Brooks Koepka defeated Jon Rahm on the first playoff hole to win the LIV Greenbrier title on Sunday in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Koepka’s final-round, 7-under-par 63 allowed him to force a playoff with his Spanish counterpart at 19-under 191. Rahm had the overnight lead and posted a 5-under 65, but Koepka made his push by birdieing three straight holes at Nos. 12-14 at The Greenbrier.
Koepka went on to make par at the first playoff hole, and Rahm had a long par putt to extend the match, but it kissed the right edge of the cup and lipped out.
Koepka had double the reason to celebrate because his team, Smash GC, took home the team title by three shots over Ripper GC, captained by Cameron Smith of Australia. Koepka, Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell combined to go 18 under par Sunday, pushing their three-day total to 53 under.
It marked Koepka’s fifth LIV victory, the most in the league’s brief history.
“I think this is probably my favorite one,” Koepka said. “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.”
The two playoff participants have seven major championships between them, with Koepka owning five. But Rahm got the best of Koepka in a head-to-head battle down the stretch at the 2023 Masters, before Rahm left the PGA Tour for LIV.
“I wasn’t thinking about it,” Koepka said. “It was just one of those things, just go play golf and go get it in the hole as quickly as possible.”
Koepka and Rahm finished one stroke ahead of Kokrak, who also shot a 63 Sunday. Australia’s Marc Leishman (64) and England’s Richard Bland (65) tied for fourth at 17 under.
Rahm, who fired a second-round 62 Saturday, couldn’t believe his par putt in the playoff lipped out.
“I thought it was in,” said Rahm, who was looking for his second LIV title. “I guess there’s just so many good things done this week, and only the third bogey of the week to make it in a playoff. It’s unfortunate.”
–Field Level Media