The final round at The Greenbrier went down to the wire in West Virginia. 54-holes couldn’t separate Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka as the American went on to secure his fifth LIV golf individual title, and a four-million-dollar cheque with par on the first playoff hole.
Koepka, Smash GC’s team captain, has double cause for celebration as his team also secured their second team title of the season heading into the final week in Chicago. They took the team honours and a further three-million-dollars, on -53, and three strokes clear from second placed Ripper GC. This was helped greatly by Koepka’s -19, ably assisted by team-mate Jason Kokrak who had a -18 week of his own.
“Yeah, I think this is probably my favourite one,” reflected a victorious Koepke after his battle with Rahm. “It’s always good when you battle good players. I battled Gooch for a while last year, felt like every tournament, but yeah, Jon is a hell of a player. For whatever reason he’s always got the better of me a little bit as of late. So, it feels nice just to get one.”
Asked if there were any worries having come up second best to Rahm at Augusta as the two of them battled it out, he said, “I wasn’t thinking about it. It was just one of those things, just go play golf and go get it in the hole as quickly as possible. Played really well today. I’m proud of myself for that. It’s a good win. I’m ready to get home and go see my wife and kid.”
The victory moves Smash GC into fourth on the team standings for the season while Rahm’s second place individually moves him to the top of the rankings for the first time this season. He overtakes season long leader Joaquin Niemann by just three points as the regular season heads to its final event.
Chicago could be a shootout between the pair, but the pack has plenty of motivation with the likes of David Puig, Cameron Tringale and a returning Graeme McDowell sitting just outside the bubble with their spots on their respective teams up for negotiation should they fail to make the Lock Zone, inside the top 24.
Defending Champion Bryson DeChambeau couldn’t emulate the heroics of last year, his -11 finish saw him round off the week on a tie for 15th spot. He and his Crushers GC team-mates hold a slim lead in the team standings of just 0.5 points from Rahm’s Legion XIII. The teams will need good showings from all four players in the final event of an intriguing regular season, with important seedings to come into play for the playoff events.
The finale of the regular season will bring the LIV Golf League to sport-mad Chicago next week, and Bolingbrook Golf Club for three days of intense action. With top spots on both the team and individual standings in the balance, a feast of golf awaits as the pack fight for their place on their teams and even the League itself for the ’25 season.
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