It is fair to say that the second LIV Golf season already stands the test of time and will live long in the memory. 

The embryonic tour took the bold step of expanding from seven events in its first season in 2022 — doubling to 14 showdowns, with a colossal $320 million on offer to the 48 contestants before we even think about the bonus money pocketed by Talor Gooch, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka. 

The memories are already in the locker, but let’s take a look back at some of the pivotal moments in an amazing season.

Howell’s fast start
Charles Howell III made Mexico his home from home as he romped to the inaugural LIV Golf League crown. Mayakoba was the venue, the American only shot two holes over par, and an eight-under 63 on Sunday saw him over the line.

Jon Ferrey/LIV Golf

Brooks is back
Brooks Koepka showed he was back to his best — well before his fifth major in the PGA Championship — at the Orlando LIV event in early April as he began a landmark season in style with his second LIV crown. 

Gooch gets going
Another dawn began in Adelaide as Talor Gooch proved his former 4 Aces captain, Dustin Johnson, wrong, and vindicated his switch to Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats line-up with a convincing victory in Oz. The event also saw another Smash man, Chase Koepka, make a piece of history as he aced the ‘Watering Hole’ and was showered in beer cans for his troubles.

Montana Pritchard/LIV Golf

Back to back
Gooch showed he was no flash in the pan, going back-to-back with another win in Singapore, before DJ bit back with his own victory in Tulsa.

Going on
By the time July rolled around, Gooch had victory No. 3 and was way ahead in the points standings. Harold Varner III had registered the win in Washington DC, but Gooch proved he is the best American on the road, with the Andalucia trophy under his belt. 

Cam time
The 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith was not going to let Gooch get everything his own way and a win in London at Centurion made things interesting as the Aussie found his stride.

Four horses
Now it was getting to business time and there were four men looking to grab the Individual title — we had Gooch, Smith and Koepka, so who else would make the grade? We arrived at Greenbrier and Bryson DeChambeau stepped up in remarkable fashion, shooting a final-day insane 58 in the rain (he even had a bogey in there) to produce one of the most iconic moments of the year, leaping like a kid as history was made. 

Scott Taetsch/LIV Golf

Cam bounces back
Smith would not go quietly and launched himself to the top of the standings with a solid win at Bedminster, for the first time making Gooch look worried, with an $18 million bonus cheque on the line.

Bryson’s boom
Chicago was the next stop and DeChambeau proved why he was a serious contender for the Ryder Cup (he did not get selected) as he convincingly bagged LIV Golf win No. 2

The final showdown
Jeddah was a match made in heaven, as Gooch and Koepka slogged it out over 54 holes. DeChambeau (fourth) and Smith (second) faded in the Individual Championship as the weekend went on and Brooks took the weekend title on the second extra hole and secured third overall. Gooch was still smiling however as he took the Individual Championship title, with the bonus money going to his foundation to help bring on the next batch of stars.

Montana Pritchard/LIV Golf

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS

For Sunday’s Finals, all 48 players among the 12 teams competed in one round of stroke play, with all four players’ scores counting toward their team’s score. The four semifinal winners competed for places 1-4, with the teams defeated in the semifinals competing for places 5-8. The teams defeated in Friday’s quarterfinals competed for places 9-12. Of the prize money earned by each team, 60% goes to the team, with 10% going to each of the four participating players.

TIER 1

1. CRUSHERS (-11). Anirban Lahiri 65, Bryson DeChambeau 67, Charles Howell III 72, Paul Casey 73.
Prize money: $14,000,000

2. RANGEGOATS (-9). Bubba Watson 67, Talor Gooch 70, Thomas Pieters 70, Harold Varner III 72.
Prize money: $8,000,000

3. TORQUE (-6). Joaquin Niemann 66, David Puig 71, Sebastián Muñoz 72, Mito Pereira 73.
Prize money: $6,000,000

4. 4ACES (E). Peter Uihlein 69, Patrick Reed 71, Pat Perez 73, Dustin Johnson 75.
Prize money: $4,000,000

TIER 2

5. STINGER (-7). Dean Burmester 67, Branden Grace 67, Charl Schwartzel 73, Louis Oosthuizen 74.
Prize money: $3,250,000

6. FIREBALLS (-4). Carlos Ortiz 64, Eugenio Chacarra 73, Sergio Garcia 73, Abraham Ancer 74.
Prize money: $3,000,000

7. CLEEKS (+4). Martin Kaymer 72, Bernd Wiesberger 72, Richard Bland 74, Graeme McDowell 74.
Prize money: $2,750,000

8. HYFLYERS (+5). Cameron Tringale 70, Brendan Steele 71, Phil Mickelson 72, James Piot 80.
Prize money: $2,500,000

TIER 3

9. RIPPER (-5). Matt Jones 66, Jediah Morgan 71, Marc Leishman 73, Cameron Smith 73.
Prize money: $2,000,000

10. SMASH (E). Jason Kokrak 69, Brooks Koepka 70, Matthew Wolff 72, Chase Koepka 77.
Prize money: $1,750,000

11. MAJESTICKS (+4). Henrik Stenson 69, Ian Poulter 72, Lee Westwood 74, Sam Horsfield 77.
Prize money: $1,500,000

12. IRON HEADS (+5). Scott Vincent 70, Danny Lee 71, Kevin Na 73, Sihwan Kim 79.
Prize money: $1,250,000

Images: Jon Ferrey/LIV Golf

The post The expanded 14-event LIV Golf League season will certainly live long in the memory appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Smash siblings Brooks and Chase Koepka are facing that reality right now as elder brother Brooks leads the way after Day 2 of the LIV finale at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah, will little brother Chase is in the dreaded Drop Zone, facing the real prospect of losing his playing rights for the 2024 season — and a place on Brooks’ team.

