Bryson DeChambeau produced one of the most remarkable rounds in the history of golf on Sunday, shooting a final round 58 to win the LIV Golf Greenbrier title.
The 2020 US Open champion had 13 birdies and one bogey in his 12-under-par round to finish 23-under for the 54-hole event in West Virginia and win by six shots from Chile’s Mito Pereira, who had a closing 63.
The 202o US Open champion birdied 22 of his last 34 holes – he shot a 61 on Saturday – to record his first victory since the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. He closed out his final round – which was played in heavy rain – with a 40-foot birdie putt.
The Old White course which hosted this week’s LIV tournament has a history of producing low scores, and was the scene of a 59 from Australian Stuart Appleby during a PGA Tour event in 2010.
DeChambeau’s score matches the lowest round on the PGA Tour, set by Jim Furyk in 2016 at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.
DeChambeau said: “It is probably the greatest moment in my golfing career. I’ve been working so hard for a long time and I knew something special was going to come at some point. I just didn’t know when. I had something special going on today, and I just felt super comfortable over tee shots and was able to play the course the way it was designed.”
He added: “It has been a really difficult couple of years, but doing it this way and finishing out with a 58….it’s just amazing what I was able to do. I’m super excited.”
Asked if his performance might be enough to attract the attentions of American Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson for a potential wildcard pick, DeChambeau said: “I’m playing really well. I’ve got some equipment that’s performing quite nicely off the driver, and that’s a deadly combination with my putting. So clearly I putted well, drove it well, wedged it pretty well. You couldn’t have written it up better than this, but if I do get a call, that would be awesome. If not, I’ll be rooting them on over in Rome.”
How many rounds of 58 or better have there been?
There have only been a handful of rounds of 58 recorded in top-level professional golf. Two were on the Japan Tour, posted by Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa in 2010 at The Crowns and by South Korean Kim Seong-hyeon in 2021 at the Golf Partner Pro-Am. German Stephan Jager had a 58 on the Web.com Tour in California in 2016 and Spain’s Alejandro del Rey hit the same mark on the Challenge Tour in Switzerland in 2021. There have also been a number of 58s on developmental tours, while Irishman David Carey made a 57 at the Cervino Open on the third-tier Alps Tour in 2019.
De Chambeau’s performance was quite enough to help the Crushers win the team event, which went to the all-Spanish speaking Torque GC, with Pereira, David Puig (66) and captain Joaquin Niemann (66) supplying the counting scores Sunday for a team total of -49. They finished three shots in front of Crushers GC. with Stinger GC took the last podium spot at 40 under.
Hampshire’s Richard Bland enjoyed his best finish of his LIV Golf career with a third-placed finish which took the 50-year-old into 23rd in the individual points list for the season. Only the top 24 players are guaranteed spots for the 2024 LIV Golf League at the end of the season.