‘I’m paid. I don’t give a damn’: Pat Perez gets last laugh at LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami

Perez cleared $7,062,500 in team prize money to walk away with $8,023,500 total after his first year with LIV.

DORAL, Fla. – Many made jokes and quips (this writer included) throughout LIV Golf’s inaugural season, but it was Pat Perez who got the last laugh.

Often the odd-score-out for his loaded 4Aces team that features Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Talor Gooch, the 46-year-old veteran couldn’t be happier after a final-round 2-under 70 at Trump National Doral – which tied Johnson and Reed for their team’s low score of the day – at the LIV Golf Team Championship.

“All the push-back, all the negative comments, everything we’ve gotten, at this point I really don’t care. I mean, I don’t care. I’m paid. I don’t give a damn,” Perez said with a laugh in the media scrum after the 4Aces won the event to take home the top prize of $16 million. “My team played unbelievable this year. I feel like I’m really part of something that I’ve never been part of, other than me and my caddie, we’ve just been just us our whole life. To have these guys and their caddies and families and coaches and everybody, it’s just one big family now. I just couldn’t be any happier. It’s unbelievable.”

Johnson, the 4Aces captain, said Perez should have felt pressure on the final day, and he did. He always does.

I don’t want to let the team down. I want to play well every day, and today I finally was able to show up,” said Perez. “I birdied two of my last three holes coming in and had a great up-and-down on the last hole to get up-and-down. You know, it was an unbelievable feeling to hole that last six-footer kind of down the hill and it go in.”

“I thought we had a one-shot lead there, and P-Reed birdied his last hole and then Cap came down and had to make that four-footer. It was a great atmosphere,” he continued. “You’ve got Cap and Cam going down the last hole, you can’t script it any better. Two best players, just unbelievable.”

In six starts on the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Perez struggled with finishes of T29-T31-T15-T31-40-46 in the 48-player, no cut events. Those results saw Perez individually earn $961,000, one of 21 players who teed it up for LIV to fail to break $1 million in individual earnings. Due to his 4Aces winning four regular-season events as well as the team title, Perez cleared $7,062,500 in team prize money to walk away with $8,023,500 total for the year.

The results weren’t there throughout the year, but Perez stepped up when every shot counted and his team needed him most. And that’s nothing to laugh at.

[listicle id=778303570]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

LIV Golf Team Championship Miami prize money payouts for each squad at Trump National Doral

Check out how much money each player and team won at the season finale.

DORAL, Fla. — LIV Golf’s inaugural season has come to a close.

The upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund held its $50 million season finale team championship this week at Trump National Doral, where Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces won the top prize of $16 million that will see each player take home $4 million each.

Cameron Smith’s Punch GC finished second to earn $8 million, with Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC in third ($6 million) and Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC in fourth ($4 million).

Here’s how much money all 12 teams and 48 players earned at the LIV Golf Team Championship.

Team championship prize money payouts

Position Team Prize money Share per player
1 4Aces GC
(Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Talor Gooch)
$16 million $4 million
2 Punch GC
(Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Wade Ormsby)
$8 million $2 million
3 Smash GC
(Brooks Koepka, Peter Uihlein, Jason Kokrak, Chase Koepka)
$6 million $1.5 million
4 Stinger GC
(Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Hennie du Plessis)
$4 million $1 million
Eliminated after semifinals Cleeks GC
(Shergo Al Kurdi, Laurie Canter, Graeme McDowell, Richard Bland)
$3 million $750,000
Crushers GC
(Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri)
$3 million $750,000
Fireballs GC
(Sergio Garcia, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra, Abraham Ancer)
$3 million $750,000
Majesticks GC
(Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield)
$3 million $750,000
Eliminated after quarterfinals Niblicks GC
(Harold Varner III, Hudson Swafford, James Piot, Turk Pettit)
$1 million $250,000
Iron Heads GC
(Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Phachara Khongwatmai, Sihwan Kim)
$1 million $250,000
Hy Flyers GC
(Phil Mickelson, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Triangle)
$1 million $250,000
Torque GC
(Joaquin Niemann, Scott Vincent, Adrian Otaegui, Jediah Morgan)
$1 million $250,000

[listicle id=778303570]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

‘My hands were not real steady’: Dustin Johnson makes final putt, leads 4Aces to win LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami and claim $16 million prize

The 4Aces will take home the $16 team prize, with $4 million going to each player.

