Brooks Koepka gained his fifth particular person LIV Golf event when beating Jon Rahm in a play-off at Greenbrier in West Virginia.
It was the primary time the 2 gamers have gone down the stretch since Rahm joined LIV Golf initially of this season, and it was paying homage to the ultimate spherical of final 12 months’s Masters – solely with a unique final result.
Koepka has now gained 5 of the 31 LIV Golf regular-season tournaments that he’s performed. No different participant has gained greater than 3 times. He mentioned Sunday’s win was his favorite.
“I feel this one simply meant a bit of bit extra, for the previous few years enjoying Jon and clearly he acquired the higher of me at Augusta,” Koepka mentioned. “I simply needed to beat him. He performed phenomenal at this time. The best way he completed down the stretch was fairly clutch, and it was enjoyable to observe him this week.”
RECORD TEAM TOTAL
Koepka’s Smash group additionally claimed the group title, tying a LIV Golf file with a 53 below whole counting rating to beat Ripper GC by three photographs.
Koepka and Jason Kokrak led the group with 7-under 63s, with Talor Gooch taking pictures 69. Reserve participant John Catlin, filling in for the suspended Graeme McDowell, shot a 67.
Rahm surged previous Koepka to win the Masters final 12 months and hoped to assert his second consecutive LIV Golf title, having gained at JCB in England three weeks in the past. He entered the ultimate spherical with a two-shot lead, however Koepka caught him after six holes.
From there, the 2 went back-and-forth whereas others joined the fray, together with 51-year-old Richard Bland, who briefly had the outright lead after an eagle on the twelfth gap.
Koepka made three straight birdies on his again 9 and led by two photographs with three to play. However Rahm caught him with birdies at 16 and 17.
PLAY-OFF DRAMA
They each parred the 157-yard par-3 18th, after which performed the outlet once more within the playoff. Koepka’s tee shot left him with a 25-foot birdie putt whereas Rahm discovered the again bunker, leaving him with an ungainly lie on the quick facet. He blasted out to 23 toes previous the pin. However after Koepka missed his birdie try, Rahm couldn’t save par.
“We’ve gone head-to-head just a few occasions, and it’s all the time a enjoyable one for the spectators,” mentioned a disenchanted Rahm. “It’s enjoyable for us and clearly extra enjoyable for whoever wins, however it all the time appears to return down the stretch. Final time I had a putt to win it on 18, and this time he was the one which ended up profitable.”
Rahm did have a big accomplishment regardless of developing quick, as he overtook Joaquin Niemann in LIV Golf’s season-long factors record. These two will battle it out for the Particular person Championship subsequent month at LIV Golf Chicago, whereas Koepka has an out of doors shot on the bonus-paying third place.
“There’s nonetheless clearly numerous good issues to consider,” Rahm mentioned. “However proper now it hurts greater than something.”
TEAM RESULT
- SMASH GC -53 (Koepka 63, Kokrak 63, Catlin 67, Gooch 69; Rd. 3 rating: -18)
- RIPPER GC -50 (Leishman 64, Smith 67, Herbert 67, Jones 68; Rd. 3 rating: -14)
- LEGION XIII -42 (Rahm 65, Surratt 67, Vincent 67, Hatton 69; Rd. 3 rating: -12)
