{"id":20208,"date":"2024-07-14T09:29:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-14T07:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ladiesingolf.com\/?p=20208"},"modified":"2024-07-15T09:36:23","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T07:36:23","slug":"sergio-garcia-fireballs-win-historic-double-playoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ladiesingolf.com\/en\/sergio-garcia-fireballs-win-historic-double-playoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Sergio Garc\u00eda, Fireballs win historic double playoff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo: LIV Golf<\/p>\n

On an unprecedented day in LIV Golf\u2019s young history, captain Sergio Garcia and his Fireballs GC produced a storybook finish for their Spanish fans on home soil at LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda.<\/p>\n

Garcia rallied from seven strokes down to win his first LIV Golf individual title on the second sudden-death playoff hole against Crushers GC\u2019s Anirban Lahiri. Meanwhile, teammates Abraham Ancer and David Puig beat the Crushers duo of captain Bryson DeChambeau and Paul Casey in the team aggregate-score playoff as the Fireballs \u2013 with three Spaniards on the roster \u2013 swept both trophies at Real Club Valderrama<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was LIV Golf\u2019s first double playoff, and just the second team playoff in league history. The first team playoff came earlier this year at LIV Golf Adelaide, when the home Australian team \u2013 Ripper GC \u2013 also won.<\/p>\n

For Garcia<\/a>, the script couldn\u2019t have been written any better, as he won for the first time after three previous playoff losses. That it happened on his favorite course, one in which he\u2019s won three other professional events and has now finished inside the top 10 in 16 of his 17 starts, made it even more special.\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be totally honest, there’s a connection between Valderrama and myself that I can’t even explain it,\u201d said the 44-year-old Garcia, who ended a four-year winless drought while winning his 37th professional title.<\/p>\n

Garcia started the day at even par, seven shots behind overnight leader Lahiri. But the Spanish star played flawless golf for 17 holes, posting six birdies and applying pressure on Lahiri, who was trying to break his own winless drought of nine years.<\/p>\n

While Garcia suffered his only bogey of the day with a three-putt at the par-3 third to wrap up his 5-under 66, Lahiri birdied the par-5 17th. That put the tournament in Lahiri\u2019s hands going to the par-4 18th, the most difficult hole on the course this week.<\/p>\n

Lahiri found the middle of the green with his approach shot and rolled his birdie attempt to 3 feet to set up the potential winning par. But with a chance to win the individual title and secure the team title for the Crushers, he missed the putt for a final-round 73 to drop back to 5 under and set up the double playoff.<\/p>\n

Garcia was riding in a van back to the clubhouse at the time. \u201cWe obviously heard the crowds going crazy, so we figured that he might have missed his par putt,\u201d Garcia said. \u201c\u2026 It was nice to be able to have another shot at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia and Lahiri each parred their first playoff hole. Meanwhile, in the team playoff right behind them, DeChambeau found trouble off the 18th tee and had to lay up with his second shot. Casey\u2019s approach finished in the rough behind the green. DeChambeau<\/strong> bogeyed the hole while Ancer and Puig made easy pars to claim the Fireballs\u2019 first team victory of the season.<\/p>\n

Like his captain, Lahiri\u2019s errant tee shot on the second playoff hole left him in trouble, and Garcia won with a par, with his teammates and family racing onto the green to drench him in celebratory champagne.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously individual for me, it’s a dream come true to do it on my favorite course in front of my family and friends and in front of my teammates,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cBut to even make it even better by winning the team championship, too, it was amazing. So proud of these guys, the way they played.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the flip side, it was heartbreak for the Crushers, who have won twice this season and lead the season-long points standings as they look to repeat as Team Champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sucks. Losing is never fun,\u201d said DeChambeau. \u201cThat’s what makes winning so much better. I feel for Baan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was simply fate for the Fireballs and their captain to win on home turf in front of a partisan crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cA dream weekend for all of us,\u201d said young Fireballs star Eugenio Chacarra<\/strong>. \u201cSuper happy for Sergio. He’s been up there a lot, and he’s been playing at a high level for 20 plus years. It’s really nice to see it from close every single day, and so happy for him that he got it done on his favorite course.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: LIV Golf On an unprecedented day in LIV Golf\u2019s young history, captain Sergio Garcia and his Fireballs GC produced a storybook finish for their Spanish fans on home soil at LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda. Garcia rallied from seven strokes down to win his first LIV Golf individual title on the second sudden-death playoff hole against<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[]},"categories":[865,45,893,864,881],"tags":[3976,3974,3975,3973,3901,909,2019],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t