The Fireballs won despite an ailing Garcia, last week’s individual winner in Hong Kong who came down with bronchitis and had a fever of 102.4 on the eve of the tournament. He battled to shoot even par for the week but his three teammates, led by David Puig’s solo fourth at 10 under, stepped up to rally from an eight-shot deficit to start the final round.
“This week was a tough week because I’ve been sick all week and haven’t been able to help the team as much as I would have liked to,” Garcia said. “To see the performance that my teammates put in to be able to get this win was pretty impressive.”
Puig’s 5-under 66 was supported by Luis Masaveu’s 68 and Abraham Ancer’s 69 as the team shot 10-under on Sunday, tying for the lowest team score of the day.
“Counting four scores, eight strokes seem like a lot, but it can change in two holes,” Ancer said. “We just told ourselves that, and we just needed to take care of business and play our game.”
For the 23-year-old Puig, it’s his eighth overall LIV Golf team victory, more than any other player. He won four times with Niemann’s Torque GC in 2023 and now has won four times with Fireballs GC.
“I love team golf,” Puig said. “I think I’m a good team player. I like to be surrounded by a good group of guys, and I have them here at the Fireballs. I just have a lot of fun, and I never give up, and I just love it.”
