Double delight for Sergio Garcia and his Fireballs team at LIV Golf Hong Kong

Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia capped a scintillating run with his second LIV Golf individual title at Hong Kong Golf Club on Sunday and then saw his Fireballs GC make it a double delight with their second successive team victory to cap a memorable first weekend in Asia before the LIV caravan moves on to Singapore next week. 

Garcia went from strength to strength during the weekend, opening with a 5 under par 65, adding a 6 under 64 on Saturday and finishing things off with a 7 under run on Sunday to beat the hard-charging Dean Burmester of the all-South African Stingers GC into second place. However, the latter had the round of the day with his 8 under 62. 

“It was nice to see not only that I was doing well and leading the tournament, but my teammates were playing great,” said Garcia later. “They were keeping us there with a chance to win. Obviously, when you can pull the double, it's a lot sweeter than if it's just one of them. Very proud of them,” Garcia said. 

Mickelson, a six-time major winner and golf Hall of Fame member took third place in the individual standings on a 14 under-par total but was unable to pull his HyFlyers GC onto the top of the LIV Golf podium, which they are yet to achieve since setting out in 2022. 

The most successful Ryder Cup player in history, Garcia kickstarted his closing 18 holes with an eagle on the par-5 third hole, then drained four straight birdies to keep stretching the gap at the top of the leaderboard. He picked up a fifth shot with two holes to go, by which time it was his tournament to lose. 

“It really got me in a good mood,” Garcia said of the eagle. “I was very focused on what I wanted to do. But obviously when that happens, it gets you going even more.” 

Garcia, who won his first individual LIV Golf title on home ground at Valderrama last year in a playoff against Crushers GC’s Indian star Anirban Lahiri, was helped on the team side by last year's Hong Kong individual winner, Abraham Ancer (65), David Puig (67) and Luis Masaveu (70) as they finished 15 under in the final round to beat Burmester’s Stinger GC by a stroke to seal a memorable double. 

Garcia played the final hole with a comfortable individual cushion but needed to make par to avoid dropping into a team playoff with the Stingers. He rolled a lengthy birdie putt to within tap-in range to seal the Fireballs’ sixth team title, which also took them to the top of the team standings by 10 points over Legion XIII. 

Masaveu, the 22-year-old debutant Spaniard signed by Garcia in the offseason who had struggled on Saturday, birdied his final hole to help avert the playoff. “It feels incredible,” he said. “Very happy for the team to be able to hole that putt and help them.” 

Behind the Fireballs (37 under par) and the Stingers (36 under par), Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC tied for third at 34 under with Cameron Smith’s all-Australian Ripper GC, the reigning team champions from 2024. 

Mickelson’s first individual podium finish since joining LIV Golf as an original member in 2022, came as a boost for the 54-year-old ahead of at the Masters, which he has won three times. “The fact is, I’m hitting a lot of good shots. I’m playing some good golf,” said Mickelson. 

“This is a building week as I continue to build into LIV and my goal of accomplishing a win in LIV as well as winning another major or getting ready for Augusta.” 

Mickelson may have ended his best week on LIV Golf with a tap-in birdie for a 6 under 64 and sole third place, but he was also encouraged by his team’s performance in a third podium finish in all with Brendan Steele shooting a 66, Andy Ogletree adding a 69 and Cameron Tringale a level par 70. 

“A great stepping stone for us as we continue to build,” Mickelson said. “We had a great opportunity. We were up on the leaderboard most of the day, and we fell three shots shy, but we are really starting to hit stride. All four of us are progressing, and we’re playing like we know we can, we believe we can, and now we’re starting to get some results.” 

Second-placed Burmester who had the day’s low round of 8 under 62 at Fanling, was sanguine about the final result. “That was a good round of golf. Really solid,” the South African said. “I didn't leave much out there. A couple putts I left in the throat that maybe could have gone in. Sergio played a hell of a weekend there. I'm just glad I was up there. It was good to get those feelings again. I just kind of had that feeling all week that I was going to be close.”