The LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship has already thrown up a number of surprises, but fans are set to miss out on a huge match on Saturday.
Defeating Majesticks GC 2-1, Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC are through to a semi-final where, on Friday, their team captain selected Brooks Koepka's Smash GC, who won 2-1 against the 4Aces GC.
As we saw in the majority of the six quarter-final matches, the teams' captains will usually face off against one another but, for their match, DeChambeau won't play long-time rival, Koepka.
Speaking in the press conference on Friday, Koepka stated: "I like myself in one (going out first), and (Talor) Gooch is playing good at the two slot. Then those guys (Jason Kokrak and Graeme McDowell) in foursomes played really solid today. We're not going to mess with a winning formula."
Upon hearing the news, DeChambeau then revealed his side's line-up for the semi final, explaining that: "Our foursomes choice will be the same today with Paul (Casey) and Charles (Howell III) playing together. Then I'm going to put Anirban (Lahiri) at No. 1 against Brooks, and then myself against Talor."
Certainly, the decision seemed to surprise some, with host and emcee Jason Zone Fisher asking DeChambeau why he had opted to swap his and Lahiri's spots around.
Answering that question, the two-time US Open winner said "I've got my reasons," before adding that "it's not personal, though, I can tell you that. It's not."
Although the reason for the swap is unclear, it caused some reaction from Koepka, with a video from the LIV Golf social media account showing the five-time Major winner asking the question "I don't know what the thinking was behind that."
He added "I'd probably say the people would want to see that (DeChambeau and Koepka match-up). I don't know what he was afraid of. I don't know, he beats to his own drum, so he's a strange cat."
In the quarter finals, DeChambeau got the better of Lee Westwood 4&2, while Lahiri lost his match against Sam Horsfield 2&1.
Away from that game, Koepka was defeated 1-down by former Ryder Cup teammate Dustin Johnson, while Gooch claimed an impressive 1-up win over match-play specialist Patrick Reed.
DeChambeau and Koepka's past has been heavily noted in the past, with the duo embroiled in, somewhat, of a feud that culminated in The Match in November 2021, with the latter winning 4&3.
The duo seemed to patch things up though a few years later on, even pairing up together in a PGA Tour vs LIV Golf showdown against Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. In that match, the LIV pair lost to the World No.1 and 2.
There's still plenty of big matches to look forward to, though, at The Cardinal at Saint John’s course, despite DeChambeau and Koepka not facing off.
Legion XIII GC and HyFlyers GC will be the first match out, as Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson face off, while Torque GC captain, Joaquin Niemann, will play Stinger GC's Dean Burmester.
After the semi finals, the winning teams on Saturday will play for the Team Championship title on Sunday’s stroke-play finals.
