Brooks Koepka won his fourth individual title on the LIV Golf League career after shooting a final round 68 at Sentosa Golf Club to win the Singapore event by two shots from Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman.
The reigning US PGA Champion lit the fuse of a hot streak he hopes will produce a successful title defence at Valhalla in two weeks’ time with a 15-under par total for three rounds.
“It’s all starting to come around,” said Koepka, who became the first active LIV Golf player to win a major with his victory last year at Oak Hill. “I like the way things are trending.”
Koepka started the final round with a three-shot lead, but a variety of challengers closed the gap throughout the round. Koepka never gave up the lead, though, and he bounced back from his only bogey – a three-putt at the ninth – with a birdie.
A late Leishman birdie moved the Australian within a shot, but a bogey on his final hole gave Koepka a two-shot lead going into the par-5 18th, and he played conservative to avoid the water on the finishing hole.
“I felt the heat, but it was mainly because of how hot it was,” Koepka said. “Just played very consistent, missed it in the right spots. When you’re playing with a lead, you do that. You don’t have to force anything.”
The team title went to Ripper GC, led by Leishman and Smith, and aided by Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert. The team, which also won last week’s event in Adelaide, was 32-under for the tournament, and finished three ahead of Fireball GC and Cleeks GC.
“It’s amazing,” Jones said. “Last week was a very special week for us, but to come out here this week and do it again is really special.”
TEAM COUNTING SCORES
1. RIPPER GC -32 (Smith 64, Leishman 66, Jones 70, Herbert 74; Rd. 3 score -10)
2. FIREBALLS GC -29 (Chacarra 68, Garcia 68, Puig 68, Ancer 71; Rd. 3 score -9)
2. CLEEKS GC -29 (Samooja 64, Bland 69, Kaymer 71 Meronk 71; Rd. 3 score -9)
