MIAMI – Things might get a little fiery on Saturday at the Blue Monster. That’s what happens when two hot teams face off with a lot on the line.
RangeGoats Golf Club captain Bubba Watson and his teammates chose to face Fireballs Golf Club in Saturday’s semifinals at the Team Championship in Miami. RangeGoats GC will be well rested after earning a first-round bye, and the team members were able to watch eight other teams battle it out in the quarterfinals.
“We are going to play the Fireballs,” Watson said. “I talked to my team, and they said Fireballs.”
That got Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia smiling. Garcia’s team won 2-1 against Majesticks Golf Club in Friday’s quarterfinals and said it might be an advantage that they faced competition rather than having a day off.
“I think that you can look at it both ways,” Garcia said. “I think obviously it's nice to come into tomorrow with a round under your belt and a win, but you can also say it's nice to rest up and be nice and fresh.”
Garcia then looked at Watson, who hasn’t played a practice round yet.
“The wind was blowing totally different today than the practice rounds, so if it blows the same way, they don't know what's going on,” Garcia said with a laugh. “Sorry, Bubba.”
Garica and Watson will compete in the captain’s match. Talor Gooch, the season-long individual champion, will face Fireballs GC team member Eugenio Chacarra, who beat Sam Horsfield 6&5 on Friday. In the team match play pairing, Harold Varner III and Thomas Pieters will face Fireball GC’s Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz.