE, Spain – As a franchise, the all-conquering Crushers GC endured what would probably rank as the most disappointing finish in their LIV Golf history.
A look at the record books years from now would show a commendable runners-up finish for Anirban Lahiri and a second place for the team. But it was the way those results were obtained that would trouble them for a long time, especially Lahiri.
The Indian was sensational in handling the extremely tough conditions at Real Club Valderrama the first two as he opened a four-shot lead on top of the individual leaderboard. His 7-under par tally in the first 36 holes also helped Crushers go into Sunday with a similar lead in the team championship.
Fireballs GC Captain and crowd favorite Sergio Garcia came out all guns blazing on the final day and quickly reached 6-under for the day, putting immense pressure on Lahiri, who wasn’t having his best ball-striking day, but kept grinding hard.
The lead kept exchanging hands like a ball in a ping-pong match as the tournament reached its climax. A pivotal moment in the round came with Lahiri on the par-5 17th hole at 5-under, one behind Garcia, who was on the par-3 3rd green, but way short of the flag.
From an ugly divot, Lahiri managed to hit a stunning shot to the green and made his long putt for birdie. Garcia, bogey-free in his round until then, three-putted to drop a shot. That reversed the score in favor of Lahiri and Crushers by one shot with the difficult 18th to play.
Three perfect shots on the 18th left Lahiri with a short putt for his first title in LIV Golf, and the first worldwide since the 2015 Indian Open. It would also give Crushers their third win of the season.
It was not to be.
Lahiri missed the putt to send the tournament into a historic first-ever double playoff. That ended in favor of Garcia on the second extra hole, while Captain Bryson DeChambeau and Paul Casey lost the team playoff to Abraham Ancer and David Puig on the first extra hole.
A disappointed Lahiri recorded his fourth second-place finish in LIV Golf, and the only positive was that it helped him jump to 16th place in the season-long Individual Standing, way inside the Lock Zone of top-24.
With 24 points for finishing second, Crushers increased their lead on top of the Team Standing and it would now take an impressive finish to the season by second-placed Legion XIII to deny them top seeding at the Team Championship in Dallas.
DeChambeau gave his shattered teammate a long hug after the round. When asked what he had to say to Lahiri, the Captain said: “You’re playing great golf. I know you’ve had some weird stuff happen. Keep your head high. You’re a great player. It’s going to happen. Two weeks from now, we’ve got another tournament. You’ve got to focus up and get ready for the next one. Don’t reminisce.”
STAT REVIEW
Field ranking in parentheses
Fairways Hit
Lahiri – 27 (T2)
DeChambeau – 21 (T23)
Casey – 25 (T8)
Catlin – 30 (1)
Driving Distance Avg.
Lahiri – 297.6 (37)
DeChambeau – 320.5 (9)
Casey – 313.8 (18)
Catlin – 301.2 (32)
Greens in Regulation
Lahiri – 30 (T7)
DeChambeau – 27 (T22)
Casey – 25 (T36)
Catlin – 29 (T11)
Total Putts
Lahiri – 77 (T8)
DeChambeau – 77 (T8)
Casey – 80 (T19)
Catlin – 83 (T29)
Total Birdies
Lahiri – 14 (T2)
DeChambeau – 9 (T16)
Casey – 9 (T16)
Catlin – 9 (T16)