LIV Golf Dallas Semi-Finals: Iron Heads upset No. 1 Crushers in clean sweep

By Samuel Blatchford

Carrollton, TX – The 13th-seeded Iron Heads GC added another chapter to their amazing Cinderella story at the LIV Golf Dallas Team Championship, sweeping the top-seeded and defending champions Crushers GC.

This upset is unprecedented in LIV Golf history as no other team has gone on a such a run. This season the iron Heads had zero points, yes you ready that correctly, ZERO points and now they have had two major upsets and head in to the finals with a chance to win it all.

Captain Kevin Na of Iron Heads GC and Jinichiro Kozuma of Iron Heads GC fist pump on the 18th green during the semifinals of LIV Golf Team Championship Dallas at Maridoe Golf Club on Saturday, September 21, 2024 in Carrollton, Texas. (Photo by Charles Laberge/LIV Golf)

Iron Heads captain Kevin Na was proud of his team’s effort.

“I’m really proud of my boys,” Na said. “It’s a great feeling, a confidence boost the last two days going into Sunday. I’m telling my boys, anything can happen.”
 
The Iron Heads have never won a tournament as a team and have just one podium finish in the 35 previous LIV Golf events, none this year. Until this week, they had never won a single match at the Team Championship, much less advanced to the next round. Lee’s individual title last year in Tucson remains the only trophy won by any Iron Heads player.
 
But now they are one of four survivors with a chance to claim LIV Golf’s biggest team prize. Sunday’s championship round will be stroke play, with every score counting for each team’s total.


IRON HEADS GC def. CRUSHERS GC, 3-0

Jinichiro Kozuma of Iron Heads GC reacts to his putt on the 18th green during the semifinals of LIV Golf Team Championship Dallas at Maridoe Golf Club on Saturday, September 21, 2024 in Carrollton, Texas. (Photo by Charles Laberge/LIV Golf)


Scott Vincent (Iron Heads) def. Paul Casey (Crushers), 1 up. 

With the match square with three holes left, Vincent birdied the par-5 17th for the decisive winning hole.

Danny Lee (Iron Heads) def. Bryson DeChambeau (Crushers), 2 up. 

Lee never trailed against the hometown favorite, who twice rallied from 2 down to square the match. Lee won two of the final three holes for the upset.

Kevin Na-Jinichiro Kozuma (Iron Heads) def. Anirban Lahiri-Charles Howell III (Crushers), 3 & 1. 

The Iron Heads won four holes during a five-hole stretch and responded to every Crushers threat after that.


LEGION XIII def. HYFLYERS GC, 2-1

Tyrrell Hatton of Legion XIII reads his putt on the seventh green during the semifinals of LIV Golf Team Championship Dallas at Maridoe Golf Club on Saturday, September 21, 2024 in Carrollton, Texas. (Photo by LIV Golf)


Cameron Tringale (HyFlyers) def. John Catlin (Legion XIII), 20 holes. 

Catlin, filling in for Jon Rahm, took a late lead but Tringale won the final hole in regulation before his birdie won the last completed match of the day.


Tyrrell Hatton (Legion XIII) def. Andy Ogletree (HyFlyers), 5 & 4. 

Ogletree had the lead after six holes, but Hatton then flipped the match, winning six of the next seven holes to cruise to victory.


Caleb Surratt-Kieran Vincent (Legion XIII) def. Phil Mickelson-Brendan Steele (HyFlyers), 4 & 3. 

The young Legion XIII duo won four of the first six holes, and then reeled off three consecutive winning holes in a terrific performance.


RIPPER GC def. FIREBALLS GC, 2-1

h of Ripper GC hits his shot from the 18th tee during the semifinals of LIV Golf Team Championship Dallas at Maridoe Golf Club on Saturday, September 21, 2024 in Carrollton, Texas. (Photo by Jon Ferrey/LIV Golf)


Marc Leishman (Ripper) def. Eugenio Chacarra (Fireballs), 19 holes. 

Leishman was 2 up with five to play, then Chacarra grabbed the lead by winning three of the next four holes. Leishman squared the match after Chacarra found trouble off the tee, then won with a par on the playoff hole.


Lucas Herbert (Ripper) def. David Puig (Fireballs), 1 up. 

Herbert rallied with three consecutive winning holes down the stretch.


Sergio Garcia-Abraham Ancer (Fireballs) def. Cameron Smith-Matt Jones (Ripper), 3 & 1. 

The Fireballs played bogey-free golf to rally after an early deficit and put the match away by winning two of the final three holes.


4ACES GC def. STINGER GC, 2-1

Captain Dustin Johnson of 4Aces GC hits his shot from the 18th tee during the practice round before the start of LIV Golf Team Championship Dallas at Maridoe Golf Club on Thursday, September 19, 2024 in Carrollton, Texas. (Photo by Mateo Villalba/LIV Golf)


Dustin Johnson (4Aces) def. Dean Burmester (Stinger), 1 up. 

Johnson rallied on the final nine holes with three birdies and then matched pars on the final hole to avoid a playoff.


Patrick Reed (4Aces) def. Branden Grace (Stinger), 1 up. 

Grace rallied on three different occasions, but Reed made the decisive birdie at the par-3 eighth in a match in which he never trailed.


Louis Oosthuizen-Charl Schwartzel (Stinger) def. Harold Varner III-Pat Perez (4Aces), 3 & 2.

The South African duo won the opening hole, were 5-up through nine, and were solid the rest of the way in winning their second foursomes match this week.

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