DORAL, Fla. — Four teams were left standing for Sunday’s final round of the LIV Golf Team Championship and it was Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC who came out on top.

Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC were out of the picture for the majority of the day, leaving the battle for the top three to the 4Aces, Cameron Smith’s Punch GC and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC. The latter fell off later in the round, leaving a two-way race to the finish.

The 4Aces led by one stroke with one hole to play before Punch’s Marc Leishman tied the 4Aces at 6 under with a late birdie, just his second of the day. Patrick Reed then delivered a birdie on his final hole to reclaim the lead at 7 under and eventually earn the win after his teammate Johnson made par on the last.

“Hell yeah, I knew where I was,” Johnson said of the late-round situation. “I was watching (Reed) make his putt. I was like, ‘All right, I’ve just got to two-putt and we win,’ because I knew Cam — I played with Cam. He hit it to 10 feet for par. He made everything he looked at so I knew he was making it. I’m like, ‘I’ve got to two-putt.'”

“I do not like stress, so that was a little more stress than I was looking for,” he continued. “If that was an individual tournament, it would have been no problem, that putt. It’s straight in from three feet. But with it being the team aspect and I knew the whole team — like I had to make that for the team to win — I didn’t like it very much. My hands were not real steady.”

“I don’t know where I hit it on the putter face, but it went in the middle.”

The 4Aces were unbeaten on American soil this year and were the dominant team for most of the season after winning four consecutive events during the series’ U.S. swing. Johnson also claimed the season-long individual title a week before the regular-season finale in Saudi Arabia. The win earns the team the top prize of $16 million, with $4 million going to each player.

Smith shot the low round of the day, a 7-under 65, as his Punch finished one shot back in second at 6 under to take home $8 million.

“65, yeah. That was probably right up there for me,” said Smith. “I feel like I really didn’t miss a shot today. I felt like I holed everything.”

Smash finished in third, 11 shots behind the leaders at 4 over, to take home $6 million. Stinger closed out at 10 over to win $4 million.

[listicle id=778303570]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

LIV Golf’s season finale transitions from match to stroke play for Sunday’s final round, where $16 million awaits the winning team

“I think everyone is out to beat the 4Aces tomorrow,” said Cameron Smith.

DORAL, Fla. — After two days of match play the LIV Golf Team Championship is transitioning back to stroke play.

Twelve teams made their way to Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster course for the $50 million season finale, and just four remain for Sunday’s final round.

Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC, Cameron Smith’s Punch GC, Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC and Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC will square off for the final day’s top prize of $16 million, which will see $4 million split among the first-place team. Second place will split $8 million, with $6 million and $4 million going to the teams in third and fourth place, respectively. The four teams eliminated in Saturday’s semifinal round of matches split $3 million, with the four losers in the quarterfinals each splitting $1 million.

More: LIV Golf COO addresses lack of OWGR points, TV deal

“I think everyone is out to beat the 4Aces tomorrow,” said Smith in Saturday’s post-round news conference. “They have been the one on top all year, so it will be nice to maybe get out there and show them someone else can win, personally.”

“Bring it,” replied Johnson.

All 16 players from the final four teams will play 18 holes of shotgun start stroke play, with all four scores counting towards the final team score. Captains will be paired together as eight groups of two will take to the course starting at 12:15 p.m. ET, with a live stream on YouTube.

[listicle id=778303570]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Transfer window, franchises and more money: LIV Golf shares (some) plans for 2023 and beyond as it prepares to transition to 14-event league

“We’ve got to get on TV, we’ve got to have corporate partners.”

DORAL, Fla. — LIV Golf is going all in on its team format.

Ahead of Saturday’s semifinal matches at its $50 million team championship, LIV Golf officials met with select members of the media to lay out its plans for the future. The main talking points focused around the 12 teams.

LIV says it’s aiming for a business model would eventually be similar to that of the other major team sports in the United States, such as the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, and officials hope that franchising its teams will create a revenue stream that the upstart circuit solely funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund currently doesn’t possess.

