BOLINGBROOK, Ill.– In a thrilling finish at LIV Golf Chicago, Dean Burmester of Stinger GC secured his second career LIV Golf victory in a three-man playoff. Despite a challenging start to the day with three consecutive bogeys, the 36-year-old South African battled back, carding an even-par 71 in the final round at Bolingbrook Golf Club before edging out Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm and Fireballs GC rookie Josele Ballester on the first playoff hole.
Stinger GC also claimed the team title in a playoff against Torque GC.
Burmester had a one-shot lead on the 18th fairway, but his short approach shot drifted left of the target, opening the door for the two Spaniards to make a move. Both Rahm and Ballester stuck their approach shots close, making birdie and forcing the three-man playoff. On the first playoff hole, all three players had good looks at birdies, but the South African was the closest, and converted a 5-footer for birdie after Rahm and Ballester missed. After the putt dropped, Burmester pumped his fists in jubilation.
Following Burmester’s individual triumph, Stinger GC continued their incredible week with a dramatic team playoff against Torque GC, who were chasing their first team win since 2023. With Burmester ineligible for the team playoff due to his individual playoff participation, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel stepped up for Stinger GC, facing Torque’s Joaquin Niemann and Carlos Ortiz. Niemann posted a par and Ortiz made birdie, but Grace and Schwartzel both delivered clutch birdies, securing the team victory for Stinger GC and completing a clean sweep of both the individual and team titles.
Ballester, who made a valiant effort as a 21-year-old facing two of the best players on LIV Golf, shot a 2-under 69 in the final group, showing tremendous resilience. After the round, Ballester reflected on his outstanding effort.
“It was pretty special,” Ballester said. “I would have definitely signed up for that when the day started. I had a good opportunity the last few holes to maybe close it, but I couldn’t do it, and I’ll learn from it. When you lose in a playoff to a birdie, there’s not much you can do. I think I hit a great second shot. I executed a great putt. It could have gone in. Hopefully next time it does.”
Rahm shot a 2-under 69 to get into the playoff but was clearly disappointed to not come away from LIV Golf Chicago with a win. The tied-for-second finish got Rahm 26 points closer to Niemann and now trails him by only 12 points heading into the season’s individual finale.
Torque GC’s Mito Pereira was in a dangerous position entering the week and sat in 53rd in the individual standings. Pereira made birdie in four of his final five holes to climb to tied for 13th for the week. The performance was Pereira’s best finish of the season and moved him up four spots in the season standings to 49th. Although he still has work to do to avoid relegation, the Chilean now has a much better chance to climb into the Open Zone next week in Indianapolis.
Rd. 3 played the easiest of the three rounds to an average of –0.78.
TEAM SCORES
LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Sunday’s Round 3 of LIV Golf Chicago.
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.
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