Bryson DeChambeau’s rare 58 delivers LIV Golf Greenbrier win
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Bryson DeChambeau celebrating his birdie putt on the 18th hole with a record 58 to win the LIV Golf Invitational Greenbrier.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open champion, fired a rare 58 in the final round to win the LIV Golf Greenbrier title on Sunday.
The American, 29, had 13 birdies against a lone bogey to shoot 12 under and finish on 23-under 187 for the 54-hole event at the resort in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. That was enough for a six-stroke victory over Chilean Mito Pereira, who closed with a 63.
DeChambeau said: “It’s beyond words. I’ve been working so hard for a long time. I knew something special was going to come at some point. I just didn’t know when.”
He called it “probably the greatest moment in my golfing career”.
“I had something special going today and I just felt super comfortable over tee shots,” he said. “I just kind of felt everything clicking. Missed it in the right places where I needed to and putted beautifully.”
His score at the Old White course on the upstart Saudi-backed circuit matched the lowest round in PGA Tour history, a 12-under 58 fired by American Jim Furyk during the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.
“Being a part of the same agency, as well, is kind of fun,” DeChambeau said of the elite club.
The Old White hosted a PGA event from 2010 to 2019 and Australian Stuart Appleby fired a 59 in the final round of the inaugural tournament to win the title.
DeChambeau birdied 22 of his last 34 holes for his first victory since the 2021 PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
“Just having my place in history here is something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” he said after his course-record effort.
It also was his first win since his father Jon died last November at 63 after years of battling kidney disease.
“He was with me out there all day today, no doubt,” DeChambeau said. “It has been a really difficult couple of years, but doing it this way and finishing with a 58... it’s just amazing what I was able to do. I’m super excited.”
Asked if the 58 might bring a call from US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson to play in September against Europe in Italy, DeChambeau was matter of fact about the prospect.
“If I do get a call, that would be awesome,” he said. “If not, I’ll be rooting them on over in Rome.”
Other 58s worldwide include those by Japanese Ryo Ishikawa in 2010 and South Korea’s Kim Seong-hyeon in 2021 on the Japan Tour, American Jason Bohn in 2001 on the Canadian Tour, Germany’s Stephan Jaeger in 2016 on the developmental Korn Ferry Tour and Spain’s Alejandro del Rey in 2021 on the Challenge Tour.
The record for professional golf is David Carey, who shot 57 in the 2019 Cervino Open on Europe’s third-tier Alps Tour. AFP