“Our belief is that, it might not be from the get go, but people understand team sports. They play team sports,” said LIV Golf chief operating officer Atul Khosla. “Yes, they have a favorite player as well, it is no different from anywhere else, but they do relate to being associated with a team. We feel like that trend can continue in golf, as well.

“The concept I understand is new in golf, but the inherent human nature of our aspect of wanting to associate with the team, that is not.”

That said, if you can’t get behind the likes of Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC or Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC, LIV feels its individual elements of golfers playing their own ball, counting their own score and winning individual prize money is enough.

Whether you believe it or not, LIV wants to be additive to the professional golf scene and provide fans a different form of entertainment. They certainly do the latter with no cut, shotgun start events that offer music playing throughout the round and countless activities in its fan village in addition to the on-course product.

Khosla said a successful 2023 – when the circuit transitions to the 14-event LIV Golf League – will see 12 established teams and brands, as well as a commercialized product.

“We’ve got to get on TV, we’ve got to have corporate partners,” he explained. “Those are successful things that we need, those are sort of milestones that we need to hit go into next year.”

Here are some more highlights from the presentation:

Schedule for 2023

LIV confirmed at its event earlier this summer at Trump National Bedminster that it will transition to the LIV Golf League in 2023 with 48 players on 12 team franchises playing a 14-event schedule with the goal of expanding golf’s footprint “across North and Latin Americas, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.”

Of the eight events this season, five were held in the United States, with one each in England, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Expect LIV to go to golf-starved markets once again in 2023, similar to its 2022 schedule which featured stops near Portland, Boston and Chicago, as well as the home countries of some of its players, which would point to potential stops in Australia, South Africa and England. With it’s Saudi backing, expect another stop in the Kingdom, too.

When these events will be played is also to be determined. LIV wants nothing to do with competing against the NFL, which points to a late February start and September finish. The league will also avoid going head-to-head with majors and doesn’t plan to hold events the week prior, either. LIV also wants to steer clear of so-called “heritage events”, such as the Genesis Invitational and Arnold Palmer Invitational, which makes for a tight schedule, especially with international travel. The series has done well to produce a slow drip of news between events, which points to a schedule release sometime in November.

New players … and a transfer window?

Khosla didn’t provide details on how many new players may join the league, instead opting to “let the player negotiations play themselves out.” The goal is for teams to be locked by the end of this year. Each team will also have a designated substitute in 2023, but only for injuries.

The most unique change when the league format takes shape will be a quasi-transfer market where players can move between teams in a period of time after the team championship and before the start of the following season. With a four-month long break between one season’s finale and the upcoming season’s opener, a handful of trades and free agent moves could make for an interesting offseason.

Money

Players will compete for $405 million in total prize purses in 2023 and will have further opportunities to make money and compete in the Asian Tour’s International Series, where LIV expects players to compete in “numerous” events. After all, LIV and the PIF have committed $300 million to the Asian Tour.

The 12 franchise teams will be 75 percent owned by LIV, with the other 25 percent owned by principal players, which would include captains such as Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, etc. Those franchises will also incur new costs in 2023 to come from their team budgets, such as a player’s annual payment, incentives and overhead costs including travel and the hiring of team staff.

All in all, some big changes are in store for 2023 that could alter the future of the league.

[vertical-gallery id=778304283]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

LIV Golf COO Atul Khosla addresses lack of OWGR points, provides update on TV deal during Miami finale

Previous actions have shown LIV will do whatever it takes to get what it wants.

DORAL, Fla. — Two of the biggest challenges still facing LIV Golf are the lack of Official World Golf Ranking points at events, as well as the lack of a TV partner in the United States.

In a meeting with select members of the media at Trump National Doral – host of this week’s $50 million LIV Golf Team Championship – LIV’s chief operating officer Atul Khosla addressed both hurdles facing the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

LIV is looking at its TV broadcast in two separate bits: domestically in the U.S. and internationally.

“On the U.S. front, we are back and forth with a few different networks at this point in time,” said Khosla Saturday morning ahead of the afternoon’s semifinal matches. “Step one was to show them the product, which they want to clearly understand, show them the graphics and how it’d be very different.”

Opinion: As LIV Golf’s season winds down, the propaganda war begins

Khosla said step two has been to clear the time on air. Over the last month, LIV has been in communication “with a variety of outlets” to talk about where events could land on the schedule, what golf courses may work, etc.

