Here comes Brooks Koepka, right on cue.
Two weeks before heading to Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, to defend his PGA Championship, Koepka coolly held on in the heat at Sentosa Golf Club to win the LIV Golf Singapore event by two strokes over Australian teammates Cam Smith and Marc Leishman.
With a 15-under 198 total, Koepka became the first player to win four times on the LIV Golf circuit, his first victory of 2024 after winning twice last year and once in the breakaway tour’s inaugural season in 2022. The previous week in Adelaide, South Australia, Koepka finished T9, his first top 10 since finishing tied fifth in the February season opener in Mexico.
“Yeah, it’s all starting to come around,” Koepka said after his 3-under 68 on Sunday kept his chasers at bay. “I’ve put in a lot of work. I feel like on the golf course, off the golf course, it’s been a good two weeks, to say the least. Take a week off and then grinding pretty hard with [swing coach] Claude [Harmon] over the last few days, I thought that was very important. Kind of started to see it turn maybe Wednesday, Thursday of Adelaide, so to see it pay off here is huge.”
"I like the way things are trending."
Brooks Koepka
Koepka won his third PGA Championship Wanamaker Trophy last year at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York, his fifth career major championship. In his first four major victories, he won back-to-back: at the 2017 and ’18 U.S. Opens and the 2018 and ’19 PGAs.
Can he successfully defend again?
“I hope so. I like the way things are trending,” said Koepka, who turned 34 on Friday. “We just need to go back this week … well, next week, and make sure everything is kinda going, do the right stuff and go from there. … Go do my normal routine, work out and play golf and relax.”
A month ago, when he finished T45 as a non-factor at the Masters, Koepka said he didn’t know whether the ball would fade or draw coming off his club. But he went to work with Harmon to fix it and started seeing his shots take off more consistently in the last two weeks after what he called “punishing workouts.”
“Look, I don't enjoy playing bad. It’s not fun for me,” he said.
After a second-round 64, Koepka started the final round with a three-shot lead over Abraham Ancer, Adrian Meronk, Thomas Pieters and Matthew Wolff. Koepka never relinquished his lead, although several challengers closed the gap at times.
Leishman came closest, getting within one shot before a bogey on his last hole allowed Koepka to take a comfortable two-shot lead to the 18th.
“I felt the heat, but it was mainly because of how hot it was,” said Koepka, who made birdies at 10 and 15 to make up for his lone bogey, a three-putt at the ninth. “Yeah, just played very consistent, missed it in the right spots. When you’re playing with a lead, you do that. You don’t have to force anything. When you do get some wedges, try to take advantage of it.”
Koepka got to enjoy winning for the first time with his wife, Jenna Sims, and son, Crew, on site to celebrate with him.
“It’s super awesome,” he said. “It’s great to have him out. … It’s been kind of disappointing because he’s watched me finish 45th, which is kind of embarrassing. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of is having Jenna and Crew there when I win. To have them here is super special and something I’ll never forget.”
Smith and Leishman led the all-Australian Ripper GC to its second consecutive team victory after an emotional playoff win a week earlier on home turf.
“It felt similar to Adelaide, and couldn’t have wanted a better finish heading into a major,” said Smith, the 2022 Open champion at St. Andrews.
Scott Michaux