Koepka prevails in Greenbrier playoff as Smash cruise to team win

Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm shake hands after the first playoff hole at Greenbrier which the former won on Sunday. Image courtesy LIV Golf/ Mike Stobe

From a Correspondent

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia: Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka extended his LIV Golf record by winning at Greenbrier for a fifth individual title and the third time in a playoff. But his victory on Sunday at The Old White course was a bit more special, given the opponent. 

Koepka beat Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm on the first playoff hole with par in a thrilling finish. It’s the first time the two have duelled since Rahm joined LIV Golf in the offseason, and it was reminiscent of the final round at the 2023 Masters – only with a different outcome. 

Koepka has now won five of the 31 LIV Golf regular-season tournaments that he’s played. No other player has won more than three times. He said Sunday’s win was his favourite. 

“I think this one just meant a little bit more, for the last few years playing Jon and obviously he got the better of me at Augusta,” Koepka said.

“I just wanted to beat him. He played phenomenal today. The way he finished down the stretch was pretty clutch, and it was fun to watch him this week.” 

Koepka’s Smash team also claimed the team title, tying a LIV Golf record with a 53 under total counting score to beat Ripper GC by three shots.

Koepka and Jason Kokrak led the team with 7 under par 63s, with Talor Gooch shooting 69. Reserve player John Catlin, filling in for Graeme McDowell, shot a 67. 

Slots sealed

Meanwhile,the league-leading Crushers GC claimed just a single point by finishing eighth but it was enough to keep them atop the team points standings – only by a half-point.

The defending team champions, Crushers have 176.50 points with Legion XIII moving to 176.00 with their solo third at Greenbrier.

These two teams are guaranteed first-round byes for the Dallas Team Championship, although their seeding position remains undecided.

Ripper GC finished second in Greenbrier and retained third place in the standings, nearly doubling their lead. Smash moved from seventh to fourth with the victory, and Torque dropped to fifth.

Those three teams will battle for the third remaining bye, and Ripper GC also has a chance to claim one of the top two seeds in the final regular-season tournament in Chicago.

Rahm rallied past Koepka to win the Masters last year and was hoping to claim his second consecutive LIV Golf title, having won in England three weeks ago. He entered the final round with a two-shot lead, but Koepka caught him after six holes.  

From there, the two went back-and-forth while others joined the fray, including 51-year-old Richard Bland, who briefly had the outright lead after an eagle at the 12th hole. 

Late charge

Koepka made three straight birdies on his back nine and led by two shots with three to play. But Rahm caught him with birdies at 16 and 17. 

They both parred the 157-yard par-3 18th, and then played the hole again in the playoff. Koepka’s tee shot left him with a 25-foot birdie putt while Rahm found the back bunker, leaving him with an awkward lie on the short side.

He blasted out to 23 feet past the pin. But after Koepka missed his birdie attempt, Rahm could not save par. 

“We’ve gone head-to-head a few times, and it’s always a fun one for the spectators,” said a disappointed Rahm.

“It’s fun for us and obviously more fun for whoever wins, but it always seems to come down the stretch. Last time I had a putt to win it on 18, and this time he was the one that ended up winning.” 

Rahm did have a significant accomplishment despite coming up short, as he overtook Torque captain Joaquin Niemann in season-long points.

The two will battle it out for the 2024 individual honours next month at LIV Golf Chicago, while Koepka has an outside shot at the bonus-paying third place. 

“There’s still obviously a lot of good things to think about,” Rahm said. “But right now it hurts more than anything.” 

As for Koepka, there’s nothing he can do now about a disappointing major season, but he has a chance to finish 2024 with more champagne celebrations, especially if Smash can claim the team title in Dallas. 

“This year has not been very good,” Koepka said. “It’s nice to kind of try to end it on a high note. Obviously, we’ve got two events left, so we’ll see what we can do.” (courtesy LIV Golf)

Final scores

1. Smash GC -53 (Koepka 63, Kokrak 63, Catlin 67, Gooch 69; Rd. 3 score: -18) 

2. Ripper GC -50 (Leishman 64, Smith 67, Herbert 67, Jones 68; Rd. 3 score: -14) 

3. Legion XIII -42 (Rahm 65, Surratt 67, Vincent 67, Hatton 69; Rd. 3 score: -12) 

4. Fireballs GC -40 (Puig 65, Garcia 66, Ancer 68, Chacarra 68; Rd. 3 score: -13) 

T5. RangeGoats GC -36 (Pieters 64, Uihlein 65, Watson 66, Wolff 67; Rd. 3 score: -18) 

T5. Torque GC -36 (Niemann 65, Muñoz 66, Ortiz 70, Pereira 71; Rd. 3 score: -8) 

7. Iron Heads GC -31 (Lee 65, Kozuma 67, Vincent 68, Na 69; Rd. 3 score: -11) 

8. Crushers GC -30 (Lahiri 65, DeChambeau 66, Casey 68, Howell III 70; Rd. 3 score: -11) 

9. Stinger GC -28 (Oosthuizen 60, Grace 64, Burmester 69, Schwartzel 72; Rd. 3 score: -15) 

T10. 4Aces GC -27 (Reed 63, Varner III 65, Johnson 66, Perez 69; Rd. 3 score: -17) 

T10. HyFlyers GC -27 (Tringale 63, Ogletree 67, Steele 67, Mickelson 75: Rd. 3 score: -8) 

12. Cleeks GC -23 (Bland 65, Kaymer 68, Meronk 68, Samooja 72; Rd. 3 score: -7) 

13. Majesticks GC -17 (Westwood 66, Stenson 68, Campbell 69, Poulter 69; Rd. 3 score: -8) 

Final round stats

Driving accuracy: Sebastián Muñoz, Branden Grace, 85.71% (12 of 14 fairways hit) 
Driving distance: Mito Pereira, 351.9 yards avg. 
Longest drive: Mito Pereira, 359.4 yards, 17th hole 
Greens in regulation: Sebastián Muñoz, Caleb Surratt, Matthew Wolff, John Catlin, Harold Varner III, 94.44% (17 of 18 greens) 
Putting: Louis Oosthuizen, 1.22 putts per hole 
Bogey-free rounds: Brooks Koepka (63), Jason Kokrak (63), Patrick Reed (63), Marc Leishman (64), Anirban Lahiri (65), Sebastián Muñoz (66), Sergio Garcia (66), Patrick Reed, Andy Ogletree (67) 

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