“We are now at that place where we’ve been able to clear time on a handful of networks that need set times to be cleared,” added Khosla. “So we’ve gone through that exercise now. Now we’re at the stage, ‘Okay, those are all things that could work, interest in both parties, let’s figure out what the commercial arrangements could look like.’”

Khosla is happy with where LIV currently stands in the process for securing U.S. rights for 2023, when the series transitions to the 14-event LIV Golf League, but also knows there’s plenty of work still to be done.

Last month, Golfweek reported LIV Golf was nearing a deal to purchase air time for its tournaments with Fox Sports 1. The yet-to-be-finalized deal would have LIV pay for not only the time slot, but also the production cost.

LIV called the report “incomplete and inaccurate” at the time, but when specifically asked if LIV would be open to paying for tournaments to be aired, Khosla didn’t reject the idea.

“Yeah, we’re going into it in the rights conversation that we think we are providing an incredible commercial product. We understand that these are not six month deals and one year deals. If a TV network is getting behind it, they’re gonna get behind it for multiple years, and that’s what we really want as well, to build a product on air and drive behavior,” said Khosla. “So we’ll work through what the final arrangements are.”

More: Mickelson looks to future after turbulent first year with LIV Golf

Internationally, LIV currently has 20 international partners to broadcast events in 160 different countries and is in discussions for 2023, as well. LIV officials aren’t the only people involved in the process, either.

“We’re also really using the players for (broadcast discussions), they’ve been awesome,” explained Khosla. “So depending on the part of the world where the player is from, they’ve actually been on the calls with us with the TV networks, talking about the model and explaining why this would be amazing. Which has been actually fantastic to see and we’re grateful for their support.”

As for OWGR points, it was the same song at a different party. LIV formed a strategic alliance with the MENA Tour to try and force its way to receiving points, and like the many players who have spoken out on the subject – Patrick Reed, Graeme McDowell, and Bryson DeChambeau to name a few – Khosla was in tune.

“I think from our end, we believe we deserve the points. Clearly with our strategic alliance with the MENA Tour, we absolutely deserve those points,” he explained. “Can’t control who’s on the board and who’s conflicted, who votes on the board, I don’t know if there’s a mislead there, but that’s pretty clearly obvious at this point that there are divisions on the board that are conflicted in voting for us to get points.”

Khosla is, of course, referring to OWGR board members such as PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley, USGA CEO Mike Whan, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers, PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh and Augusta National Golf Club executive director Will Jones.

It’s unclear whether either of LIV’s problems will be solved by February 2023 when the new league format is expected to start, but moves like paying for airtime and aligning with a developmental tour show the circuit will do whatever it takes to get what it wants.

[vertical-gallery id=778304283]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

‘A lot of stuff is going to happen’: Phil Mickelson looks to the future after turbulent first year with LIV Golf comes to a close

Eternally an optimist, Mickelson spoke about LIV Golf’s future after losing to Cameron Smith in Miami.

DORAL, Fla. – One of the fan favorites at the LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami is heading home early.

Phil Mickelson lost to Cameron Smith on the final hole on Friday to seal the deal for his team’s defeat to the Aussie’s Punch GC in the quarterfinals of the Saudi Arabia-backed series’ $50 million finale, putting to bed a turbulent year for the six-time major champion.

After becoming the oldest major champion in history in 2021 at the PGA Championship, Lefty continued to dominate golf headlines in 2022, but for all the wrong reasons. First, in February, he said the PGA Tour was obnoxiously greedy, and then he told the Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck – who wrote a book on Mickelson – that the Saudis were “scary mother(expletive) to get involved with,” and downplayed the murder of Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi and the Kingdom’s deplorable human rights record because he saw a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.” The ensuing backlash forced Mickelson into a self-imposed four-month hiatus before he returned to the game at LIV’s first event outside London.

From there Mickelson struggled to find form in the 48-player, 54-hole, no cut LIV events, finishing inside the top 20 just twice (in two of his last three events), with finishes of T-33 or worse in his other five starts. He also missed the cut at both the U.S. Open and British Open.

