Dallas recap: 4Aces GC end 2024 on high note, nearly win Team Championship
CARROLLTON, Texas – 4Aces Golf Club pushed all its chips in at the Team Championship and nearly came away with the LIV Golf League’s ultimate prize. And while a win wasn’t in the cards, it takes nothing away from a wildly successful week at Maridoe Golf Club.
4Aces GC entered Sunday as one of four teams in Tier 1 with a chance to win the 2024 Team Championship. The others were Iron Heads GC, Legion XIII and Ripper GC. Sunday’s format was stroke play and all four players’ scores counted. The leaderboard bounced around like a ping pong ball throughout the final day and all four teams led at different times. But in the end, it was Ripper GC which took the season-long Team Championship by three shots, edging 4Aces GC and Iron Heads GC who both finished T2.
In order to reach Sunday’s Finals, 4Aces GC had a lot of work to do. The team entered Dallas as the No. 10 seed and faced No. 9 seed RangeGoats GC in Friday’s quarterfinals. 4Aces GC ended the thrilling match with a 2&1 upset to advance, thanks to a strong overall effort.
Captain Dustin Johnson fell 3&1 to Peter Uihlein, but his teammates stepped up with two crucial points to move on. Patrick Reed defeated Thomas Pieters 5&4 in singles, then the team of Harold Varner III/Pat Perez defeated Bubba Watson/Matthew Wolff 2&1 in a nail-biter. Reed won for the first time in his LIV Golf match play career, making birdie on the opening hole and never losing a hole for the rest of the day.
On Saturday, 4Aces GC had another tough task and faced Stinger GC in a semifinal match. Johnson faced Dean Burmester in singles while Reed faced Branden Grace in the other singles showdown. In foursomes, Varner III and Perez once again teamed up and faced Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. And the day proved to be a success as 4Aces GC defeated Stinger GC 2-1. Johnson won 1-up against Burmester while Reed, who thrives in match play, beat Grace 1-up. Varner III and Perez lost their foursomes match 3&2 but their team earned its two points to advance to Sunday’s Finals.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match,” Johnson said Saturday. “The Stingers are a really good team. I liked the match-ups we had. But even Pat and Harold, who got beat by Louis and Charl, they were 4- or 5-under alternate shot and lost. They played really well. Obviously, me and Pat both won our matches. We knew it was going to be a tough day. Conditions were tough. I’m really proud of the guys.”
Johnson will also be proud as he reflects on the way his team concluded the season. 4Aces GC finished the regular season with three straight 10th-place finishes before hitting another gear in Dallas, putting on a display that should carry over into 2025 when it will once again be one of the top teams.