DeChambeau takes lead as Blue Monster menaces top golfers on windy Day 2 at Doral

Miami Herald

06-04-2025

Bryson DeChambeau has described the Blue Monster as 'a test of patience' a few times this week.
Sergio Garcia expressed his awe Saturday, feeling fortunate after shooting 1-under-par on a sunny but windy afternoon.
'It's the Blue Monster. That is just not a name,' Garcia said. 'It comes with something. You have to respect it.'
The famed course at Trump National Doral can be incredibly tough to navigate, and perhaps never more so than the second round of LIV Golf Miami on Saturday.
The cards certainly reflected that.
Lucas Herbert's 3-under was the best score of the round, and only two golfers — DeChambeau and Jon Rahm — were 2-under for the day.
DeChambeau closed strong with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes and heads into the final round Sunday atop the leaderboard at 5-under.
Garcia, who lost last year's LIV Golf Miami on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, is two shots behind DeChambeau.
And a trio — Phil Mickelson, Mark Leishman and Patrick Reed — is tied for third at 2-under.
Reed, who teed off the second round leading the field by two strokes after a first-round 67, bogeyed five of his first nine holes Saturday.
DeChambeau called it one of the toughest rounds in LIV Golf's four-year history, noting, 'This should be No. 1. If not, it's right up there.'
Despite that, DeChambeau said he enjoyed the experience.
'What a test of golf out there,' he said. 'There was so many times out there where I felt like par was the best number it could possibly be out on that hole, 14 being one of them. I don't know how anybody birdied 14. No. 11, I mean, that's a tough hole to birdie. 3, don't know how anybody birdied that. I almost did, but still. This golf course, every single angle just produced the most testing golf shots out there that I've seen in a long time.'
The Blue Monster swallowed Dustin Johnson in his final two holes Saturday. Johnson, who after shooting a 69 on Friday said, 'This course is very demanding, and I've always liked it,' bogeyed No. 17 and then triple-bogeyed the par-4, 468-yard No. 18.
He finished with a 75, plummeting to eighth in the individual standings.
The key to DeChambeau's successful round, which included four birdies, was his ability to remain steady. He recorded only two bogeys — on No. 4 and No. 11.
'There were a few holes where I could have lost it, gone the other way, and I would have been back at even par real quickly,' DeChambeau said. 'Today was a testament to, 'OK, I'm not doing my best, but let's get the ball in the hole and let's give ourselves another shot on the next hole.''
Patience also benefited Garcia, who had two bogeys and three birdies. The 45-year-old Spaniard said his round of 71 'felt like a 6- or 7-under par in any other conditions.'
'Very pleased about the way the day went,' Garcia said. 'I felt like other than a couple of swings here and there, I played really, really well. I hit a lot of great shots on very challenging conditions, even tougher than [Friday].
'It's funny because this morning, I woke up and I told my wife, Angela, 'It looks like there's a little bit less wind today.' And then I got here and I was like, no.'
DeChambeau's team, Crushers GC, and Garcia's team, Fireballs GC, are tied for third in the team standings at 12-over entering the final round. They're one stroke behind 4Aces GC, captained by Johnson, and three behind Ripper GC, captained by Cameron Smith.
Fireballs has won three consecutive tournaments.
'It's really hard out there,' Garcia said. 'For four guys to keep it together on this golf course the way it's playing, it's very difficult. But like I said, I'm very proud of all of them. They're all amazing players and even better people. We'll give it a shot [Sunday] and see what happens.'
Crushers, which won the team title at Doral in 2023, has three top-five finishes this season.
'It's already anybody's game without the wind. Then you add 20-mile-an-hour winds out here, yeah, it's going to be a toss-up,' DeChambeau said. 'But I know my guys are gritty. I know they fight for every shot. I'm looking forward to them playing some good golf [Sunday].'