Bryson DeChambeau held off Crushers teammate Charles Howell III to win the individual title at LIV Golf Korea on Sunday in Incheon, South Korea.
The two-shot triumph was DeChambeau’s first on the Saudi-backed tour since 2023 and his first win anywhere since last summer’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst. During his win drought, DeChambeau had twice surrendered 36-hole leads on LIV, in Miami and Mexico City, and he faltered late at last month’s Masters as well, leading Rory McIlroy with 16 holes to play before backing up to T-5.
Howell didn’t make this one easy on DeChambeau. Trailing DeChambeau by five shots entering Sunday’s final round at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, Howell fired a 9-under 63, which included nine birdies in his first 15 holes. With three holes left, Howell and DeChambeau were tied at 17 under, but Howell then bogeyed the par-4 16th and DeChambeau birdied each of his final two holes, including the par-3 17th where he canned a 50-foot putt, to cap a closing 66 and secure the title.
“Chucky and I had a great battle out there,” DeChambeau said. “He never wavered today, it felt like, until 16. It felt like he was just pushing forward and he was going to shoot 10, 11 under today. I thought, my goodness, I don’t know if I could beat that today.
“I was personally pretty nervous on the front nine for whatever reason. That putt I made on 8 was great, two-putt on 9. After the ninth hole, I don’t know what hit me, I just said, you know what, just play like a kid again, and I started doing that on the back nine and striped a 3-wood on 11, gave me a lot of confidence. … Finally on 17, just the bubble burst, and I felt really good.”
Added Howell: “I definitely would’ve thought 9 under would have done it, and clearly it didn’t. … Any time you shoot 9 under par in the last group, and you still don’t win, it’s a tough day.”
Not leaving empty handed was Howell, however, as the Crushers won the team trophy at 35 under, nine shots clear of Brooks Koepka’s Smash.
DeChambeau now moves to second in LIV’s individual standings, behind only Joaquin Niemann, who has won three times this year.
After his victorious performance, DeChambeau, ranked No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking, couldn’t help but look ahead to the PGA Championship in two weeks at Quail Hollow.
LIV’s next event isn’t until June 6-8 outside of Washington, D.C.
“My goal is to win every tournament that I show up to,” DeChambeau said. “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.”
Noticeably omitted from DeChambeau’s above quote? The reigning Masters champion.
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