Bryson DeChambeau brought the star power, and the U.S. Open Trophy to Music City, Jon Rahm made his triumphant return and brought Legion XIII their third win of the season.
The fans did the rest and flooded venue in droves to make Nashville one of the most memorable LIV Golf events in history!Â
The Grove served as LIV’s first ever event in Tennessee, and the rowdy party city of Nashville was a perfect host for a post-major venue.
DeChambeau was seen carrying the U.S. Open Trophy down Broadway on Thursday night, making good on his promise to have as many fans as possible see and touch the trophy.
Nashville drew sell-out crowds, no doubt in part because of DeChambeau’s newfound star power and ever-increasing celebrity.
Nashville felt like the perfect venue for a star-studded tournament less than a week after a major championship, and the success from this weekend helps the city’s case to become a recurring fixture on the LIV tour, with more events possibly expanding into the US South that is hungry for more professional tournaments.Â
Fans were treated to one of LIV’s signature features, The Party Hole, this time on the 15th.
The Grove served as a challenging course where every score felt like a truly special one.
Nobody scored more than Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton, who captured his first ever individual LIV championship!
The Return of Jon Rahm and the Supremacy of Legion XIII
Rahm, who was forced to withdraw from LIV Houston and skip the U.S. Open went on a three-day tear and reminded everyone why he is the league’s preeminent golfer.
Along with teammate and eventual individual champion Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII pulled away from the other teams early Sunday morning and never looked back.
A fantastic performance from Keiran Vincent (T18; 6-under) and a fine showing from University of Tennessee’s Caleb Suratt (T25; 5-under) rounded out Legion XIII’s third team win of the season! Bryson’s Crushers finished in second, while Joaquin Neimann (T3; 12-under), Sebastian Munoz (T7; 11-under), and Carlos Ortiz (T9; 10-under) each made a late Sunday push to give Torque another podium finish.
The Race to Second Place Ends in Dramatic Fashion
While Legion XIII’s victory was in doubt for all of about fifteen minutes, Torque GC and Majesticks GC seemingly came out of nowhere on Sunday to challenge the Crushers for a podium finish.
Joaquin Neimann’s Torque GC featured three top ten players in Neimann, Ortiz, and Munoz.
After the Sunday rain delay the Majesticks were squarely in contention for second place thanks to Sam Horsfield’s second overall place finish and timely support coming in from Lee Westwood (T3; 12-under).
Unfortunately for the Majestics a late double-bogey that found the water by Ian Poulter and a missed makeable putt for birdie from Stenson sealed the Majestics fate and denied them the podium finish they so desperately craved.
Sebastian Munoz and Carlos Ortiz had last-hole birdies to have Torque leapfrog the Majesticks and take second place for a few short minutes.
Munoz’s birdie came from a chip in off the green after a tee shot that narrowly avoided the bunker.
But of course, it was Bryson DeChambeau to put Crushers GC into a tie for second with Torque after making a nice birdie putt after hitting a nearby bunker.
Channeling his captain’s energy, immediately after DeChambeau’s tying put, the surprise of the weekend, John Catlin, sank a difficult birdie putt to seal the deal for Crushers’ sole possession of second place!Â
Surprise Performances of Nashville
John Catlin
Sitting in for the injured Charles Howell III, Crushers GC fill-in John Catlin (T7; 11-under) set out to prove himself worthy of a future permanent fixture on the LIV tour, leading for several hours throughout the weekend.
Catlin’s performance kept the Crushers in contention for the lead for most of Saturday before Legion XIII pulled away in spectacular fashion.Â
Catlin almost pulled off an incredible upset, finishing in 7th place overall. Should Catlin get another shot to start or sub this season, he will likely be at the top of the list in the offseason for captains looking to improve their team or fill a roster spot.
The Vincent Brothers
While Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm spent the majority of the weekend in the top ten as expected, it was Kieran Vincent who led the way on Saturday with a tremendous showing, scoring 6-under.
Vincent’s efforts helped Legion XIII maintain a stranglehold on the lead through most of the weekend.Â
There has not been a ton to cheer about for Iron Heads GC this season, but Scott Vincent, who previously sat at 51st place overall before Nashville performed admirably and finished with a 5-under good for T25.
His performance in Nashville went a long way towards saving his season. You will remember that last season Scott was inside the Drop Zone before heroic last second efforts at the conclusion of the 2023 season saved him from the dreaded Drop Zone.Â
Unfortunately for both brothers, even after their tremendous performances, the updated standings indicate that both remain in the Drop Zone.
The Vincent Brothers are going to need at least one exceptional performance each if they want to return next year.
Majesticks GC
The Majestics were carried by their only non-captain Sam Horsfield who spent the majority of the weekend in the top ten.
It was the first top five finish for a Majestics individual player in the 2024 season. Co-captain Lee Westwood performed admirably, coming very close to willing his team towards a podium finish.
4th place will have to do again for the Majesticks who matched their best finish this season in Hong Kong.
A strong team performance will give the Majesticks some momentum when they have home field advantage in The United Kingdom (July 26 – 28). Â
4 Aces GC
The 4 Aces struggles continued into the 2024 season. The team who could not seem to lose in 2022 and 2023 finished in 9th place in Nashville.
Friday and Saturday featured a resurgent Harold Varner III, and Pat Perez made strides on Sunday.
Captain Dustin Johnson has seemingly disappeared after his early victory in Las Vegas.
The 4 Aces are a team on paper that should be able to contend every weekend, but at this point they are likely to be this season’s most disappointing team.Â
The Fans
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the fans piled in to see Bryson DeChambeau who commanded the largest following throughout the weekend.
Home viewers could see their fellow fans in Nashville crowd the tee boxes and proceed to follow LIV’s biggest stars in reminiscent of Pilgrams traveling from holy site to holy site.Â
The Grove’s Party Hole on the 15th was once again a centre of focus and fun. While nobody was able to score the ace there were some very close calls from Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, and Tyrrell Hatton.Â
LIV Golf will take a short break before returning in July for a month in Europe. All LIV golfers will be back in action in Spain (July 12 – 14), a lucky few will compete for The Open in Scotland (July 18 – 21), and LIV returns in The United Kingdom (July 26- 28). Check back in to see pre-game Fantasy rankings and game recaps!
