Brooks Koepka will ride into the Masters next week on the momentum of a victory.
Koepka fired a 3-under 68 to stave off Sebastian Munoz of Colombia and win LIV Golf Orlando by one stroke on Sunday in Winter Garden, Fla.
Koepka finished the three-day event at 15-under 198. The four-time major winner became the first player to win two LIV events after taking the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah last October in Saudi Arabia.
Behind Munoz, Patrick Reed and South Africa’s Dean Burmester tied for third at 12-under 201.
A silver lining for Munoz was that his team, Torque, beat Koepka’s Smash by a single stroke, 36 under to 35 under, to claim the team title. Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces came in third at 34 under.
Koepka began the day with a three-shot lead and made three birdies on the front nine at Orange County National. But Munoz, playing with him in the final group, narrowed the gap by birdieing five of his first 10 holes.
Koepka birdied the par-5 14th to make it a two-shot margin again, and both players took a bogey at the par-3 15th. Munoz then proceeded to chip in for birdie at No. 16 to get back within one.
At No. 18, Munoz missed a long putt for birdie that would have forced a playoff.
Burmester eagled his starting hole, No. 17, en route to a 7-under 64. Reed had a bogey-free 67.
Matthew Wolff (67 on Sunday) and Chile’s Mito Pereira (68) tied for fifth at 11 under. Pereira’s score joined Munoz’s and Spaniard David Puig’s 67 to help push Torque to victory.
The Saudi-funded league will see 18 of its members compete in the Masters alongside mostly PGA Tour members.
–Field Level Media