Brooks shot a stunning eight-under 62 to get to 12-under and lead by three from Sergio Garcia and Charles Howell III, and is 18 holes away from defending his LIV Golf Jeddah title.

BK is absolutely locked in ?#LIVGolf @SmashGC pic.twitter.com/f1mirah8l7

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) October 14, 2023

Chase, on the other hand, is two-over, 44^th out of 48 players and looks certain to finish in the bottom four in the year-long  points standings and have to go through a playoff with the finest Asian Tour players to have any hope of making it back in 2024.

Brooks was showing a little less than brotherly love as he spoke following his round on Saturday.

“I mean, there’s nothing I can do,” he said of Chase’s plight. “At the end of the day, it’s up to him. I know he’s working hard. I know he’s been trying. We’ve been practising together quite a bit. Honestly, he’s struggling a little bit. I’ve been there. We’ve all been there. Every golfer has.

“It’s part of it. You look at it, he was playing mini-tour golf 16 months ago. I don’t think the last year-and-a-half has been too bad for him.

“I don’t know what he’s going to do. You’re going to have to ask him. It’s completely up to him whether he wants to keep playing, go play Asian Tour, play if he can play or stop playing. I don’t know. We haven’t had that conversation. That’s for him to decide. I’m not going to force him or encourage him to go one way or another. It’s a big life choice, so I’ll let him decide that.”

After his Jeddah playoff victory last year, Brooks said he had promised to buy Chase a Lamborghini if he won. Things seem to have changed…

“Yeah, he got team money last year, so that was the difference,” Brooks said on Saturday. “He’s doing just fine. He blew his back right tyre out, so maybe he can buy a new tyre. I know he got it fixed a couple weeks ago, so yeah, he’s on his own now.”

Of his own performance on Saturday — eight birdies and 10 pars on a blemish-free card — Brooks was back to his dry-humour best when asked how he thought he performed.

“Made eight birdies, 10 pars,” he said. “I played pretty solid, made a couple good putts early on, which obviously helps with momentum, and drove it pretty well other than my last hole. Never really felt like I had a chance to make a bogey. Pretty pleased with it today.”

So, what’s the game plan to make it back-to-back wins at LIV Golf Jeddah?

“Just got to go play a good round of golf. That’s it. Just keep doing what I’m doing. Seems to be working since I’m at the top. Just go play good, see what happens tomorrow.”

The post Brooks Koepka blazes a trail at LIV Golf Jeddah but ‘Chase is on his own now’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It was a unique opportunity for the Koepka brothers, who had rarely seen each other in recent years as Brooks focused on winning majors and playing on the PGA Tour while Chase sought to make his mark on various developmental tours around the world.

“Our schedules never matched up,” Chase said. “Now they’re matched up and it’s awesome being able to spend time together. Our relationship has gotten better.”

But now a potential break-up looms. Not by choice, of course, but by performance.

Chase enters LIV Golf Chicago as one of four players in the Drop Zone on the individual points standings. Non-captains ranked 45th or worse after the regular season will be relegated out of the league. Chase currently ranks 48th with just one point. He has this week’s event and next month’s tournament in Jeddah to climb out of the Drop Zone.

Otherwise, he’ll be relegated, which means he’ll have no status for the 2024 LIV Golf League unless he plays his way back in during the promotional tournament later this year.

In essence, Brooks may be forced to jettison his own brother from the Smash line-up unless things improve.

LIV Golf

The situation is urgent, to say the least. That’s why they’ve practised together every day the past two weeks in the lead-up to Rich Harvest Farms. While Brooks has been priming his game for next week’s Ryder Cup, he’s also been helping Chase solve the issues that have led to this predicament.

It’s a perspective that’s familiar to Brooks, as he struggled with his own play while battling injuries before pulling himself out of it in the last year with two LIV Golf wins as well as his fifth major victory in May at the PGA Championship.

“I told him, I’ve been through that stretch where you’re not playing well,” Brooks said. “He’s working hard, I’ll give him that. That’s why I haven’t gotten on him. I’m proud of him. He’s gutted through this thing, and eventually it’s going to turn right side up, and that’s what I just keep telling him. I’ve been in those shoes two years ago. It will come around.”

But will it come around in time for Chase to keep his spot on the Smash roster? He has six regular-season rounds left to make a move.

“It’s all in my hands,” Chase said. “If I play well, I can get myself out of it. It’s not like this is the first time anyone’s been in this situation and played their way out of it. It can be done. Luckily, I’ve got two weeks. If it doesn’t happen this week, it can happen in Jeddah.”

For it to happen, he’ll need to solve the issues with his short game.

Chase is currently ranked 47th in scrambling, and 46th in putting this season. Those rankings are out of 48 LIV Golf regulars. Since he’s not a bomber like his older brother, Chase must rely on his short game to score. But it just hasn’t happened for him this season — and as he struggled to find a solution, it impacted other parts of his game.

“Honestly, it’s been bad, to the point where I felt like I had the chipping yips,” Chase admitted. “It’s not been fun.”

He and Brooks have focused on hitting the reset button. They’ve put in long hours, arriving at the gym at 6am and not returning from practice until 8pm. Putting and chipping games have been intense. The goal was to make practices so hard that playing a competitive round actually would be easier.

Meanwhile, they’ve tried to adjust Chase’s approach. Stop concentrating on the results and just go out and play golf. “Not results-focused this week,” Brooks said. The stars couldn’t be aligned more properly for a big week for Chase.

Last year at Rich Harvest Farms, he tied for eighth on the traditional leaderboard and finished ninth in points. It’s his best result in 18 regular-season LIV starts. So, he should have good vibes on the course.

