Rd. 3 News and Notes: DeChambeau can rest now
COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – Tyrrell Hatton and Legion XIII swept both trophies at LIV Golf Nashville, but there were plenty of other news, notes and stats from the final round, starting with U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.
RELATED: HATTON WINS NASHVILLE BY 6, LEADS LEGION XIII TO THIRD TEAM TITLE
DECHAMBEAU CAN REST NOW: U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau had admittedly battled fatigue since his victory at Pinehurst, yet he remained one of Hatton’s primary chasers. After suffering an early bogey Sunday, the Crushers captain bounced back with a couple of birdies at the fourth and fifth holes before running out of steam. He played the remaining 13 holes in a bogey-free 2 under to shoot 68 and tie for third.
Although he didn’t win, DeChambeau remains in good form. He led the field in Nashville in driving accuracy and was third in driving distance, and he tied for fourth in greens in regulation. On Sunday, he missed just one fairway and two greens, leading the field in both those categories in the final round.
PUTTING CHANGE KEYS HORSFIELD FINISH: Two weeks at LIV Golf Houston, Majesticks GC’s Sam Horsfield lost five strokes to the field with his putter in the first two rounds. Prior to that final round, he decided to change his grip to a cross-handed style. He immediately shot 66, gaining five strokes on the field on the greens.
That momentum carried over into LIV Golf Nashville. Horsfield needed just 83 putts over the three rounds at The Grove and tied for seventh in fewest putts for the final round. With his new-found confidence, the 27-year-old Englishman posted his best result in 25 career LIV Golf starts, a solo second at 13 under.
Hovering just above the relegation zone coming into Nashville, Horsfield is now 22nd in points. The top 24 at the end of the regular season finish in the Lock Zone and are guaranteed spots for next year’s league.
“It’s given me a real boost in confidence,” Horsfield said of the putter switch. “As crazy as it sounds, I felt my game was coming into a good spot. I wasn’t concerned at all. Obviously, it’s really nice to finish second. This week is great for me to build on for the next few weeks.”
The Majesticks team also received a much-needed boost of confidence with a fourth-place team finish, tying their best result of the year. The Majesticks were looking to finish on the podium for the first time in 25 regular-season tournaments but came up two shots shy of Torque GC.
Besides Horsfield’s best finish, Lee Westwood also produced his best-ever LIV Golf result, a tie for third after shooting two 66s on the weekend. The teammates played together on Sunday.
Westwood played bogey-free golf for the first 42 holes this week until suffering a double bogey at the par-4 eighth. He then was a bogey-free 4 under the rest of the way with an eagle at the par-5 18th.
“I’m starting to hit the ball well again,” said Westwood, who is competing in next week’s U.S. Senior Open. “This week I felt sharp. Short game was good. Holed a few putts. Good to be back in there.”
RAHM’S RETURN A SUCCESS: Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm returned to action this week after withdrawing during the second round of LIV Golf Houston with a foot infection, which also kept him out of last week’s U.S. Open.
Although Rahm’s bid to win his first individual title came up short, he finished tied for third after a weekend in which he shot 63-68. It’s his eighth top-10 finish of the season.
Rahm was just two strokes behind Tyrrell Hatton after birdies in three of his first four holes. But he found the water on two different shots at the par-4 sixth and also bogeyed the ninth and 12th holes. He doesn’t think it would’ve mattered in hopes of catching his teammate.
“I think it would’ve been nearly impossible to catch him this week,” Rahm said. “It’s easier to focus on my shortcomings. I had four penalty strokes, one out-of-bounds and three balls in hazards. That’s what I’m going to be focusing on more than anything.”
HATTON’S POINTS STREAK: With the victory, Tyrrell Hatton remains the only player this season to finish with points (top 24) in each of the first nine tournaments. He also moved into third place in the season-long points standings behind Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm. Hatton also becomes the sixth first-time winner this season.
SOLD-OUT WEEKEND: The final two rounds of LIV Golf Nashville played to sold-out crowds. Over the three days of competition, more than 40,000 fans attended the event at The Grove.
ROUND 3 STATS LEADERS
Driving accuracy: Bryson DeChambeau, Pat Perez, 92.86% (13 of 14 fairways hit)
Driving distance: Eugenio Chacarra, 352.5 yards avg.
Longest drive: Matthew Wolff, 381.4 yards, 18th hole
Greens in regulation: Bryson DeChambeau, 88.89% (16 of 18 greens)
Scrambling: Matthew Wolff (5 of 5), Pat Perez (4 of 4), Sebastián Muñoz (4 of 4), 100%
Putting: Anthony Kim, 1.33 putts per hole
Bogey-free rounds: Pat Perez (64), Sebastián Muñoz (65), Matthew Wolff (67)