Golf

Brooks Koepka’s Victory and Other Major Highlights of 2024 LIV Golf Singapore

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1w ago

May 07, 2024 / 3806 Views

Let’s look at the bigger picture, the one outside Brooks Koepka’s win at LIV Golf Singapore on Sunday, 5 May, 2024.

The season’s high at the Sentosa Golf Club has multiple ramifications, but the bottom-line of each achievement is Koepka’s relentless pursuit of excellence despite the absence of world ranking points on LIV since its inception in 2022.

2024 LIV Golf Singapore: Brooks Koepka’s phenomenal performance and more

At 15-under par over 54 holes (-5, -7, -3), Koepka’s two-shot win over Cameron Smith (13-under; E, -6, -7) and Mark Leishman ticked a first, and perfectly aligned with LIV’s slogan ‘golf, but louder’. The music and colour outside the golf course set LIV apart from other tournaments, and a stellar performance like Koepka’s made the Saudi-funded league even more engrossing.

With at least one win in each season (he won twice in 2023), Koepka made it a memorable entry into his 34th year by becoming the first to win four times on LIV.

As captain of Smash GC — one of the 14 teams in the LIV League — or as an individual player, Koepka has been all about stepping up when the occasion demands. The win in Singapore comes on the back of the 10th in Adelaide late April, and could well be the momentum he seeks as he heads to the PGA Championship, the 2024 season’s second Major Championship, as defending champion later in May.

It isn’t coincidence that a win signals a flurry of activity in Koepka’s corner. His win in LIV Orlando last year almost translated into a triumph at the 2023 Masters, and the omens are good for one of the longest strikers of the Golf ball at this level.

Man for the Majors

The PGA Championship is Koepka’s favourite turf with wins in the 2018, 2019 and 2023 editions, so when the champion said on Sunday that “all (aspects) of his game are coming around”, courtesy of the work put in on and off the golf course, there is very little reason not to believe why a career sixth Major Championship (Koepka won the 2017 and 2018 US Opens) cannot be his in two weeks at the Valhalla Golf Club.

Koepka is a man for the Majors, and his triumph at the 2023 PGA Championship was borne out of the disappointment of losing the Green Jacket to Jon Rahm despite heading into Sunday at the Augusta National Golf Club as the 54-hole leader.

Twice in the past, Koepka has featured in two title defences at Major Championships, and if intent could prevail over everything else in a sport as fickle as golf, Koepka will be the one to watch out for at Valhalla.

“I like the way things are trending. We just need to go back and make sure everything is kind of going, do the right stuff and go from there,” said Koepka in the interview room after Sunday’s triumph.

United in glory

It is hoped that Singapore will be the first of many more glories for Koepka as a new father. His wife Jena Sims has been a part of similar occasions on LIV in the past, and the 2023 PGA Championship; but to have their son Crew watch from the sidelines on Sunday had Koepka gushing.

The last time the infant was on site, Koepka finished way down on the leaderboard in Miami, and “to see me do something a little better than that, it’s such a cool feeling”.

Valhalla is up next, and given Koepka’s affinity for the PGA Championship, Crew could be in for more hugs on the sidelines of the 18th green, and a continuation of the dream Koepka visualised even before he became a family man.

Expectations, no problem

Aiming for a three-peat at a Major, Koepka spoke like a man who thrives under pressure.

“When there’s more on the line, it’s more enjoyable and that actually feels like real golf. Being in contention kind of gets to be a little bit more fun, and I think what guys are used to…But I think the big thing that kind of separates me is my ability to lock in and go someplace where I think a lot of guys can’t go.”

Despite Sunday’s thrust, Koepka believes in ebbs and flows, especially in the context of Majors. “Winning always helps but one result doesn’t mean anything really in the scheme of things. In two weeks, a lot can change. I’ve seen guys miss cuts and then go win and then win and then not compete the week after.”