There’s also the party-hole element on the par-3 17th, mimicking the Watering Hole in Adelaide earlier this year. Chase, if you recall, had the shot of the season in the final round in Australia when he produced a hole-in-one and set off a raucous celebration with flying drinks and endless chest bumps.

“Tell you what — I’m gonna get a lot of boos if I don’t repeat, which will be a tough ask,” Chase said with a smile. “But I think it’s awesome we’re able to do a hole here in the States.”

And in the first round, he’ll play with Smash teammates Kokrak and Matthew Wolff, as all non-captains will be playing together as teammates on Friday. “He’ll be comfortable with Wolff and myself,” Kokrak said. “It’ll settle him down, especially from the start.”

Ultimately, though, Chase’s fate for next season will be decided with his performance. If he can find his short game this week, he can produce a good-enough result to move outside the Drop Zone and give himself some breathing room going into Jeddah.

If he doesn’t, then he’ll go to Saudi Arabia in mid-October facing do-or-die pressure. Having just become an uncle to Brooks’ newborn son Crew, Chase dearly wants to maintain a parallel schedule to his brother, sharing in family get-togethers as well as sharing common goals as teammates.

“He’s rooting for me to play well and get out of the situation that I’m in,” Chase said. “We’re both rooting for each other. If you ask him, the first name he looks for on the leaderboard is my name. And it’s the same thing when I look for his name.

“We stick together as brothers and push each other as hard as we can. That’s why this is so special.”

Main image: LIV Golf

The post Brooks looks to Ryder Cup, but it is crunch time for Chase in LIV Golf survival race appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Like everyone else at the Watering Hole during Sunday’s final round at LIV Golf Adelaide, Chase Koepka was swept up in the euphoria following his hole-in-one that sent the packed gallery surround the par-3 12th at The Grange into a frenzy.

HOLE-IN-ONE FOR CHASE KOEPKA! ?#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/hFyd1qLopw

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 23, 2023

After pulling the ball out of the cup, he pointed to various spots in the grandstands and eventually turned to his right to toss it into the gallery instead of keeping it for his own collection.

No regrets.

“It would’ve ended up going to my dad,” Koepka said Thursday on the eve of this week’s LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club. “My dad keeps a bunch of that special stuff. But honestly, in the moment, I felt like the fans deserved that golf ball more than I did.”

The fan who caught the ball then exited the stands and went to the 13th tee to ask Koepka to sign it. The Smash member was happy to oblige.

Absolute mayhem at the Watering Hole! #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/uoV1vd0Pco

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 23, 2023

“Glad he got to have that,” Koepka said. “He told me he was a member at The Grange, so that’s pretty crazy.”

Having a few days to process the moment, Koepka was still buzzing as he stood on the range on Thursday at Sentosa.

“I was not expecting anything like that to happen that epic. But it did,” Koepka said. “The crowd was amazing. In fact, I was getting standing ovations on every single tee I went to the rest of the day.

“It was a special moment for me, a special moment for my caddie, and a special moment for the fans in Adelaide. Can’t wait to get back there.

“Hopefully, we can make some more magic this week.”

The post They deserved it: Chase Koepka explains why he gave ball to the fans after sensational Adelaide hole-in-one appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Brooks and Chase were brothers on the opposite end of the golf spectrum. As he waited out the delay, Chase was 181st on the European Tour Order of Merit, 18 holes from losing his playing privileges on the circuit. After Brooks drained a 25-foot eagle putt to put an exclamation point on his win, players filed over to congratulate Chase. It was, in a word, awkward. “I just wanted people to congratulate me for my play once,” he remembers thinking. Months later, despite having full status on the Challenge Tour, he headed home for Florida—homesick, burned out and tired of talking about his brother.

Chase and Brooks Koepka

The Koepkas now play for LIV Golf, but this story isn’t so much about the new tour. The story’s focus is golf, but it doesn’t have much to do with birdies or bogeys. It’s a story about a little brother living in the shadow of his big brother and their complicated relationship, along with a father who is caught in the middle. This is a story about a different side of Brooks, always looking out for Chase, even if that meant being hard on him. It is a story about Chase falling out of love with the game, admitting he needed help, and ultimately rekindling his passion for the sport.

Chase and I have been friendly over the past three years. After leaving the Challenge Tour, he often attended PGA Tour Monday qualifiers. He is talkative, open and honest. Sure, there were advantages to being the brother of a four-time major champion, but I respected his grind. I remember a rain delay at the Monday qualifier for the 2021 Byron Nelson. Chase and a bunch of other players were huddled in the cramped restaurant above the clubhouse. Rumors about LIV Golf were running rampant. We talked about the tour and what it would mean, and he trusted me enough to share his thoughts. He was playing poorly before the delay, and many players in his position would have withdrawn knowing they had no chance of getting through. When play resumed, Chase got around his back nine in two-under, finished even for the day and missed the playoff by five. I was impressed by his professionalism. I talked with Chase in Miami at another Monday qualifier. He had just missed the cut at the Honda Classic after receiving a sponsor’s exemption. He lamented his injuries leading up to the event and was frustrated he couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity. These conversations happen every week at Monday Qs. Chase wasn’t Brooks’ brother there. He was just one of the many aspiring tour professionals grinding away.

By the time Chase signed with LIV Golf last June, we had been communicating much less. But in late October, I sent him a text and asked if he would like to talk. He agreed. I didn’t have anything in particular to speak with him about. We spent more than an hour on the phone, and the conversation veered in a direction I never could have imagined.

