Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Editor
The second one LIV Golfing League season wraps up this weekend with the circuit’s $50 million crew championship, settingup Friday at Trump Nationwide Doral Golfing Membership outdoor Miami.
A week on the conclusion of utmost era’s match in Saudi Arabia may had been the very best representation of how much cash has been awarded at the breakaway excursion over the pace 16 months.
5-time main championship winner Brooks Koepka defeated Talor Gooch in a playoff at Royal Vegetables Golfing and Nation Membership in King Abdullah Financial Town for his third LIV Golf victory. As Koepka was once being interviewed at the 18th inexperienced, he was once knowledgeable via a reporter that along with a $4 million prize for profitable the match, he had picked up any other $4 million for completing 3rd within the season-long issues race.
Koepka gave the impression stunned via the scoop, which he showed all over a information convention at Trump Doral on Wednesday.
“No, I did not know,” Koepka mentioned. “I was more interested in trying to win the golf tournament. And while you’re out there, the leaderboard didn’t show what the individual standings was. So, I had no idea where I was. I was more focused on actually trying to win an event.”
Gooch, a three-time winner within the LIV Golfing League this season, captured the person issues race and the $18 million bonus that is going with it. He amassed any other $2.25 million for completing 2d within the match, bringing his on-course income this season to greater than $35 million, no longer together with his percentage of crew winnings.
Right here’s a take a look at the LIV Golfing League crew championship:
The way it works
Twelve four-man groups are competing for a $14 million first-place prize. The groups are seeded 1 via 12 in response to their finishes within the season-long issues race. The supremacy 4 seeds — 4Aces GC (captain Dustin Johnson), Crushers GC (Bryson DeChambeau), Torque GC (Joaquin Niemann) and RangeGoats GC (Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson) — gained a bye to Saturday’s semifinals. The alternative 8 will compete in quarterfinal rounds, by which the higher-ranked groups have been allowed to choose their combatants.
Friday’s suits will come with each and every of the 32 avid gamers competing concurrently in two singles suits and one foursomes (exchange shot) fit. Every fit is usefulness one level and there are not any ties; the primary crew with two issues wins the fit and advances to the semifinals.
Friday’s agenda:
Fireballs GC vs. Majestics GC
Sergio Garcia vs. Henrik Stenson (singles)
Eugenio Chacarra vs. Sam Horsfield (singles)
Abraham Ancer/Carlos Ortiz vs. Ian Poulter/Lee Westwood (foursomes)
Wreck GC vs. HyFlyers GC
Brooks Koepka vs. Phil Mickelson (singles)
Jason Kokrak vs. Cameron Tringale (singles)
Chase Koepka/Matthew Wolff vs. James Piot/Brendan Steele (foursomes)
Stinger GC vs. Iron Heads GC
Louis Oosthuizen vs. Kevin Na (singles)
Branden Grace vs. Scott Vincent (singles)
Dean Burmester/Charl Schwartzel vs. Sihwan Kim/Danny Lee (foursomes)
Ripper GC vs. Cleeks GC
Cameron Smith vs. Martin Kaymer (singles)
Marc Leishman vs. Richard Bland (singles)
Matt Jones/Jed Morgan vs. Graeme McDowell/Bernd Wiesberger (foursomes)
Upcoming Friday’s suits, captains from the supremacy 4 groups will make a selection their combatants, to bring from first to fourth, for the semifinals. The 4 groups advancing to Sunday’s finals will end first to fourth; groups eradicated in Saturday’s semifinals will end 5th to 8th; groups ousted in Friday’s quarterfinals will end 9th to twelfth.
In contrast to in utmost generation’s crew championship, all 48 avid gamers will compete in Sunday’s finals, which is composed of 18 holes of stroke play games. Every of the 4 avid gamers’ ratings will depend towards the full crew ranking.
As Wreck GC turns
It’s been a memorable generation at the route for Koepka, who tie for 2d on the Masters and gained his 3rd PGA Championship at Oak Hill Nation Membership in Rochester, Unutilized York, in Would possibly. He additionally was once a captain’s select for the U.S. Ryder Cup crew that misplaced to Europe at Marco Simone Golfing and Nation Membership in Italy.
His while as captain of Wreck GC has been forgettable. Koepka has publicly criticized teammate Matthew Wolff, who completed twenty seventh within the person issues standings, for no longer operating juiceless plethora. Wolff, who was once as soon as ranked as top as twelfth on the earth, completed thirty fourth or worse in 9 of 13 LIV Golfing League begins this season.
Koepka has been ready to cover a lot of Wolff’s wicked finishes this season; handiest 3 of 4 avid gamers’ ratings depend in regular-season occasions. All 4 will depend within the crew championship.
“I mean, it’s the same thing it is every week,” Koepka mentioned. “He’s only in control of what he can do. You know, if I go win my match, [Kokrak] goes and wins his, you’ve only got to win two out of three. Chase is his partner, so we’ll see how that goes. Golf, anything can happen.”
Koepka mentioned he hasn’t had a lot interplay with Wolff.
“I’ve tried,” Koepka mentioned. “I’ve spent the majority of the beginning of the year trying to help and trying to figure that out. But I think it’s past its point. I’ve tried. I’ve been very open with it, and sometimes you can’t help people that don’t want help.”
All within the nation
Making issues worse for Koepka, his brother, Chase, completed forty eighth in issues and is amongst 4 avid gamers who’re in peril of being relegated from the league. Kim, Morgan and Piot are the others. They’ll have a probability to play games their long ago into the league via completing within the supremacy 3 of a yet-to-be-announced promotion match nearest this generation.
Martin Kaymer and Westwood additionally completed within the dreaded “drop zone,” however crew captains aren’t topic to relegation.
“Listen, I watched Chase work over the last year and a half,” Koepka mentioned. “Spent more time around him. It’s been fun for me to see him evolve, grow as a person, grow as a man. I’d take him back in a heartbeat. You know, he’s just got to go out and play good. Simple as that.”
Piot, 24, gained the 2021 U.S. Novice however has struggled as a professional. He completed higher than twenty fifth in handiest certainly one of 13 begins.
“I think he’s an incredible talent,” mentioned Mickelson, captain of the HyFlyers. “Our team is very invested in his success and we want him to succeed. We’ve enjoyed our time together. So he’s a great addition to the team, and we’re going to miss him if he’s not on the team because of the many intangibles he brings.”
However Mickelson additionally mentioned he has fielded plethora of shouts from avid gamers, together with the ones at the PGA Excursion and DP Global Excursion, who’re curious about leaping to LIV Golfing.
“The reality is I’ve been fielding calls, as we all have, from players that are free agents to PGA Tour players to DP World Tour players that want to come over,” Mickelson mentioned. “You know, the spot’s probably going to be filled by the time the qualifying tournament is here.
“So if I’m simply being honest, that’s an excessively actual risk. And despite the fact that it’s stuffed, there’s at all times the potential of a industry to get him again. There’s tactics this might figure out. However I feel there’s a excellent probability in response to the collection of shouts that we’ve had that the spot can be stuffed quite quickly.”
