Brooks Koepka (-19) has achieved the fifth victory of his career at LIV Golf, his second this season, beating Jon Rahm (-19) on the first playoff hole at Greenbrier. The American golfer, who started the day two strokes behind the Spaniard in the standings, had a strong start and a surge in the second half of his round that seemed enough to secure the win. However, he had to work hard against the player from Barrika, who did not give up easily.
The player from West Palm Beach went all out at The Old White at Greenbrier with three birdies in his first four holes. The Spaniard held on with a couple of birdies, but made a bogey on the par four of the sixth that allowed Brooks to catch up at the top of the leaderboard. Another birdie from the American on the seventh gave him the solo lead. And although Rahm responded with a birdie at ten, he could do little with the series of three more in a row for Koepka between twelve and fourteen, which deactivated a surprise guest, Richard Bland (-17), who had taken the lead with three birdies and an eagle in a row.
The player from Florida, winner of five majors, seemed to have the tournament under control when he faced the final stretch. However, he made a mistake in the most unexpected place, the par five of the seventeenth, which Rahm, after making a birdie at sixteen to cut the distance, took advantage of to bring excitement back to the tournament. Thus, the two arrived at the par three that closes the course, with their backs against the wall. A moment when luck seemed to side with Brooks…
Jon’s shot from the tee did not reach the platform and fell back, leaving him a long putt for birdie of about ten meters. But Brooks’ shot, which went long, miraculously stayed on the edge of the green when it seemed to be heading straight for the sand. Both needed two putts for par and played the tournament in the tiebreaker. And in this first playoff hole, also on the par three of the eighteenth, the roles were reversed, but without the player from Barrika having the stroke of luck that his playing partner had.
Koepka played first, short ball and long putt from the center of the green. Rahm did it later, very long ball that does not hold and ends up in the bunker, leaving him a very complicated lie, with one foot in the sand and the other on the grass, at different heights. His recovery went long, about six or seven meters, while Brooks left the par made with his first putt. Even so, the Spaniard tried from afar, but his ball, touching the edge of the hole in a half tie, did not want to go in.
This close to keeping the playoff going… @BKoepka wins LIV Golf Greenbrier with a par on the first playoff hole 🏆#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/FIEeL5F5Sh
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) August 18, 2024
Thus, Brooks Koepka added his fifth title on the circuit, his second this season after the one in Singapore in May, while Jon will have to keep trying after his victory in the United Kingdom at the end of last month. However, with an added incentive: thanks to his solo second place and the 15th tied with four more players from Joaquín Niemann (-11), the player from Barrika is now the leader of the overall circuit standings, with only one tournament left… and a prize of 18 million dollars at stake.
Jason Kokrak (-18) completed the individual tournament podium at Greenbrier while Sergio García (-13) was tied for eighth, David Puig (-12) was tied for thirteenth and Eugenio López-Chacarra (-8) was tied for twenty-eighth. In the team competition, the Smash GC (-53) of Koepka, Gooch, Kokrack and McDowell took the victory ahead of the Ripper GC (-50) of Smith, Herbert, Jones and Leishman and the Legión XIII (-42) of Rahm, Hatton, Vincent and Surratt.
