LIV Michigan, the 2025 team championship event, kicked off on Friday, and the fireworks started early. Twelve teams started the day in the running, but only six survived to keep their title hopes alive.
While the top two teams moved on safely, the third-ranked team suffered a stinging upset to Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers squad.
Here’s what you need to know.
Mickelson wins to advance to LIV semifinals
Mickelson had something of a personal renaissance on the course this season. He collected three top 10s and finished 24th in the individual standings.
But Mickelson’s HyFlyers team ranked all the way down in 10th coming into the LIV Michigan team championship. As a result, they were forced to face off against the Fireballs GC, ranked No. 3, which features former Masters champion Sergio Garcia.
But the upset was rarely in doubt on Friday at the Cardinal at St. John’s. HyFlers teammates Brendan Steele and Andy Ogletree defeated Fireballs players Garcia and Josele Ballester 1 up to secure the first point of the day.
Cameron Tringale of the HyFlyers beat Fireballs’ Abraham Ancer 3 and 1 for a second point.
The final singles match pitted Mickelson against David Puig. The two players battled close all day, with Puig taking an initial lead, before Mickelson won two holes to flip the script.
It was all square for a few holes before Mickelson won at the 2nd and 4th holes (their 11th and 13th holes of the match) to go 2 up. But Puig pushed back, draining a birdie at the par-4 7th to make it all square.
It remained that way until the first extra hole, when Mickelson birdied the par-4 10th to take the win and secure a 3-0 victory over the Fireballs GC, knocking them out of contention to win the championship.
LIV team championship semifinals preview
With their big upset out of the way, Mickelson and the HyFlyers will now take on the top-ranked team in the semifinals. That team is Legion XIII, captained by Jon Rahm. Legion XIII defeated Cleeks Golf Club 2-1 on Friday.
The other two semifinal matches on Saturday will feature Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, who topped the Majesticks team on Friday, against Smash GC, and Torque GC against Stinger GC.
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Those three matchups will have the same format as on Friday. The three winning teams will advance to the finals on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the six losing teams from Friday will also compete in three matches on Saturday to determine final team ranking.
The format will change dramatically for Sunday’s final round. Instead of competing in match play, the format will switch to stroke play. All twelve players across the three surviving teams will compete in an 18-hole stroke-play event, and the team with the lowest combined score will take home the 2025 LIV team championship title.
