Louis’ Stingers book LIV Team Champs semi spot

Stimpmeter · August 23, 2025, 7:45am

Southern African team Stinger GC eliminated defending champions Ripper GC at the LIV Golf Team Championship in Michigan on Friday.

Stinger won the quarter-final 2-1 and will now meet Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC, who knocked them out of the 2023 Championship.

“They beat us badly in Miami,” said Stingers captain Louis Oosthuizen. “So it’s a little bit of revenge tomorrow.”

Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel beat Matt Jones and Marc Leishman 4 & 3, bouncing back from an early deficit by winning three consecutive holes. Schwartzel ended the match with a birdie putt from the fringe.

Dean Burmester defeated Lucas Herbert 4 & 2, winning seven holes and taking control of the match at the midway point to deliver the winning point for the Stingers.

Ripper captain Cameron Smith, who beat Branden Grace 3 & 2, won three of the first four holes and never trailed in a match that ended after his team had been defeated.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC pulled off the biggest upset on Friday, and now get the chance to take down the league’s top-ranked team in a semi-final clash between friends.

The 10th-seeded HyFlyers swept all three of their matches against Sergio Garcia’s third-seeded Fireballs GC. Their reward is a Saturday showdown with Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII, winners of four tournaments this season but narrow survivors against Cleeks GC.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Mickelson said. “We look forward to the chance to take on the No 1 team.”

Rahm, the two-time LIV Golf Individual Champion, lost his singles match to Adrian Meronk, forcing his teammates to win the other two matches.

As captain of the top seed, Rahm had first pick of opponents and chose the HyFlyers, confirming he will face Mickelson – his longtime friend and fellow Arizona State alum – in singles.

“As of late, most of our head-to-head matches have been on YouTube, so slightly different stakes,” Rahm said. “Really looking forward to it. He’s a great friend and a great competitor.”

In Friday’s six quarter-finals – two singles matches and one foursomes match in each tie – the winners moved on with Championship hopes intact, while the losing teams dropped into the rankings bracket to play for places no higher than seventh.

Along with Legion XIII, Torque, HyFlyers and Stingers, the other semi-finalists are Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC.

DeChambeau sealed a 2-1 win over Majesticks GC with a 4 & 2 singles victory over Lee Westwood and announced he’ll face Talor Gooch in singles instead of Koepka. Gooch, a winner this year in Andalucía, has been Smash’s most consistent player.

“I’ve got my reasons,” DeChambeau said. “It’s not personal, though. I can tell you that.”

Koepka will play Anirban Lahiri in the other singles match after edging past 4Aces GC on Friday. Dustin Johnson defeated Koepka 1 up with a birdie at the 18th, but Smash advanced thanks to Gooch’s win over Patrick Reed and a dominant 6 & 5 foursomes victory from Graeme McDowell and Jason Kokrak.

Rahm was the only other captain to lose his match but still see his team progress. He went 2 down with three to play before losing 2 & 1 to Meronk. Tyrrell Hatton then clinched the deciding point for Legion XIII, winning in 19 holes against Richard Bland after holing a clutch par putt.

“Tyrrell doing Tyrrell things,” Rahm said. “He seems unflappable hitting those short putts.”

Looking ahead, Rahm added: “Always full faith in my team. I’m just hoping their captain shows up tomorrow with a better level of golf.”

Photo: Mateo Villalba/LIV Golf

Article Link: Louis' Stingers book LIV Team Champs semi spot