Brooks Koepka defeated Jon Rahm in a playoff at LIV Golf The Greenbrier to win his fifth tournament in the league and his second of 2024 after winning at LIV Singapore earlier this season.
He shot a bogey-free 7-under 63 to finish at 19 under and force a playoff with Jon Rahm.
He needed just one more hole to secure the victory as he made par on the 18th hole.
Rahm hit his tee shot over the green and into a bunker for a difficult up-and-down shot, and was 25 feet from par, but missed the putt after the ball grazed the lip of the cup.
“This might be my favorite. [wins]”It’s always fun to play against good players,” Koepka said after his win Sunday. “I played Gooch for a while last year, and I felt that way every tournament, but John’s a great player. For some reason, I’ve always had a little bit of an edge on him lately, so it’s nice to win.”
Kopeka opened his round with birdies on three of his first four holes. He added a fourth birdie on the par-4 seventh hole. The former FSU golfer then recorded three straight birdies from the 12th through 14th holes to move to 7 under.
He came back with four straight pars, while Rahm birdied the first and fourth holes, his third birdie came on the par-3 eighth and then capped the day with an eagle and birdie on the par-5 12th.
Photo: Isaiah Vasquez/Getty Images
Koepka’s Smash GC helped him dominate the LIV Greenbrier tournament, winning the team division by three strokes with a score of 53 under par.
Lipper GC came in second with a score of 50 under par. Rahm’s Legion XIII was third with a score of 42 under par, and Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC was fourth with a score of 40 under par. Rounding out the top five was Bubba Watson’s Range Goats GC at 36 under par.
Koepka’s teammate, Jason Kokirk, also shot a 7-under 63 on Sunday to move into sole third place, one stroke back.
Marc Leishman and Richard Bland finished tied for fourth at 17 under par.
Taylor Gooch tied for 11th and had the third-best score for Smash GC at 13 under par. John Catlin rounded out the team in a tie for 37th at 5 under par.
Smash GC also claimed their second team victory following their win at LIV Las Vegas in February. They currently sit in fourth place behind third-place Ripper GC, second-place Legion XIII and first-place Crushers GC with Bryson DeChambeau.
Koepka sits in seventh place in the individual standings heading into the LIV Chicago Individual Championship, Sept. 13-15, the final event of 2024. Rahm currently leads the way, with Joaquin Niemann in second and fellow Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton in third.
After Chicago, LIV Golf will host a team championship event in Dallas, Texas, Sept. 20-22 to determine the winner for the 2024 season.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