As many of our conversations have gone over the years, Chase did most of the talking. I could sense his relief to finally open up about the struggle of living in his brother’s shadow. “I couldn’t find any peace on the golf course,” he said. “The one thing I had loved my entire life, I hated. I just wanted to go home. I didn’t want to play any golf.” He told me he was “massively depressed” as we talked about his struggles on the now DP World Tour while he watched his brother steadily climb the World Ranking.

“I am very proud to be Brooks’ brother,” Chase said, “but it hasn’t always been easy.”

So exactly how did the Koepka brothers get to this point in their careers? Bob Koepka, their father, has had a front-row seat.

Chase and Brooks Koepka

“When they were young kids, many people would have said Chase was going to be the better player,” Bob says. But he is quick to add that what separated the two was Brooks’ killer instinct, which was on full display when he won four of eight major championships beginning in June 2017. “Whether it was Ping-Pong or golf, if someone told Brooks he couldn’t do it, he would prove them wrong,” Bob adds.

The Koepkas got along as kids, often playing together at Okeeheelee in Palm Beach, Florida. They worked as standard bearers at the Honda Classic, and although they had the typical sibling fights, they stayed close. Brooks, four years older than Chase, headed to Florida State, where he would become a three-time All-American. Chase began his college career in 2012 at South Florida, just as Brooks was setting out on the Challenge Tour, the satellite circuit of the European Tour.

After a career at South Florida that included being named the Big East Player of the Year and setting a program record with four wins, Chase headed for the Challenge Tour in 2016, following Brooks’ career path. (The elder Koepka was now playing on the PGA Tour, and after his win at the 2015 Waste Management Open, he moved to 19th in the world.)

At that point, the relationship between Chase and Brooks consisted of the occasional phone call and text. It wasn’t that they didn’t get along, they were just both busy chasing their dreams. They played together only a few times a year, as they were rarely home at the same time.

Brooks had spent a year-and-a-half on the Challenge Tour, winning three times in 2013 and earning a promotion to the European Tour. Although Chase didn’t win in his first full season on the Challenge Tour, he played well enough to finish eighth on the Order of Merit, securing his European Tour card for the 2018 season.

In just his third start on the European Tour, Chase finished T-7 in the South African Open. He seemed on his way to following his brother’s success. However, that would be his last top 20 of the year. He made just 11 of 28 cuts and lost his card at Valderrama. The burden of being Brooks’ little brother began to weigh on him. He grew tired of the interviews, as everyone seemingly wanted to ask him only about Brooks. One media scrum was especially tough to stomach. It came at the rain-shortened event at Valderrama. “Didn’t they know I was about to lose my card?” says Chase, who made the cut but only finished T-58. Sure enough, he lost his card.

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After missing at the second stage of European Q school, Chase returned to the Challenge Tour. He was alone in Europe, homesick, and beginning to hate the game. It showed. After making just two cuts in his first 12 events, he packed his bags for home, leaving behind the opportunity to continue to play on the Challenge Tour but also all of those questions about his big brother. He locked himself in his Florida house, sometimes not leaving for days. The relationship with Brooks was almost non-existent. “It was me pushing him away,” Chase says. “Brooks has always been supportive, but I was just in a bad place.”

For Bob Koepka, it was difficult to watch his son struggle. “I had one kid on the top of the world and one who wasn’t,” he says. “As a father, you want all of your kids to have success.”

Amid the turmoil and even before it, Brooks never stopped looking out for his brother. Shortly after Chase turned pro, Brooks took Chase as his teammate at the two-man 2017 Zurich Classic. There, Bob Koepka sought out the advice of Kelepi Finau, the father of Tony and Gipper. Gipper had also tried to play professionally but never had the success his brother did. In the TPC Avondale clubhouse, the Finaus and the Koepkas discussed a family dynamic only they knew. They discussed how to keep Chase and Gipper motivated despite not having experienced the success of their brothers. That week Brooks and Chase closed with a better-ball 62, finishing T-5. That earned Chase a start the following week at the Wells Fargo Championship, but he missed the cut.

Brooks, who declined an interview request for this story, continued to play in a few events a year that most top players skipped, seemingly to help his brother get exemptions. They teamed up again at the 2019 Zurich, finishing T-22. Then came the darkest of times. Later in 2019, through a relationship the Koepkas had with tournament director Hollis Cavner, Chase was offered a sponsor’s exemption into the 3M Open. It was a chance to have a career-altering week, yet Chase turned down the invitation. He didn’t want to hear the questions about his brother again, but there was more. “I was tired of having people asking how I was doing,” he says.

Bob Koepka says Brooks continued to support Chase, even as he said things that were tough for Chase to hear, including that he needed to work harder. That only drove Chase further away. It got to the point that Chase didn’t want to get out of bed, but he knew something had to change.

“It is really hard to tell your family that you aren’t OK and need help,” Chase says. Slowly he began to dig himself out of the hole. He started to work with Andrew Triana, a life coach, and they focused on getting Chase back to loving golf and being his own person.

Triana and Chase worked on not being afraid of success and focusing on the fact that Chase could play golf for a living without comparing himself to his brother. As Chase got the help he needed, his relationship with Brooks improved.

Chase and Brooks Koepka

Chase Koepka was ready to chase the dream again, but like thousands of mini-tour players, he needed a place to play. That’s when he picked up the phone and called Greg Norman. According to Chase and Bob Koepka, Brooks had spoken previously with LIV but broke off talks. Norman gave Chase a spot in the inaugural LIV event in London and, soon after, a two-year contract. Obviously, having the same last name as a former World No. 1 didn’t hurt.

Chase knew that as soon as the news became public that he was signing with LIV, rumors about Brooks would begin in earnest. When he called to tell his brother his big news, the anxiety only escalated. The news was greeted with a laugh on the other end of the line. “I’ll finally have to answer questions about you,” Brooks said. He was still looking out for his kid brother.

