Third time’s the charm for Bryson DeChambeau.
The 31-year-old had led going into the final round of the past two LIV Golf events in Miami and Mexico City but was unable to come away with the trophy at either one. On Sunday at LIV Golf Korea, he once again led by four shots heading into the last 18 holes, but with four holes to go, his lead had vanished.
No need to fret this time, though.
DeChambeau picked up his first win since the 2024 U.S. Open and his third LIV victory overall, taking the title at LIV Golf Korea by two shots over Crushers GC teammate Charles Howell III. DeChambeau had six birdies on his back nine, coming home in 30 to finish at 19 under for the week at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.
“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 9th 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.”
Howell, who carded a 63 on Sunday, tied DeChambeau on the back nine after his fourth straight birdie on the par-4 14th, with the duo sitting at 16 under. They both added circles on the par-5 15th, but Howell’s lone bogey of the day came on 16, giving DeChambeau a one-shot lead. DeChambeau then birdied the final two holes to cruise to a comfy two-shot win.
With the win, DeChambeau pockets $4 million in prize money and moves to second in the season standings, trailing Joaquin Niemann, who has three wins in seven starts and finished T-20 in Korea, by just more than 20 points.
“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.
“Glad to have pushed through in this victory and won this event, but there’s a lot more work to be done this year. There’s three more majors, and my eyes are focused on that with all the other LIV events, doing my absolute best in every single event I show up to.”
DeChambeau’s Crushers GC also took home the team title in Korea, finishing at 35 under and topping Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC by nine shots.
Jon Rahm continued his streak of top-10 finishes since joining LIV, placing T-7 in Korea. He’s 19 of 19 when it comes to finishing in the top 10 on the circuit.
LIV Golf is off for a month before returning to the United States for LIV Golf DC at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club from June 6-8.
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