One of the most impressive performances on Friday at LIV Golf Dallas saw Brooks Koepka shoot five under par through 13 holes to beat Kevin Na 6&5 in their quarter-final clash.
It certainly appeared that Smash GC had made the right call in selecting the bottom seed Iron Heads for their quarter-final, with Brooks Koepka dismantling Na – who did not play badly at all – to put an early point on the board. Unfortunately for the five-time major champion, the rest of his team were unable to follow suit.
Talor Gooch lost to Danny Lee, while Jason Kokrak and Graeme McDowell threw away a four up lead to lose their foursomes match in a play-off. With that, Smash would sit out Saturday, returning on Sunday to battle it out for ninth in the team championship.
Most of the focus on Sunday was on the battle between Ripper, the Four Aces, Legion XIII and the Iron Heads for the team title. So it may have escaped the attention of some fans what some of the other players shot.
Golf fans stunned by Brooks Koepka at LIV Golf Dallas
Sebastian Munoz produced the round of the day, shooting an eight under par round for Torque. Meanwhile, Branden Grace was one shot further back on seven under par. Smash however, finished the day at the very bottom of the field, despite under par rounds from both McDowell and Gooch.
The reason for their result was the six over par round from Kokrak and the staggering eight over par finish from Koepka. In his round of 80, Koepka made one birdie, five bogeys and two doubles.
Given Koepka’s quality, it is hard to believe that he would shoot 80 unless he was dealing with some sort of injury or struggling to find the motivation to battle it out for ninth spot in the team standings. Koepka has previously been someone who seemed to find a way to peak in the majors regardless of his form during the PGA Tour season.
Why LIV Golf may not be best pleased with the five-time major champion
And some have reacted to Koepka’s 80 by suggesting that they could see the 34-year-old being the first big name to push to return to the PGA Tour in the near future.
In truth, it would be a shock if Koepka did decide to make the return anytime soon, particularly after he played so well on Friday in his match with Na. And there will surely be contract situations to factor into the equation. But you would imagine that the LIV Golf hierarchy may not be best pleased to see him produce that kind of round as they continue to try and establish their credibility.
Here is what some were saying after Koepka’s bizarre score on Sunday in Dallas…
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