NEWS · 8 MONTHS AGO

2025 Season in Review: Smash GC

Written by:Matt Vincenzi

Eleventh in a series of stories reviewing the 2025 season for each of the 13 LIV Golf League teams.

SMASH GC REVIEW

TEAM: The season ended on a relatively high note for Smash GC after they upset 4Aces GC in the quarterfinals and finished 4th at the Michigan Team Championship. The team struggled with consistency all season as Captain Brooks Koepka was unable to win for the first time in a LIV Golf season. Talor Gooch, however, rediscovered the form that made him a force in 2023 as he claimed LIV Golf Andalucía for the second time in three seasons with a masterful performance in difficult conditions. Smash GC had three podium finishes but went winless as a team in 2025 after winning twice in 2024.

PLAYERS (FINAL POINTS RANKING)

Talor Gooch (6): Gooch has finished inside the top 11 in the LIV Golf standings in all four of his seasons, making him one of the most consistent players in the League’s short history. In 2025, Gooch won at Valderrama for his first individual victory since 2023 and fourth time on LIV Golf. After a slow start to his season, the 33-year-old had a fantastic second half. Gooch didn’t have a top-10 finish in his first six starts through Mexico City but finished in the top 10 in five of his final seven starts.

Brooks Koepka (31): 2025 marks the first of Koepka’s four seasons with LIV Golf that he finished outside of the top 10 in the season-long Individual standings. The Smash GC captain struggled throughout the season, recording only two top-10 finishes. Koepka looked strong in the early going, finishing T7 in Adelaide and 2nd in Singapore, but was unable to crack the top 14 on the leaderboard in any of his final eight starts. Koepka did have a T12 at the U.S. Open at Oakmont but missed the cut in the other three majors.

Graeme McDowell (34): McDowell finished inside the top 10 just once but put forth an admirable performance in Virginia, where he finished T2 and earned his first podium finish on LIV Golf. He contended until the final hole, finishing one shot short of Joaquin Niemann. The Northern Irishman wanted desperately to tee it up at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush but failed to make it through Final Qualifying. Although he lacked high-end finishes, McDowell brought steady play to Smash, finishing in the top 20 on five occasions.

Jason Kokrak (41): Kokrak's top performances in 2025 were T10 finishes at both Singapore and Andalucía. The season was uncharacteristically poor for Kokrak, who finished inside of the Lock Zone in both 2023 and 2024. Although he struggled from tee to green, the 40-year-old was the League’s ninth-best putter, gaining 0.31 strokes per round.

TEAM OVERVIEW

Wins: 0
Podiums: 3
Points Finishes: 6
Seed: 8th
Team Championship: 4th

HIGHLIGHTS

Upset 4Aces GC in the quarterfinals and finished 4th in the Michigan Team Championship.
Talor Gooch won at Valderrama for the second time in three seasons.
2nd place finish at LIV Golf Korea, where all four Smash GC players finished 27th or better.
Koepka finished T12 at the U.S. Open despite not being in peak form.
McDowell’s second-place finish in Virginia, marking his first podium finish on LIV Golf.

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Quarterfinals: Defeated 4Aces GC 2-1. Koepka lost to Johnson, 1 up. Gooch def. Reed, 1 up. McDowell/Kokrak def. Pieters/Varner III, 6 & 5.

Semifinals: Lost to Crushers GC 2-1. Gooch lost to DeChambeau 1 up. Koepka def. Lahiri 1 up. McDowell/Kokrak lost to Casey/Howell III, 2 up.

Finals (Tier 2): 4th at 18-under. Koepka 65, Kokrak 65, Gooch 66, McDowell 66.

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

Event

Team

Gooch

Koepka

McDowell

Kokrak

Riyadh

T44

T33

T21

Adelaide

T51

T37

T47

Hong Kong

T35

T12

T42

Singapore

T29

T10

Miami

T12

T18

T44

T39

Mexico City

T13

T30

T17

T34

Korea

T17

T20

T27

Virginia

T10

T33

T23

Dallas

T33

T35

T40

Andalucía

T32

T41

T10

T47

T25

Chicago

T29

T52

T17

Indianapolis

T32

T14

T40

PLAYER-LEAGUE RANKINGS

Player

Off The Tee - Driving

SG: APP (Long)

SG: APP (Medium)

SG: APP (Short)

SG: ARG

SG: Putting

Talor Gooch

-0.06 (27th)

+0.04 (27th)

+0.27 (2nd)

+0.02 (29th)

+0.25 (10th)

+0.00 (27th)

Brooks Koepka

+0.27 (16th)

-0.39 (35th)

-0.20 (45th)

-0.20

(41st)

+0.14 (24th)

-0.18 (37th)

Graeme McDowell

-0.25 (38th)

-0.12 (42nd)

+0.06 (23rd)

-0.09 (34th)

+0.06 (31st)

-0.31 (43rd)

Jason Kokrak

-0.15 (32nd)

-0.08 (38th)

+0.09 (17th)

-0.20 (40th)

-0.31 (45th)

+0.31 (9th)