On June 4, Brooks married his longtime girlfriend, Jena Sims, in Turks and Caicos. Brooks’ best man? Chase. Five days later, Chase teed it up at the Centurion Club in London. He finished in a five-way tie for 33rd with, among others, Phil Mickelson and Kevin Na.

Later that month, Brooks signed with LIV, reportedly for nine figures. He and Chase were not only playing full-time on the same tour for the first time, they were also teammates on Smash. As I talked with Chase, he mentioned how fun it was to play practice rounds with Brooks again, something they hadn’t done regularly since they were kids. Chase repeatedly said he knows how lucky he is to be in this position and to play golf for a living. He acknowledges he wouldn’t be where he is without Brooks, but he rediscovered the desire to carve out a career while enjoying time with his brother, who has always been there for him.

He played in all eight LIV events this year, finishing T-17 in Bedminster, T-9 in Chicago and T-12 in Jeddah. Turns out Brooks Koepka’s little brother can play a little golf himself.

Chase understands the questions about being Brooks’ brother won’t stop. Nor will those about the advantages that come with being Brooks’ brother. He also knows he is his own person and is slowly learning how to measure himself against only himself. Chase has spoken a few times with Matthew Wolff, a fellow LIV golfer who has been open about his mental health struggles. He is happy to have a place to play, he is happy to be Brooks’ brother, but most importantly, he is happy being Chase Koepka.

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The post Chase Koepka is at peace with being in brother Brooks’ shadow and is slowly carving out a career for himself appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A certain Mr Koepka will be leading a fleet of LIV Golfers heading to Rabat to contend in the landmark event, now their inaugural season is over.

However, it is not four-time major winner, former world No. 1 and LIV Golf Jeddah champ Brooks who will line up in Morocco, but rather his brother and fellow Smash teammate Chase.

Chase has steadily improved over the first LIV Golf season, with some solid golf also helping his Smash GC to the team title in Saudi Arabia. He will be leading a youthful LIV brigade, with the likes of James Piot, Turk Pettit, David Puig and Andy Ogletree joining Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent and Asian Tour regulars Sadom Kaewkanjana, Phachara Khongwatmai and Sihwan Kim out on the course from Thursday.

Scott Vincent and Sihwan Kim ahead of the Asian Tour International Series Morocco. Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour

Vincent is no stranger to the Asian Tour himself, balancing his time out there with his duties on LIV Golf, and with just four events remaining, including the International Series Morocco, the Zimbabwean is ranked first on the International Series Order of Merit (OOM) and fifth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, with lucrative purses still to play for.

Despite the stakes being high, Vincent is taking it one step at a time. “I try not to think about it,” he told the Asian Tour. “Obviously, it is there, and people talk about it. For me it’s not a priority, I am just trying to work on being present, being here. This is one of the steps in my career, this is where I am now.

“I am focusing on the very next thing I have to do, which is a press conference I have to be at shortly. And, of course, any opportunity I have to come back and play in Africa it is a great thing.”

The Tour moves over to the International Series Egypt next week, finishing with the Bangladesh Open and the Indonesian Masters – which is also an International Series event.

Vincent leads the International Series OOM with earnings of US$407,025 from the four International Series events played so far, by $80,000 from Sihwan. On the Asian Tour OOM he trails leader Bio Kim by around $180,000. But, with big purses still to play for, all that could quickly change.

“I think the course this week is going to show you who are the best players,” added Vincent. “My game comes and goes, it is a work in progress and we try and stick to our routines and work the best with what we have. I am constantly working on it, trying to improve, trying to make my game the best it can be.

“Just coming from last week [LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami], I haven’t fully digested it. Off the top of my head, those guys who are the best in the world, like Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson, they are able to do what they do more consistently at a very high level and very often. I have got to find ways to do that very consistently.”

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The post A man named Koepka leads LIV Golfers in field for Asian Tour International Series Morocco appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 2017 and 18 US Open and 2018 and 19 PGA Championship winner has endured a tough start to life on LIV Golf, failing to break into the top 10 individual standings at any of his first four events, before a much-improved showing in Bangkok last week secured ninth place.

That upward trend continued on Friday on the opening day of LIV Golf Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club as the 32-year-old led the field by two strokes.

“I think last week was kind of a turning point for me,” Koepka said after his eight-under 62, while pointing to the work he has been doing with his coaching team, including reuniting with Claude Harmon III. “I’ve worked pretty hard with coaches Claude, with Pete [Cowen] and Jeff [Pierce] over these last few months.

“This is the first time I’ve played back-to-back weeks since February. So it can be tough to build a rhythm. I could see it coming. I’m very pleased with it, pleased with last week, and you know, hopefully I can just put together two more good rounds.

“I went back to Claude at, I think, Bedminster, and worked with him on Saturday night for the first time in probably what, two, two-and-a-half years.”

For much of the afternoon the man breathing down Brooks’ neck in the standings was none other than Smash teammate and brother Chase, something that delighted big brother Brooks.

“It’s incredible to have him as my teammate. To have the opportunity to play with him is pretty special and pretty unique. Nobody else is out here who has got their brother with them and it’s been fun. We’ve become a lot closer because of it and it’s been special to me.

“It was cool to see his name on the leaderboard alongside mine. Who knows if that will ever happen again?.

“He’s been playing pretty solid. He’s been getting a little more confidence. I’m proud of him. So that’s all that matters.”

Koepka added that he is also feeling back to his best physically.

“By a mile,” he said. “I have had hip issues all year. I didn’t know if we were going to go under the knife or not since. So just been dealing with that. Thankfully now everything’s starting to come together, the body is coming together.

