The Masters: Following his amazing one-shot victory at the LIV Golf League competition in Orlando, Brooks Koepka will enter The Masters with a win to his credit.
At Orange County National, Koepka played a three-under 68 on the last day to finish the week at 15 under par, one shot ahead of Sebastian Munoz, and become the first player to win multiple LIV tournaments.
The four-time major champion had a three-shot lead after the first nine holes of Sunday’s play and had made three birdies. But, Munoz, his playing companion, closed the deficit by making five birdies in his opening ten holes.
After Munoz chipped in at the par-five 16th, Koepka’s advantage had shrunk to one. However, the Colombian missed a long birdie putt that would have necessitated a playoff. Koepka had previously birdied the par-five 14th.
Koepka feels that there is no better strategy for entering Augusta than performing well and winning. Koepka added: “I am optimistic about the state of the game.”
To get a little more accustomed to Augusta, the player remarked, “I just need to go out and try to rest up for three days, do my regular play nine holes every day, and do the homework around these greens.”
On 36 under, Munoz’s team, Torque GC, beat Koepka’s Smash GC by one shot for the team victory. Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC finished third.
Dean Burmester tied Patrick Reed for third place with a seven-under 64, and Matthew Wolff and Mito Pereira of Chile tied for fifth place with a bogey-free 67.
2020 Masters winner Dustin Johnson finished the week in seventh place, with Sam Horsfield, Peter Uihlein, and Carlos Ortiz rounding out the top 10.
“I miss playing against Rory,” says Koepka.
Koepka is one of 18 LIV athletes scheduled to compete at The Masters this week, where Rory McIlroy has another chance to complete the career Grand Slam and Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion.
“It will be wonderful to have all the good players back together on the same surface,” Koepka said. “We haven’t seen it in a very long time, so this is new. It must be enjoyable.
“I’m looking forward to simply getting to know everyone and competing against them. In the end, I’ll be open and say that I do miss competing against Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, and I’m sure they do, too.
“You always want to play against the greatest; that is a fact. That will elevate Augusta’s significance even further. If one of the LIV players does succeed, I believe it will be a great statement for LIV.”
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