LIV also about team work

As Brooks Koepka basked in glory from his 2024 LIV Golf Singapore triumph, skipper Cameron Smith and teammate Mark Leishman anchored the all-Aussie, four-man Ripper GC to another win and made it two in a row in Adelaide and Singapore.

Among the factors that helped Ripper step up to a tournament total of 32-under, three shots better than the Fireballs and Cleeks GC, were Smith and Leishman’s contributions on Sunday. By finding 15 of the 18 greens in regulations, Smith featured among the leaders en-route a 64, while Leishman’s 67 placed him with Koepka and four others to go bogey-free on the final 18 holes of the 54-hole format.

To understand the team standings, the three-best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while scores of all the four players count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
Two wins in two weeks, Ripper will aim at a third when the LIV bandwagon rolls into Houston in early June.

Skipper Smith was pleased as punch. “I’m very proud of them (the boys). I knew that we had it in us, it was just a matter of time. There were probably a few lazy boys over Christmas, to be honest, and it took us a little bit to get going, but this is how we expect to play.”

On the team chemistry, he said, “We just keep pushing each other. Herby (Lucas Herbert) has been a great addition, obviously. He’s got that young blood in him, and he wants everyone to do well, and he keeps pushing the old boys. It’s a really good mix of golfers, and we just gel so well.”

Tied second on the individual leaderboard, there could not have been better preparation for Smith going into the PGA Championship.

Like Koepka, Smith has been among the standout names who made the switch from the PGA Tour, and the second top-3 of the 2024 season is an extension of last year when he notched two wins and finished runner-up once, among other strong results.

Smith made his LIV debut at Boston in September 2022, and won the week after in his second start in Chicago.

Also tied second, the Cleeks quietly posted their third podium finish and best result in LIV chapters after being third placed in Bangkok 2022 and Jeddah 2023.

A buoyed skipper Martin Kaymer put out hope for the future. “It’s nice to know that we have a team (of Kalle Samooja, Adrian Meronk, Richard Bland) now, that we all play good Golf, and we know that if we can play well, we actually have a chance to be on the podium.”

Doing the ‘shoey’

Drinking out of a shoe — be it yours or someone else’s — is a typically Aussie tradition and regarded as a bringer of good fortune.

The Rippers did it on the podium in Adelaide, and repeated it during the victory ceremony in Sentosa on Sunday.

Dripping with sweat in humid Singapore, the prospect of drinking out of shoes worn over three days did not enthuse Leishman, but he was vastly outnumbered.

“I said to the boys, surely we’ve got to draw the line somewhere, don’t we’? They were like, no, we’re doing it. So, we did. Yeah, warm (the taste), as expected,” he explained.

The celebrations in Singapore could well be on the lines of the home win in Adelaide, when the team members partied for 48 hours after the podium, and came into this week with huge hangovers.

With a few weeks off, after-effects won’t be an issue, but Leishman couldn’t confirm, hinting at a top-up on the way back to Australia.

More details about LIV Golf here.

(Main and featured image: Lionel Ng/ Getty Images)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– What was the venue of LIV Singapore 2024?

Home to many iconic golf tournaments in the past, the Sentosa Golf Club played host to a LIV event for the second time after the 2023 season.

– Who was the individual champion at LIV Singapore?

Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka shot rounds of 5-under, 7-under and 3-under to total 15-under for a two-shot win over Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith and his Aussie teaMMAte Mark Leishman, making him the champion of the 2024 LIV Golf Singapore event.

– How much prize money did Brooks Koepka win?

With USD 20 million at stake, Brooks Koepka bagged the top prize of USD 4 million as the individual winner of 2024 LIV Golf Singapore. Runners-up Smith and Leishman got USD 1.88 million each.

– How much did team champions Ripper GC win in Singapore?

With a total score of 32-under, Ripper GC was richer by USD 3 million, followed by Fireballs GC and Cleeks GC with USD 1 million each as the second-placed teams.