“This is the best I’ve felt in three years and now the golf swing is starting to come around. I’m excited.”

Koepka reflected that it is a shame he only has the Team Championship left to look forward to look forward before some time off at the end of the LIV Golf season.

“It kind of sucks we only have this event and Miami left, and a bunch of time off. But, it will be fine. I will just keep doing what I’m doing and try to be healthy, and if I’m healthy, I can make a golf swing where I can compete again.

“I’m excited, like I said, to be working with Claude again, and it will be interesting to see what goes on over the next couple months.”

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The post Brooks Koepka building a head of steam as LIV Golf season reaches climax appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
As some of the Asian Tour and LIV Golf’s big names prepare for the second of the back-to-back International Series in Korea, two contenders are getting the inside track from local hero Bio Kim.

The stars have arrived in Jeju ahead of this week’s International Series Korea and for Chase Koepka and Travis Smyth, the first thing on their to-do list was get the barbecue going with Bio Kim.

The Korean No. 1 took his American and Australian mates out to a restaurant near Lotte SkyHill Country Club, host course of the $1.5million prize-fund event, which starts on Thursday.

The trio tucked into a range of different meats, all under Kim’s expert guidance, falling in love with the kimchi-packed flavour of the South Korean foodie favourite.

“That was maybe the best thing I have ever eaten,” said Koepka, LIV Golf star and brother of four-time major-winner Brooks. “I could eat this every day this week. Let’s hope we can come back here for a celebratory meal on Sunday.”

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The post Asian Tour International Series Korea: Local hero Kim and LIV Golf’s Koepka cook up a plan appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 48-man field will play across 12 teams of four players each, which will be determined at The Draft on Tuesday, June 7.

MORE: Dustin Johnson to headline LIV Golf field in London

“Free agency has finally come to golf. This is an opportunity to start a movement that will change the course of history by bringing new and open competition to the sport we all love. The desire shown by the players to participate in LIV Golf demonstrates their emphatic belief in our model and confidence in what we’re building for the future,” said Norman, CEO and Commissioner of LIV Golf. “We couldn’t be happier at the diversity of our field, featuring players from around the world including major champions and those making their debut with us competing in their first professional event. We can’t wait to start our journey at Centurion Club with this group of first movers who are committed to growing the game in new and exciting ways.”

Here are the top five marquee players in the field

Dustin Johnson
The former world No. 1 was something of a surprise inclusion and will certainly draw in the crowds. The 37-year-old has two majors to his name (2016 US Open and 2020 Masters) and has racked up nearly 30 pro titles on tour. One of the most popular golfers on the planet.

Lee Westwood
The 49-year-old is one of the oldest guys still performing at the top on the main tours and is often mentioned as one of the best players never to win a major (he has three second-place finishes and three thirds across the four tournaments). He has been quite open and honest about looking for a bumper payday on the LIV Tour as he reaches the twilight of his career.

Sergio Garcia
The Spanish 2017 Masters champion dropped a not-so-subtle hint about his intentions to play on the LIV Golf tour when he was overheard saying he “cannot wait” to quit the PGA Tour after an errant penalty at the Wells Fargo Championship last month. A huge favourite in England, across Europe and the UAE.

Ian Poulter
Here is a man to watch for his fashion sense as much as his golf as he always dresses to impress during the big tournaments. While he has never won a major, the former world No. 5 has 17 wins on tour and is famed for his exploits for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup, meaning he always has a loyal band of followers.

Louis Oosthuizen
The South African shot on to the scene in 2010 when he won the Open Championship at St Andrews and has finished an agonising second in the other three majors a collective five times since, most recently at both the 2021 PGA Championship and US Open. Would love a money-spinning win before the Open heads back to the Old Course in Scotland as he searches for that elusive second major.

Here are Golf Digest Middle East’s five other players to watch:

Charl Schwartzel
The South African has been a fan favourite ever since he won the 2011 Masters at Augusta to claim the green jacket and his place in history. The 37-year-old has 13 pro titles on the PGA and DP World Tours and — win or lose — is always smiling on course.

Richard Bland
The veteran has been very outspoken about his intention to play the LIV Golf events, even if it means a ban from the DP World and PGA Tours. The 2021 British Masters champ has bloomed over the past couple of years and is playing the best golf of his life — possibly just at the right time.

Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat
One of the finest young exports to come out of Asia in recent years, TK is already a winner on the Asian Tour this season at the age of 15, where he became the youngest ever player to take a title on one of the main professional tours.

Adrian Otaegui
The 29-year-old Spaniard will hold a certain interest in the UAE as he is a Dubai resident. He has three DP World Tour wins to his name and recently hit the headlines by shooting a course record 63 at Al Hamra Club during the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in March, and just missed out on the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain in April.

Chase Koepka
If just for the name alone. The younger brother of a certain Brooks Koepka, Chase certainly knows his way around a golf course, too, with three amateur titles to his name, and runners-up spot at the Italian Challenge and Kazakhstan Open. He also finished fifth with brother Brooks at the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

