At the LIV Golf Team Championship finale, it was the 4 Aces GC who continued their team domination, as they picked up the title, and $16 million, with a one shot victory over Punch GC in a thrilling final day.
Going into the final round, every player’s score counted, with the lowest aggregate team score picking up the top prize. Throughout the last 18 holes, it all came down to the 4 Aces GC captain, Dustin Johnson’s final putt at the final hole.
Early doors, the trio of the 4 Aces, Punch and Smash GC could barely be separated as they battled it out at Trump National Doral. Even with six holes left, it was Smash GC who held the lead, with Jason Kokrak, Peter Uihlein, Brooks and Chase Koepka at two-under.
However, despite Kokrak being four-under, his fellow teammates were all over-par, extinguishing any chance of a team title. That left Punch and 4 Aces to battle it out in Miami and, with three holes left, it was the American team of Johnson, Talor Gooch, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez who led the Australian side of Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Wade Ormsby and Matt Jones.
Despite Leishman’s score being the worst out of his quartet, a birdie at his final hole, the first, seemed to have done enough for a playoff. However, Reed’s birdie for the 4 Aces gave them a one shot advantage as the captains, Johnson and Smith, came down the last.
Smith carded the round of the day, as his side finished one shot shy
(Image credit: Getty Images)
It was then advantage Johnson, especially when Smith pushed his drive and flew the green with his second. Finding the putting surface, a two-putt was all that was needed to secure the inaugural title for the 4 Aces and, despite Smith getting up and down for par, Johnson successfully holed his par putt for the win.
You could say it was a somewhat deserved victory for the 4 Aces, given that all four men were under-par for the day – Johnson, Reed and Perez at two-under and Gooch at one-under, but it was the heroics of Smith which didn’t go unnoticed, as a seven-under-par 65 is what kept his Punch GC side in contention.
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…