HOUSTON RECAP: LAHIRI THE BRIGHT SPOT AS CRUSHERS SLIP WHILE IN CONTENTION
HUMBLE, Texas – A maddening stretch of five minutes prevented table-topping Crushers GC from scripting another podium finish this season at LIV Golf Houston.
Second behind Fireballs at 29-under midway through the final round, Crushers endured a tough stretch in finishing tied 4th at 25-under par.
Within seconds of each other, Paul Casey hit his tee shot on the short par-4 12th into the water and ended up making a double bogey. That was followed by replacement player John Catlin making a bogey on the 18th hole. Elsewhere on the course, captain Bryson DeChambeau drained a long putt on the 10th hole, but that was only to limit the damage to a bogey.
Those dropped shots took the wind out of Crushers’ sails. Especially Casey’s, who had made only one bogey in the 47 holes before that. Another dropped shot on the 17th means he finished the tournament tied 9th place at 9-under after starting the round tied for the lead at 10-under.
With Anirban Lahiri shooting a 4-under par on Sunday and Catlin 1-under, Crushers tallied 4-under par for the final round.
That, however, increased their lead on the top of the Team Standings and they now have a 17.5-point cushion against the second-placed Legion XIII, who lost their Captain John Rahm halfway through the second round with a cut in his toe. Crushers improved to 113.5 points.
India’s Lahiri (69-69-68) was the best-placed among the Crushers – tied 6th, matching his best finish of the season from Jeddah.
“It was a decent outing for me. I played well and the work I put in the few weeks off showed. Having said that, I missed at least four putts from inside 15 feet over my last six holes, and that was a bit frustrating because I could have finished a lot better than sixth,” said Lahiri, who was equally delighted for India’s thrilling 6-run win in New York over arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing ICC Cricket T20 World Cup.
“I now have a week off, but this makes me feel very positive for Nashville the week after. So, get some more practice done and work on a few things, and watch some cricket over the next few days and also follow how our boys are doing at the US Open.
“I haven’t spoken to Paul yet, but I am sure he’d be very disappointed with his finish. He is playing phenomenal golf this season and I am sure it is a matter of time when he gets that win.”
Crushers were without Charles Howell III, who took some time off to recuperate from a stress fracture in his left leg. Howell, one of the most consistent performers in the short history of LIV Golf, is expected to be back for Nashville.
It was a good move up from the Crushers after their tied 7th in Adelaide and 11th in Singapore.
“We can’t be winning all the tournaments. This kind of ups and downs is expected in golf. We were never too worried about that dip in team form the previous two weeks. With Chucky back in Nashville, I won’t be surprised if we go on another run. However, the most important week would be the Team Championships in Dallas, and we need to peak that week,” added Lahiri.
Lahiri moved up to 25th place in the Individual Standings, making Crushers the only team will all four players inside the top-25. Casey is 13th, DeChambeau 15th and Howell in 22nd place.
DeChambeau fell back to tied 18th place at 5-under with two bogeys in his last three holes, while Catlin had a solid outing, finishing tied 24th at 4-under par.
STAT REVIEW
Field ranking in parentheses
Fairways Hit
Lahiri – 29 (T8)
Casey – 31 (T5)
DeChambeau – 20 (T46)
Catlin – 28 (T14)
Greens in Regulation
Lahiri – 37 (T23)
Casey – 41 (T4)
DeChambeau – 36 (T30)
Catlin – 40 (T8)
Total Putts
Lahiri – 83 (T6)
Casey – 89 (T34)
DeChambeau – 83 (T6)
Catlin – 92 (T46)
Total Birdies
Lahiri – 16 (T7)
Casey – 13 (T20)
DeChambeau – 15 (T9)
Catlin – 11 (T37)
Driving Distance Avg
Lahiri – 296.9 (43)
Casey – 305.6 (29)
DeChambeau – 335.2 (1)
Catlin – 297.9 (40)