Underdog Iron Heads knock 2023 champion Crushers out of LIV Dallas team finals

Danny Lee achieved perhaps the greatest result of his professional career when he defeated U.S. Open champion and top-seeded Crushers captain Bryson DeChambeau, setting the tone for another combative performance from the bottom-seeded Iron Heads in the semifinals of the LIV Golf Dallas Team Championship on Saturday.

The New Zealand golfer took an early lead against Dallas-born Texan DeChambeau and did not drop a single shot during the singles match at Maridoe Golf Club before claiming victory with a 2-0 lead.

“I felt like I beat a Goliath today,” Lee said later in Carrollton. “It’s Bryson DeChambeau, the most popular golfer in the world right now.” Lee also had to put aside the distraction of the hundreds of DeChambeau fans who followed her play from the first hole.

Lee’s steely performance matched the courageous character of Kavin Na’s underdog team, which eliminated fourth-seeded Smash GC in the quarterfinals on Friday while the Crushers and two other seeded teams received a bye.

Na was part of a foursome with Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma that defeated Anirban Lahiri and Charkes Howell III in the 3&1 event, while relegation-threatened Zimbabwean Scott Vincent defeated the highly experienced Paul Casey in the other singles match.

At no point in all three games did the Crushers manage to get ahead of their opponents, a testament to the determination of the Iron Heads, who had not won a single game in the team championships until Friday.

“I’m really proud of my boys,” said Na after his team won. “It’s a great feeling, a confidence boost for the last two days until Sunday. I tell my boys, anything can happen.”

Casey added, “Iron Heads put the underdog story at the forefront. Everybody loves underdog stories. You can get excited about them. … They’re a great story. I mean, in a weird way, you’re always rooting for the guy that beat you. So I’m always a crusher, but maybe we’re secretly cheering for these guys.”

However, the Iron Heads were not the only ones to make a convincing run to Sunday’s championship round.
Second-seeded Legion XIII came to Dallas with a solid track record, including four event wins and the season’s individual championship for their inspirational captain Jon Rahm, but entered the fray without him. Rahm withdrew before the semifinals with flu-like symptoms, but Tyrrell Hatton stepped in admirably for the newly formed team.

“It was obvious that he (Rahm) just wasn’t going to be able to do it, which was unfortunate,” Hatton said after Saturday’s 5&4 win over the HyFlyers’ Andy Ogletree. “I think we all wish him the best and want him to get healthy as soon as possible.”

Substitute John Catlin took Rahm’s place in the opening singles match, forcing experienced Cameron Tringale to 20 holes before losing. And although Hatton got through comfortably after a slow start, young players Caleb Surratt and Kieran Vincent defeated HyFlyers captain Phil Mickelson and Brendan Steele 4&3 in another surprise result.

“It would have been nice if he (Rahm) had played today,” Hatton said. “He’s a very special player. But at the end of the day we still have to go out there and do our best and luckily we were able to qualify for tomorrow.”

Also victorious on Saturday were the all-Australian Ripper GC, captained by Cameron Smith, who have two wins on the season, including a playoff victory in Adelaide, and Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC, who won the inaugural team championship in 2022 and are looking to end a disappointing season on a more positive note.

The Iron Heads have never won a tournament as a team and have only reached the podium once in the 35 previous LIV Golf events. Until this week, they had never won a single point in the team championship, and Lee’s individual title last year in Tucson remains the only trophy won by an Iron Heads player.

Match play golf is a tricky business, however, and they are now one of four surviving teams with a chance of winning LIV Golf’s biggest team prize. Sunday’s championship round will be stroke play, with every score counting toward each team’s total, a completely different challenge from the first two days in Dallas.

Both the Rippers and 4Aces had to rely on their singles players losing foursomes to the Fireballs and Stingers respectively, with Johnson seeing off Dean Burmester and Patrick Reed beating Branden Grace in 18-hole matches, while Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert got the better of the Aussies.

“Of course we have a chance to redeem ourselves tomorrow,” said Johnson. “If all four of us play well and win the whole title, then you can forget about the rest of the year.”
There is no escape in Sunday’s competition as each player’s score counts towards their team’s total, especially on the Maridoe course, which is one of the toughest for LIV golfers this season.

“Anything under par is a great result here,” said Ripper captain Smith. “You just have to treat it like another Sunday,” added Hatton, Legion’s deputy. “Yeah, just go out there and do your best. It’s going to be a pretty exciting finale with all four scores counting.”

“I think the course will probably play a little bit differently than it did today. Because it’s set up for match play, I think there were a few more tees further forward than we’ll probably have tomorrow.”

The Irons Heads are back in the swing of things after their two surprise rounds of match play and seem to have found a putting stroke that others have struggled to match. “I think our team is getting better,” Na said. “Some of the guys are still fairly young players on the world stage, but they are getting better every week we play as they gain more experience and more confidence.”

Na said this week that anything can happen in match play. 4Aces captain Dustin Johnson, for his part, said he could expect surprises on Sunday. “Especially a round of stroke play. Of course, there won’t be too many surprises in stroke play over four days. But every now and then they do happen. It’s golf.”

Semi-final results (rankings in brackets)
Iron Heads GC (13) defeated Crushers GC (1) 3-0
Singles 1: Scott Vincent (Iron Heads) defeated Paul Casey (Crushers), 1 up; Singles 2: Danny Lee (Iron Heads) defeated Bryson DeChambeau (Crushers), 2 up; Foursomes: Kevin Na/Jinichiro Kozuma (Iron Heads) defeated Anirban Lahiri/Charles Howell III (Crushers), 3&1.
Legion XIII (2) defeated HyFlyers GC (12) 2-1
Singles 1: Cameron Tringale (HyFlyers) defeated John Catlin (Legion XIII), 20 holes; Singles 2: Tyrrell Hatton (Legion XIII) defeated Andy Ogletree (HyFlyers), 5&4; Foursomes: Caleb Surratt/Kieran Vincent (Legion XIII) defeated Phil Mickelson/Brendan Steele (HyFlyers), 4&3.
Ripper GC (3) defeated Fireballs GC (6) 2-1
Singles 1: Marc Leishman (Ripper) defeated Eugenio Chacarra (Fireballs), 19 holes; Singles 2: Lucas Herbert (Ripper) defeated David Puig (Fireballs), 1 up; Foursomes: Sergio Garcia/Abraham Ancer (Fireballs) defeated Cameron Smith/Matt Jones (Ripper), 3&1.
4Aces GC (10) defeated Stinger GC (7) 2-1
Singles 1: Dustin Johnson (4Aces) defeated Dean Burmester (Stinger), 1 up; Singles 2: Patrick Reed (4Aces) defeated Branden Grace (Stinger), 1 up; Foursomes: Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel (Stinger) defeated Harold Varner III/Pat Perez (4Aces), 3&2.