LIV Golf: Brooks Koepka Claims One-Shot Victory in Orlando

0
2023 LIV Golf Orlando Brooks Koepka Wins
Captain Brooks Koepka of Smash GC celebrates with the trophy after winning the LIV Golf Orlando at The Orange County National on Apr 02, 2023 in Orlando, Fla. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann via Getty Images)

Three tournaments into its sophomore season, the LIV Golf League has its first two-time winner after Brooks Koepka drained a four-foot putt on the final hole to claim a one-shot victory over Sebastian Munoz (66) in Orlando.

The four-time major winner, who closed with a 3-under 68 to finish on 15 under, is one of 18 LIV Golf players off to Augusta National for this week’s first major of the year.

“Yeah, it’ll be great just to see all the good players back, back in one field again, right? It’s the first time we’ve seen it in a long time. That’ll be exciting,” said Koepka.

“I’m looking forward to it, just to see everybody and compete against them, because at the end of the day, I’ll be honest, I do miss playing against Rory, I do miss playing against Scottie, and I’m sure they miss playing against us, as well.

“That’s a fact; you always want to play against the best. That’s going to make Augusta even more special.”

2023 LIV Golf Orlando Brooks Koepka Wins
Captain Brooks Koepka of Smash GC plays his shot on the 1st hole during the final round of the LIV Golf Orlando at The Orange County National on Apr 02, 2023 in Orlando, Fla. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann via Getty Images)

While Koepka finished 15-under par for the week in individual stroke play, LIV Golf also features a unique team competition which was claimed by Torque GC, captained by Joaquin Niemann, who overhauled his roster during the offseason.

Niemann added Munoz and Mito Pereira, while welcoming free agent David Puig.

Muñoz shot a final-round 66 to lead the Torque team scores, with Puig shooting 67 and Pereira shooting 68.

“It’s pretty awesome, the chemistry between the four of us is pretty good since day one,” said Niemann.

“All the practice rounds, the games we do, it’s pretty easy for the four of us to hang out together.

“I think we knew we could win since the first week. It just came a little bit later than we thought, actually.”

2023 LIV Golf Orlando Brooks Koepka Wins
Captain Brooks Koepka of Smash GC plays his shot from the 2nd tee during the final round of the LIV Golf Orlando at The Orange County National on Apr 02, 2023 in Orlando, Fla. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann via Getty Images)

Koepka is among 18 LIV Golf professionals who will tee it up this week in the first major of 2023. They include six former Masters winners: Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006, 2010), Bubba Watson (2010, 2012), Dustin Johnson (2020), Patrick Reed (2018), Sergio Garcia (2017) and Charl Schwartzel (2011).

The other eleven headed to Augusta, Georgia include Abraham Ancer, Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters, Cameron Smith, Harold Varner III, Niemann and Pereira.

Here are the standings and scores for Sunday’s final round of the team competition at Orange County National’s Crooked Cat Course.

The three best scores from each team count in every round for their total team score. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.

  1.  TORQUE GC (-36): Sebastián Muñoz 66, David Puig 67, Mito Pereira 68 (Rd. 3 score: -12)
  2. SMASH GC (-35): Matthew Wolff 67, Brooks Koepka 68, Jason Kokrak 69 (Rd. 3 score: -9)
  3. 4ACES GC (-34): Peter Uihlein 65, Dustin Johnson 66, Patrick Reed 67 (Rd. 3 score: -15)
  4. STINGER GC (-26): Dean Burmester 64, Branden Grace 70, Charl Schwartzel 70 (Rd. 3 score: -9)
  5. CLEEKS GC (-25): Bernd Wiesberger 68, Richard Bland 70, Graeme McDowell 71 (Rd. 3 score: -4)
  6. MAJESTICKS GC (-25): Henrik Stenson 66, Sam Horsfield 68, Lee Westwood 69 (Rd. 3 score: -4)
  7. FIREBALLS GC (-23): Carlos Ortiz 65, Eugenio Chacarra 66, Sergio Garcia 68 (Rd. 3 score: -14)
  8. RANGEGOATS GC (-21): Thomas Pieters 67, Talor Gooch 68, Harold Varner III 68 (Rd. 3 score: -10)
  9. HYFLYERS GC (-21): Phil Mickelson 67, Brendan Steele 67, Cameron Tringale 69 (Rd. 3 score: -10)
  10. CRUSHERS GC (-19): Bryson DeChambeau 67, Charles Howell III 67, Paul Casey 71 (Rd. 3 score: -8)
  11. IRON HEADS GC (-16): Kevin Na 69, Scott Vincent 70, Danny Lee 74 (Rd. 3 score: E)
  12. RIPPER GC (-15): Jediah Morgan 67, Marc Leishman 68, Cameron Smith 71 (Rd. 3 score: -7)
Advertisement

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your name here