Incheon (South Korea) (AFP) – Bryson DeChambeau said he was looking forward to “battling it out” for the PGA Championship title in two weeks after winning LIV Golf’s first tournament in South Korea on Sunday. The American is looking to snare his third major title at Quail Hollow and he set himself up perfectly by holding off Crushers GC team-mate Charles Howell III to win LIV Golf Korea by two strokes.
DeChambeau watched on as playing partner Rory McIlroy won the Masters last month, and he is looking forward to locking horns with golf’s best again. “My goal is to win every tournament that I show up to,” said DeChambeau, who won the US Open in both 2020 and 2024. “Scottie (Scheffler) is on a great run, Joaquin Niemann is on a great run, Jon Rahm has been playing well. There’s a lot of star-studded talent out there right now that’s going to be in the PGA Championship. We’re going to be battling it out,” he added.
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DeChambeau went into the final day at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea with a four-shot lead, but Howell whittled it down to nothing with three holes remaining. A Howell bogey on 16 sent DeChambeau back into the lead, and the 31-year-old rammed home his advantage with birdies on the final two holes to win with an overall score of 19-under par.
DeChambeau said he was “pretty nervous” on a front nine that included one birdie and one bogey, but settled down after the turn. “After the ninth hole, I don’t know what hit me, I just said ‘you know what, just play like a kid again’,” he said. “I started doing that on the back nine and striped a three wood on 11, gave me a lot of confidence.”
The win gave DeChambeau his first title of the LIV season. He had held the lead going into the final round at the previous two tournaments but failed to capitalise. Howell, who finished three strokes clear of third-placed Talor Gooch, carded 10 birdies on his final round, including a run of five in a row. “I knew today would be a tough day to catch Bryson and even try to beat him, but I gave it my best,” said the American. “I definitely thought nine under would have done it, and clearly it didn’t.”
Spain’s Rahm finished in a tie for seventh, 11 strokes behind DeChambeau. Chile’s Niemann, who has won three times on the LIV circuit this year, finished in a tie for 20th.
© 2024 AFP
