FINAL ROUND NEWS AND NOTES: 4ACES ON THE PODIUM AGAIN
Brooks Koepka made history with his second individual LIV Golf victory and Torque GC took home their first team title on Sunday in Orlando. Here are some other news, notes and stats from the week at Orange County National.
NOTES
4ACES WITH THIRD STRAIGHT PODIUM RESULT: Captain Dustin Johnson and his 4Aces GC team continue to set the pace in the season-long team standings despite not winning a tournament title. After consecutive runner-up finishes to start the season, the 4Aces once again were the best performers in the final round, posting a cumulative 15 under team score to finish solo third at 34 under. Peter Uihlein had the best round for the 4Aces with a 65, while Johnson shot 66 and Patrick Reed shot 67. Fourth man Pat Perez also had a good day with a 68. The 4Aces won five of eight tournaments during the inaugural 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Series, including the Team Championship. The team now leads the season-long standings with 64 points, 14 ahead of Torque GC.
STINGERS’ BURMESTER GOES LOW: First-year Stinger GC member Dean Burmester produced the lowest score in the final round, a 7-under 64 that gave him a solo third podium finish, his best result of his three starts since joining LIV Golf prior to this season. Burmester started his round with an eagle at the par-5 17th, his second eagle on that hole this week. He finished with four birdies in his last six holes.
EVERY TEAM NOW HAS POINTS: Smash GC, Cleeks GC and Majesticks GC entered LIV Golf Orlando without team points through the first two events, but all three teams finished inside the top eight to claim their best results of the season. Smash took second place, Cleeks took fifth place and Majesticks took sixth place. Meanwhile, Stinger GC finished in fourth place for the third consecutive week, while RangeGoats GC finished in eight place for the third consecutive week.
18 SET FOR MASTERS: LIV Golf Orlando champion Brooks Koepka and six former Masters champions are among the 18 LIV Golf members headed to Augusta National for next week’s tournament, the first major on the 2023 golf calendar. The six past winners include three-time champ Phil Mickelson, two-time winner Bubba Watson, along with Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and Charl Schwartzel. The other 11 participants include Abraham Ancer, Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen, Mito Pereira, Thomas Pieters, Cameron Smith and Harold Varner III.
RD. 3 STAT LEADERS
Driving distance – Bubba Watson, 359.7-yard average
Longest drive – Bubba Watson, 375 yards (10th hole)
Driving accuracy – Kevin Na, 92.86% (13 of 14)
Greens in regulation – Charles Howell III , 88.89% (16 of 18)
Scrambling – Patrick Reed (9 of 9), Sam Horsfield (5 of 5), Henrik Stenson (3 of 3), 100%
Fewest putts – Bryson DeChambeau, Lee Westwood, 24 putts
Most birdies – Peter Uihlein, 8
Bogey-free rounds – Henrik Stenson (66), Patrick Reed (67), Sam Horsfield (68)