Charles Howell III wins, leads Crushers GC to victory at LIV Golf Mayakoba
Charles Howell III won the LIV Golf opener in Mayakoba, Mexico, to finally earn his first professional victory in more than four years. He carded a score of 8-under 63 to win the LIV Golf Invitational by a 4-stroke margin. This is his first title in the Saudi-funded series.
Howell holed seven birdies in ten holes to take the lead at El Camaleon. Peter Uihlein shot a triple bogey on the 12th when he had to hit three tee shots. This helped Howell take a comfortable lead for the win. Uihlein ended the round at 68 to settle for the runner-up position.
The win at the first event of the season helped Howell add $4 million to his account. A team victory by the Crushers got him an additional $1 million. Uihlein received $2,125,000 for the runner-up position.
Howell later said that he thought he had a good chance of winning.
The 43-year-old said:
"I've played here many times before and had an idea of what to expect coming in, but around this place there are double bogeys everywhere so you never know."
South Africa's Branden Grace shot the final round of 67 to finish third and win $1.5 million. England's Paul Casey finished in fourth place, closing the third round at 70.
Brendan Steele and Australia's Cameron Smith ended the tournament at six-under, jointly placed for fifth position. Steele carded the final round of six-under-65 while Smith finished with a 67.
Last year's individual and team title winner, Dustin Johnson, ended the season opener with a disappointing 78 and tied for 35th.
In the team event, the Crushers GC, led by Bryson DeChambeau, beat the 4 Aces by nine strokes, giving Howell a double reward on Sunday. The Crushers GC finished the week at 26 under to claim its first title after getting very close a few times last year.
Clean sweep for the squad today 🧹
#LIVGolf #CrushersGC https://t.co/ZWDWMq5TWy
The Crushers GC's squad consists of captain Bryson DeChambeau alongside Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri, and Paul Casey. The team claimed their first title together after experiencing several close calls in 2022.
Howell said about the team win:
"It was big we got the team win. We were close last year and obviously you're feeling it on that side of things. To all the fans, to everyone that came out, it was a great week."
Team Leaderboard at the LIV Golf Mayakoba
Position Team Score
1 Crushers -26
2 4Aces -17
3 Torque -13
T4 Stinger -12
T4 Ripper -12
6 Fireballs -11
T7 HyFlyers -10
T7 Range Goats -10
9 Smash -6
T10 Iron Heads -1
T10 Majesticks -1
12 Cleeks +4
LIV Golf's next event
LIV Golf will now head to the United States for its second event, which will take place from March 17–19 in Tucson, Arizona.
Although Crusher GC has taken an early lead, there are still more events to be played on the Saudi-backed circuit this year. So other teams will have ample chances to rethink and recover.