It was a marathon Sunday for LIV in Chicago, relatively speaking.
Though the festivities began, as they always do, with a shotgun start, the action ground to a halt as the tensions rose coming down the stretch.
The cause of the slowdown was an unusual development in pro golf: A so-called “double playoff,” the second in the league’s history, pitting Dean Burmester against Jon Rahm and Josele Ballester, and Burmester’s Stinger GC against Torque GC.
In the end, Burmester was the winner on both accounts, winning both the individual and team playoffs for his team of South Africans.
First came his individual victory, courtesy of a birdie on the 18th. Burmester rolled in his putt and enjoyed a short moment of celebration on the green after it fell. Then, after the interviews were complete, Burmester headed to the back of the green for the team playoff, where his teammates Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel both poured in birdies of their own to win the team competition in short order.
In total, the double playoff took roughly 30 minutes, and Burmester left with winner’s checks from both. But in the aftermath of those two victories, it was clear that Burmester’s solo triumph held the larger weight.
“This has been emotional,” Burmester said. “Since before Virginia I’ve been going through a bit of a rough time, personal stuff, and I’ve just been grinding and trying to get better.”
Burmester said the source of his emotions on Sunday at LIV Chicago was a marathon far more exhaustive than a 55-hole golf tournament. His wife, Melissa, is an ultra-marathoner, who completed her latest 9-hour, 50-plus-mile journey during the week of LIV’s visit to Virginia in early June.
“My wife finished an ultra marathon the week of [Virginia],” he said. “That Sunday I was on my phone watching her, and that truly gave me an inspiration. if she can do that, she can run 90 whatever kilometers in a day, nine and a half hours or whatever it was, then I can do anything.”
Burmester’s inspiration paid off in a major way on Sunday — he collected $4 million from winning the individual competition, and an additional $750,000 for winning the team competition, a $4.75 million payday that accounted for a considerable chunk of his $22 million career earnings heading into the day.
In other words, there was good reason for emotion for team Burmester on Sunday in Chicago.
“I just kept at it, and Jason, my caddie, was just phenomenal. He was just like, we never give up. We’re not going to give up. We’ve been through too much crap to give up,” Burmester said. “I think about my kids and my wife back home, and I’m just trying to do the best I can for them.”
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