The full field for the LIV Golf Invitational Series in London

(Name, Country, OWGR: Career Highlights)
Oliver Bekker, RSA, 93: Seven career wins
Richard Bland, ENG ,66: Two career wins
Laurie Canter, ENG, 114: One professional win
Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat (Am), THA, N/A: Youngest to win an OWGR event
Hennis Du Plessis, RSA, 128: Three professional wins
Oliver Fisher, ENG, 979: One professional win, 16 top-10 finishes
Sergio Garcia, ESP, 54: Major champion, 36 career victories
Talor Gooch, USA, 35: Two professional wins
Branden Grace, RSA, 118: 14 professional wins
Justin Harding, RSA, 111: 11 professional wins
Sam Horsfield, ENG, 72: Three professional wins
Dustin Johnson, USA, 13: Former World No. 1, Two-time major champion
Matt Jones, AUS, 68: Four professional wins
Sadom Kaewkanjana, THA, 125: Former Asian Tour Order of Merit leader (2 wins)
Martin Kaymer, GER, 210: Former World No. 1; Two-time major champion
Phachara Khongwatmai, THA, 133: Youngest player to win pro event (2013)
Sihwan Kim, USA, 138: Two Asian Tour wins
Ryosuke Kinoshita, JPN, 87: Three professional wins
Chase Koepka, USA, 1,543: Six professional top-10 finishes
Jinichiro Kozuma, JPN, 103: Two professional wins
Pablo Larrazabal, ESP, 65: Eight professional wins
Graeme McDowell, NIR, 376: Major champion, 16 professional victories
Jediah Morgan, AUS, 235: 2021-22 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit
Kevin Na, USA, 33: Nine professional victories
Shaun Norris, RSA, 69: 12 professional wins
Andy Ogletree, USA, 1,349: 2019 US Amateur Champion
Louis Oosthuizen, RSA, 20: Major champion; 20 professional wins
Wade Ormsby, AUS, 276: Four professional victories
Adrian Otaegui, ESP, 162: Three professional wins
Turk Pettit, USA, 720: 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Champion
James Piot (Am), USA: 2021 US Amateur Champion
Ian Poulter, ENG, 89: 19 professional victories; former World No. 5
David Puig (Am), ESP, N/A: Seven top-10 finishes in 2021 (NCAA)
JC Ritchie, RSA, 154: 10 professional victories
Charl Schwartzel, RSA, 120: Major champion, 23 professional wins
Hudson Swafford, USA, 91: Four professional wins; 12 top 10 finishes
Hideto Tanihara, JPN, 173: 16 professional victories
Peter Uihlein, USA, 319,: Former No. 1 Amateur; Four professional wins
Vincent Scott, ZIM, 109: Four professional wins
Lee Westwood, ENG, 74: Former World No. 1, 44 professional wins
Bernd Wiesberger, AUT, 90: 13 professional victories
Blake Windred, AUS, 250: Earned first professional win in 2021

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The post From DJ and Sergio to Bland and Koepka, your players to watch at the LIV Golf Invitational Series in London appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The ‘other’ brother returns to the Travelers after qualifying a year ago only to give up his spot in the most unfortunate of circumstances

By Daniel Rapaport
Out of the corner of his eye, Little Bro caught a glimpse of Big Bro shaking his head in disgust. Chase Koepka had just left a 20-footer for birdie a good two feet short—never a great outcome, but especially irksome on the final hole of a Monday qualifier—and Brooks did not approve, for he thought Chase needed a birdie to have a chance at getting through. He was wrong. Chase had chipped-in for birdie on 17, and the ensuing par got him into in a five-for-two playoff for a spot in the 2020 Travelers Championship.

Chase managed to get through that playoff, with Brooks and Brooks’ caddie Ricky Elliott watching along.

“We had to walk back up this hill, from the green to the clubhouse,” Chase says, “and the joy of that 15 minutes of walking up the hill and getting to the car was the coolest experience.”

Understandably so. Like his older brother, Chase played college golf in Florida before heading overseas to make his bones on the unglamorous Challenge Tour. Unlike his brother—a four-time major winner who, at last week’s U.S. Open, posted his 11th top-seven finish in his last 15 major starts—the European sojourn did not springboard him to stardom. At least not yet. After gaining his European Tour card and then losing it, Chase returned to the U.S. in 2019 to try to get Korn Ferry Tour privileges through qualifying school. He made it to final stage but opened with 72-71, two flat rounds at the worst possible time. A T-68 finish yielded crummy conditional status, and he was staring at a full year of the Dreaded M’s: Mondays and Minitours.

That is, if he had different parents. Chase, now 27, had already played in five PGA Tour events when he qualified for the Travelers—but all those came as a product of his last name. Brooks had tapped him as his partner in two Zurich Classics, and he’d received sponsor’s invites into three other events. But this? This was all his work. There are no shortcuts in Monday qualifiers, no friends-and-family discount. Chase had played his way into a PGA Tour event by himself.

“And that meant a lot to me.”

Two days later, he was heading back home to South Florida to begin a CDC-mandated quarantine.

[divider] [/divider]

Chase Koepka never contracted COVID-19. He wants to make that clear, because headlines bleed together, and he doesn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. What happened was this: after Chase qualified for the 2020 Travelers, he tried unsuccessfully to book a hotel room for that Monday night. His housing for the week would not be ready until the following morning, so he headed to Brooks’ house for a meal and a sleep. The two also played a nine-hole practice round on Tuesday, as brothers do. That evening, Elliott received news that Graeme McDowell’s caddie, Ken Comboy, had tested positive for COVID-19. Because Elliott had been a close contact of Comboy’s, he took a test himself on Wednesday morning. Positive. That implicated the Koepkas, and Brooks promptly withdrew.

That was no biggie for him, then the No. 4 player in the world. He could play any golf tournament he likes. Chase enjoys no such flexibility schedule-wise.

“The tour called me, and we ran through every scenario—playing by myself, playing with a mask on,” Chase says. “But after thinking on it for a while, I decided the best thing for me to do was withdraw. We didn’t know in that moment whether they would have to shut the tour down. So I just figured if I didn’t play, maybe I’d be keeping someone else safe, and help the tour keep going.”

