Brooks Koepka edged out Peter Uihlein in a play-off to clinch the final individual prize of the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series on Sunday.
Two birdies on Koepka’s front nine in Jeddah set him up well to push on for glory, but the American slipped up after the turn at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
A birdie on the 10th was followed by three successive bogeys, and though Koepka recovered to birdie on the 15th and the last to finish at 12 under par, he had provided his rivals with an opportunity to catch up.
Overnight leader Uihlein was one of those to take advantage, with a clean back nine seeing the 33-year-old bounce back from carding two double bogeys earlier on in his round, with his final score of 70 enough to force a play-off with Smash GC team-mate Koepka.
The winning putt! 🏆 @BKoepka #LIVGolf #LIVGolfJeddah pic.twitter.com/B9tP62XLiJ
— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) October 16, 2022
While it was good news for Smash GC, who secured a six-shot win to boost their form ahead of the Team Championship in Miami later this month, there had to be a loser, and after three holes with no give, Uihlein found a bunker.
Having rescued himself from a similar situation on the previous play-off hole, this time Uihlein could only clip a shot into the water, handing four-time major winner Koepka the chance to putt for victory.
“The last two years – they haven’t been fun,” an emotional Koepka said.
“So it’s been a long road, I’m super excited. My whole team, we got the band back together a couple of months ago, this is for them.
“I didn’t know if my career was over, for a half-second. I wasn’t sure when I was going to play. It’s nice to come back and win.”
Joaquin Niemann went round in 65 to finish one shot behind the leading pair, tied with Sergio Garcia.
Inaugural LIV Golf champion Dustin Johnson came in at 10 under, alongside Matthew Wolff, while Bernd Wiesberger joined Niemann in recording 65.
Source: Livescore