After three seasons of near misses and heartbreaking defeats in individual playoffs, Sergio Garcia finally lifted LIV’s individual trophy in front of his hometown crowd at Real Club Valderama, Spain!
Decked out in the Spanish flag’s colours of red and yellow, Sergio overcame not only his own personal hurdle but boosted Fireballs GC to their first team win of the season in front of a raucous hometown crowd.
The Spaniard, who started championship Sunday at even par, had his best showing in his LIV career shooting 5-under on an Andalucia course that took no prisoners.Â
Neither win came easy however. The unlikely victories were generated as a result of one of the most painful-to-watch finishes of the tournament, if not season.
The progenitor being a missed putt on an extremely short chance on the 18th from weekend leader Anirban Lahiri.
The miss set up Andalucia to become the first ever LIV event to host an individual and team playoff concurrently.
Both Lahiri and Crushers GC and stood at 6-under par, before the missed putt. The resulting miss and following bogey sent both player and team to a tie with Sergio Garcia and Fireballs GC at 5-under par.Â
It looked like an imminent first LIV career victory for the Indian standout and another win for the dominant Crushers GC.
The miss, in what echoed recent shades of Rory McIlroy on the 18th at the U.S. Open, put Sergio and Anirban in an eventual two-round individual playoff.
David Puig and Abraham Ancer represented Fireballs GC, and Bryson DeChambeau and Paul Casey represented Crushers GC for the team playoff. Â
The First Playoff Hole, Individual and Team
Sergio and Anirban both shot for par on the first playoff hole. For Fireballs GC, Puig and Ancer both shot par, with Puig nailing an excellent approach shot from the 10th fairway which sailed over a tree and onto the green.
Puig followed up with an incredible lag putt that put him a couple feet away from the hole which he easily sank for par.
Unfortunately for Crushers GC, Bryson DeChambeau could not recreate his clutch time magic, and shot for bogey on the 18th, sealing Crushers’ second-place finish.Â
The Second and Final Individual Playoff Hole
Sergio played it safe from off the tee and on his approach shot, setting himself up for a rather lengthy putt for his third shot.
Lahiri’s drive landed him in the tree line which forced his hand to create a low power shot that ultimately danced to the rough at the wrong end of the green.
Lahiri fumbled his third shot, overshooting the hole, and eventually followed up with a chip shot for par, but was struck far too softly.Â
Sergio, acutely aware of the green’s speed now after three full days of tournament plus the previous playoff hole, guided his ball to a respectable distance from the hole before making the most memorable putt of his LIV Golf career.
It was without a doubt one of the strangest and most surprising finishes in LIV Golf history!
Andalucia – LIV’s Most Difficult Course
Fireballs’ first-place finish at 5-under par was far and away the lowest-scoring tournament in LIV history.Â
For reference, the previous team low score in 2024 was Legion XIII winning Miami with 22-under par, and going further back, Torque GC winning Andalucia in 2023 with a final score of 16-under par.
What made the 2024 iteration so difficult for so many was the Friday wind conditions paired with the dry slick greens that gave the field an absolute fit throughout the weekend.
Even eventual winner Sergio Garcia was held at even par by the end of Saturday afternoon.Â
For a sense of just how difficult the course and conditions were, only nine golfers finished under par for the tournament: Garcia, Lahiri, Hatton, Reed, Oosthuizen, Smith, Neimann, Lee, and DeChambeau. Third place Stinger GC finished even par.
Sergio and the Fireballs Climb the Ranks
The come-from-behind, Lahiri’s collapse setting up a most unlikely playoff, and miraculous hometown victory propelled Garcia into third place in the individual standings, leapfrogging recent Nashville champion Tyrrell Hatton who had himself a fantastic tournament finishing in third place at 4-under.Â
Fireballs GC’s first win of the season put the predominantly Spanish team in sixth place overall. Crushers’ second-place podium finish, their second in a row, gave them some much-needed breathing room between them and Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII who finished a paltry tenth overall.
Andalucia marked the Fireballs’ fourth all-time team victory, and first in 2024.
With the season winding down another couple of podium finishes could have them in contention for a top-three spot before the team championship in Dallas.