“Obviously, I’ve been given a few opportunities that other guys might not have through my brother’s success and the popularity of my name in the golf world. And that part of it is awesome. But it comes with a lot of people not being very happy about it.” – Chase Koepka

This, remember, was the early days of the COVID restart. After two drama-free weeks at Colonial and Harbour Town, the positive tests piled up at the TPC River Highlands, and there was legitimate concern the whole playing-through-a-pandemic experiment would have to be shuttered. From a karmic perspective, Chase felt good about his decision. As a competitor, it was a crushing blow—he’d earned a spot in that field, and he gave it up for something out of his control.

On Thursday morning, he received a mood-changing call from a Connecticut number he didn’t recognize.

“It was [tournament director] Nathan Grube. He thanked me for what I did and offered me a spot into the field for next year,” Koepka says. “I honestly couldn’t believe it. They didn’t have to do that. They like giving sponsor’s invites to college kids who’ve just turned pro, so I’m sure it was a very tough decision. For him to give me a spot that early and that quick, it showed that he truly cared and appreciated my gesture.”

And so this week, Chase Koepka will get his crack at the Travelers after all, if only a bit later than expected—and, technically, on a sponsor’s exemption rather than his own play. This week will mark Chase’s 10th career start on the PGA Tour, all of which have come via invitation. Right after he cleared CDC protocols last summer, he got a spot into the Workday Charity Open and shot 80-81. Two weeks later, he closed with 63 for a T-26 at the 3M Open. Earlier this year, he finished T-30 at the Honda Classic and T-63 at the Valspar Championship.

“Obviously, I’ve been given a few opportunities that other guys might not have through my brother’s success and the popularity of my name in the golf world. And, that part of it is awesome. But it comes with a lot of people not being very happy about it.”

Sponsor’s exemptions are a snag in golf’s reputation as a meritocracy. They’re seldom given to the most “deserving” player, if that’s measured strictly by on-course results. If that were the case, the invites would go to the alternates who just missed getting a spot on their priority ranking. Instead, they go to recognizable faces who are either past their prime or in a slump. They go to hotshot up-and-comers. And, it must be said, they often go to guys with famous last names. Dru Love, son of Davis Love III, is a popular punching bag for those lamenting the buddy-buddy landscape of the sponsor’s invite world. One crucial difference between Dru and Chase, though: Dru has made the cut in just 3 of his 19 career starts, while Chase is 7 for 9.

… and been in the same field at the European Tour’s Dunhill Links.

Chase and Brooks Koepka have teamed twice at the Zurich Classic … Chris Graythen

… and been in the same field at the European Tour’s Dunhill Links.
Richard Heathcote

Seven made cuts, but few exciting finishes. His lone top-20 on tour came at the 2017 Zurich, when Brooks did his share of the heavy lifting. Chase’s career earnings on the PGA Tour are $306,396—nearly $200,000 less than his brother made for his T-4 at Torrey Pines.

“There’s a lot of guys that aren’t happy seeing my name getting these invites,” Chase says. He misses the camaraderie of the Challenge Tour, when he was simply one of the guys, trying to save every last dollar like the rest of them.

“What I’ve always said is, if someone handed you a PGA Tour start, I don’t think anyone would turn it down.

“If I were missing the cut every week, I wouldn’t be accepting sponsor invites. I know I am good enough. I struggled my year on the European Tour, I struggled for 18 months, but I’m finding my game. I’m improving. If I have a good week, I can win out on the PGA Tour. Hopefully, this week can be my week.”

[divider] [/divider]

Chase and Brooks are distinctly different golfers, despite their facial resemblance. Chase stands 5’9” and hits it moderate distances; Brooks is 6’0” with biceps stretching his shirtsleeves. Chase will never have Brooks’ physical gifts—he caught the wrong end of the genetic lottery, at least as far as height is concerned—but leans on his brother a great deal for something that can indeed be learned.

“If it wasn’t for him, my mental game wouldn’t be where it’s at. I feel like when I get to learn from him, I get to learn from the guy who is mentally tougher than anyone since Tiger. If you take out Tiger from the equation, because he’s not human, I think my brother probably has the best mentality out there. He is just so, so strong up there. It’s an unbelievable thing to be able to learn from him.”

Chase is at his most comfortable when going by his first name so he can be judged for himself.

Julio Aguilar

Brooks is also playing in the Travelers, and the two will play a practice round and perhaps share a meal or two. But they will not stay together, nor was Chase part of Brooks’ crew that flew privately from San Diego to Connecticut on Sunday evening. Chase arrived earlier that morning and checked into his own accommodations, preparing for a week that means way more to him than his brother.

“I’m not really into the private jet lifestyle,” Chase says with a laugh. Perhaps because he can’t afford one?

“That’s very true. I can’t really be into that lifestyle when I can’t afford it. I like doing my own thing. He’s got his stuff, I got my stuff. I don’t want him to feel like he has to drag me along. I can figure out my own ways.

“A lot of people think I ride his coattails. I’m trying to do my own thing, it’s just very hard with the last name that I have. I get recognized everywhere. When I introduce myself, I try to say only my first name and not my last name. If I say Chase, they’ll judge me for me. They’ll see my true character when I meet them. But If I say my last name in a golf setting, I get looked at a little bit differently.”

[divider] [/divider]

Chase, as he’d like us to call him, hopes to finish high enough this week to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where he could secure a PGA Tour card or at least improve his KFT status. If that doesn’t happen, it’s back to Q-School this fall. Until then, he’s going to follow the PGA Tour around, playing in virtually every Monday qualifier. If he gets in, great. If he doesn’t, he’ll head to the site of that week’s Forme Tour event, which is replacing the PGA Tour Canada this year as a result of COVID travel restrictions.

Models and bottles, this is not. But remember: Chase is not into the private jet lifestyle. At least not yet.

The post Chase Koepka on his COVID fiasco and playing in Brooks’ shadow appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.