A matter of millimetres denies Casey a shot at glory at LIV Golf UK by JCB
ROCESTER, England – Crushers GC did well to stay ahead of a runaway Legions XIII in the season-long Team Standings at the end of LIV Golf UK by JCB. However, Captain Bryson DeChambeau and his men were left feeling for Paul Casey as the Englishman once again came close to winning his first individual title on LIV Golf.
Casey, who turned 47 on the Sunday before the tournament, was his usual consistent self through the week and reached 13-under with a brace of birdies on the 13th and 14th holes. At that point, he was just one behind leader Jon Rahm. The Legion XIII Captain would go on to make a bogey on the 17th hole and finish on 13-under as well, which turned out to be the winning score.
However, disaster struck on the par-4 15th hole, one of the most difficult holes during the tournament. Casey’s rock-solid swing faltered for once, and an unintended slice landed him inches outside the out-of-bounds boundary. In fact, he was so close to the line, a string had to be used by the rules official to determine he was indeed OB.
The resulting double bogey proved critical to Casey’s chances, and he eventually finished 5th at 10-under, three behind Rahm. It was his fifth top-10 of the season and firmly ensconced him in 9th place in the season-long Individual Standings with 88.66 points.
At the start of the week, Casey had pointed out there were so many small things that make a difference between winning a golf tournament, and not. And this was a good example he could add to his explanation. It was really a matter of millimetres this time. Slightly left of where the ball landed on the 15th, and he could have given Rahm plenty to think about.
It was a second straight week of individual disappointment for Crushers (after Anirban Lahiri's near miss in Valderrama), but they did well as a team, combining for a tied 3rd place which kept them ahead of Legion XIII in the season-long standings. They still led the table with 175.5 points, a cushion of 15.5 points going into the last two tournaments of the regular season.
It has almost confirmed Crushers as the first team to ensure that they have a day off as one of the top-3 teams in the opening round of the Team Championship in Dallas. Fourth-placed Torque GC will have to win the team titles in both Greenbrier and Chicago to deny DeChambeau and his men that luxury at Meridoe Golf Club.
The popular DeChambeau, who signed and posed for selfies with fans for more than half an hour after the tournament finished, said: “Just heard about Paul. He is playing beautiful golf and I honestly think it is a matter of time before he gets that win on LIV Golf.
“I am happy that we stuck together as a team and managed to finish third.
“I did not play well on Friday and then I thought I could have gone a lot lower in the second round. But I am happy with the way I am playing and looking forward to Greenbrier.”
DeChambeau, who eventually tied for 11th place with rounds of 73, 65 and 67, has plenty of reasons to look forward to Greenbrier. That’s the place where he created history last year by closing with a 61-58 weekend to record his first win on LIV Golf.
John Catlin, who filled in for the injured Charles Howell III for a fourth straight week, finished tied 34th at even-par, while Lahiri was tied 39th a shot behind.
STAT REVIEW
Field ranking in parentheses
Fairways Hit
Casey – 30 (T6)
DeChambeau – 25 (T36)
Catlin – 28 (T15)
Lahiri – 28 (T15)
Driving Distance Avg.
Casey – 292.0 (18)
DeChambeau – 292.1 (17)
Catlin – 291.6 (20)
Lahiri – 275.4 (50)
Greens in Regulation
Casey – 42 (T3)
DeChambeau – 37 (T19)
Catlin – 34 (T37)
Lahiri – 32 (T47)
Total Putts
Casey – 85 (T21)
DeChambeau – 84 (T15)
Catlin – 87 (T30)
Lahiri – 86 (T24)
Total Birdies
Casey – 18 (T2)
DeChambeau – 15 (T11)
Catlin – 6 (50)
Lahiri – 11 (T29)