Hyflyers dispel fire balls in Liv Golf Team Championship upset

Hyflyers -captain Phil Mickelson rolled back in the years in leading his team to a upset victory on third test balls under the leadership of Sergio Garcia on the Michigan Team Championship on Friday. Image Courtesy Liv Golf.

A correspondent

Plymouth, Michigan: Phil Mickelson’s Hyflyers GC deducted the biggest upset during Friday’s quarterfinals of the Liv Golf Michigan Team Championship and then has the chance to repel the top team of the competition in the semi -final.

The 10th placed hyflyers were the only team that wiped all three of their games on Friday and the third placed Fireballs GC by Sergio Garcia defeated.

Their reward is a Saturday match against Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII, who won four tournaments this season but hardly survived against the regional Cleeks Golf Club.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” said Mickelson. “We are looking forward to the possibility of taking on the number 1 team.”

Rahm, the two-time Liv Golf Individual Champion, hopes to bounce back from a singles loss to Adrian Meronk that forced his teammates to win their other two games.

As the leader of the top seed team, Rahm was able to choose one of the other Friday winners as an opponent.

He chose to select the Hyflyers and then announced that he would stand against Mickelson – his good friend and colleague Arizona State Aluin – in one of the two singles matches.

“Lately our most head-to-head competitions have been on YouTube, so somewhat different efforts,” said Rahm.

“I’m really looking forward to it. He is a good friend and a great competitor. Anyway, it will be a nice day for both of us.”

Rough day

It was not a fun day for the defensive team champions, because the All-Australian Ripper GC was eliminated with a 2-1 loss for Stinger GC, a team that they had defeated in Adelaide last year in Liv Golf’s very first team play-off of the team.

The All-South African team now gets a chance for Joaquin Neimann’s Torque GC, who eliminated the stingers in the 2023 team championship.

“They beat us badly at Miami,” said Stinger -captain Louis Oosthuizen. “So it’s a bit of a revenge tomorrow.”

Six matchups took place on Friday – two singles competitions and one quad cushion, where the winning teams kept their hope alive.

The losing teams fell on the lower half of the bracket and can only hope to end as high as seventh place.

In addition to Legion XIII, Torque, Hyflyers and Stinger, the other two teams who went to the championship disc were Bryson Dephambeau’s Crushers GC and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC. (Courtesy Liv Golf)

Friday results

Legion XIII defeated Cleeks 2-1 (Tyrrell Hatton BT Richard Bland 19 Holes; Jon Rahm lost to Adrian Meronk 2 & 1; Tom Mckibbin/Caleb Surrat BT Martin Kaymer/Frederik Kjetterup 2 & 1).

Crushers BT Majesticks 2-1 (Brysion Dechambeau BT Lee Westwood 4 & 2; Animban Lahir lost 2 & 1; Paul Casey/Charles Howll III BT Ian Poulter/Henrik Stenson 5 & 4).

Hyflyers BT Fireballs 3-0 (Phil Mickelson BT David Puig 19 Holes; Cameron Tringale BT Abraham Ancer 3 & 1; Andy Ogletree/Brendan Steele BT Josele Ballester/Sergio Garcia 1 Up)

Couple BT Rangeatoats 2-1 (Joaquin Neimann bt Bubba Watson 2 & 1; Mito Pereira lost from Ben Campbell 2 & 1; Sebastian Munoz/Carlos Ortiz BT Peter Uihlein/Matthew Wolff 2 & 1)

Smash BT. 4ACES 2-1 (Brooks Koepka lost to Dustin Johnson 1 Up; Talor Gooch Bt Patrick Reed 1 Up; Jason Kokrak/Graeme McDowell BT Thomas Pieters/Harold Varner III 6 & 5)

Stinger BT Ripper 2-1 (Dean Burmester BT Lucas Herbert 4 & 2; Burn Grace lost from Cameron Smith 3 & 2; Louis Osthuizen/Charl Schwartzel BT Matt Jones/Marc Leshman 4 & 3)

Saturday matches

Bracket championship

Winning teams play for the team championship in the final of Sunday’s Final Play; Losing teams plays for end positions 4 to 6.

1. Legion XIII vs. 10. Hyflyers GC
Singles: Rahm vs. Mickelson; Hatton vs. Tringal
Foursomes: Mckibbin/Surratt vs. Ogletree/Steele/Steele

2. Crussers GC vs. 8. Smash GC
Singles: Lahiri vs. Koepka; Deschambeau vs. Jug
Foursomes: Casey/Howell III vs. Kokrak/McDowell

4. Couple GC vs. 7. Stinger GC
Singles: Niemann vs. Burmester; Pereira vs. Grace
Foursomes: Muñoz/Ortiz vs. Oosthuizen/Schwartzel

Ranking bracket

Winning teams play on Sunday for final positions 7 to 9 to 9; Losing teams plays for final positions 10 to 12.

3. Fireballs GC vs. 11. Cleeks GC
Singles: Ancer vs. Meronk; Ballester vs. False
Foursomes: Garcia/Puig vs. Kaymer/Kjettrup

5. 4ACES GC vs. 12. Majesticks GC
Singles: Johnson vs. Stenson; Reed vs. Horsfield
Foursomes: Pieters/Varner III vs. Poulter/Westwood

6. Ripper GC vs. 9. Range GC
Singles: Smith vs. Campbell; Herbert vs. Wolff
Foursomes: Jones/Leishman vs. Uihlein/Watson

Also read: Rahm Shades Neimann again as Munoz, couple Sweep at Indy

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