“I’m in the majors for the next three years, so I hadn’t really planned on playing this year and I had to reprogram my mindset to get out here. I didn’t play well starting out,” explained Mickelson. “I’m starting to start to play some pretty good golf, so heading into this offseason, I’m gonna put in a little bit of work and see if I can make a nice run the next couple of years and play a level that I know I can. I’m starting to start play a lot better.”

Eternally an optimist, Mickelson looked to the future after Thursday’s round and praised how far the upstart circuit had come over the last eight months since his incendiary comments.

“I’m pretty surprised at how far LIV has come because there was a lot of uncertainty, like who would play in London. You look at the strength of the league now and you have a lot of really strong players and you have a lot of really strong characters in the game,” said Mickelson. “Whether you love them or hate them, there’s a lot of guys here that people want to see.”

The 52-year-old also couldn’t help but mention a desire for more LIV events to go international next season when the series transitions to the 14-event LIV Golf League, going as far as saying, “We’re having a lot of current tournaments on multiple tours coming to us wanting a LIV event.” Does that mean a bridge could be built to cover the widening gap between LIV and the PGA and DP World tours? Time will tell.

“I’m not sure about that. I’m not sure where all that should go or could go or might go. I think there’s a lot of possibilities and I’m not sure how it’ll play out,” said Mickelson. “I just know that in the next, over the course of the next year, a lot of stuff is going to happen, and things will kind of iron themselves out.”

[listicle id=778303570]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

‘He seemed to take forever today’: Cameron Smith defeated Phil Mickelson in best match of LIV Golf Miami quarterfinals despite ‘gamesmanship’ from Lefty

“I think we were three or four holes behind, so that was a bit painful,” said Smith.

DORAL, Fla. — Despite 12 matches simultaneously on the course – eight singles and four foursomes – Friday’s quarterfinal round of the LIV Golf Team Championship left something to be desired.

The day’s marquee match featuring fan-favorite Phil Mickelson and world No. 3 Cameron Smith sported the biggest crowd around Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster and offered the best finish, too.

There’s a difference between a good match and a close match, and this was closer to the latter than former. Starting on No. 9 thanks to LIV’s signature shotgun start format, Smith shot 3 under and Mickelson shot 2 under (with match-play concessions), but neither player made the timely putts to pull away until the par-5 8th, their final hole of the day.

“We both struck the ball good,” said Smith of the match. “I probably didn’t hole as many putts as I’d like, but I was able to get the job done there on the last hole.”

One of just two matches to make it to the final hole, Smith bested Mickelson with a birdie after the veteran barely missed the fairway off the tee and then found a greenside bunker from the rough.

“I’ve been playing pretty good and felt like my game could match up and for the most part we played okay,” said Mickelson after the round, “but we both shot a few under par but not enough to — I felt I needed to shoot 66 or 67 to win this match and didn’t birdie any last seven holes, and that kind of hurt.

“I don’t understand how I missed the fairway (on 18) and that really hurt because I didn’t have a chance to get after the green and make an easy four and a chance at eagle,” he continued. “I had a lie that I had to be a little careful with, make sure I missed it right and try to make my four that way. It’s tough to do against somebody as good as Cameron.”

“Yeah, it was a good match,” added Smith. “I think Phil maybe had some gamesmanship in there a little bit. He seemed to take forever today. I think we were three or four holes behind, so that was a bit painful. But other than that, it was good.”

A pair of 5-and-3 victories tied for the biggest margins of defeat on the day. Peter Uihlein took down James Piot, same with Joaquin Niemann over Shergo Al Kurdi, the replacement for Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer, who was forced to withdraw form this week’s event with a wrist injury.

Mickelson’s Hy Flyers were one of four teams eliminated from the $50 million finale, as well as Niemann’s Torque GC, Kevin Na and the Iron Heads and Bubba Watson’s Niblicks. Harold Varner III, who went out first for the Niblicks in place of the injured Watson, took down Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, 4 and 3.

“I think I would have beat a lot of people. It was good. You’ve just got to take care of what you can take care of,” said Varner of his win. “It just sucks we didn’t make it as a team. I don’t really have much to say because winning isn’t winning if you’re going home.”

The event continues with the semifinals Saturday at 12:15 p.m. ET on YouTube. Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC will take on the Cleeks, Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC will play Punch GC, with Koepka’s Smash against Ian Poulter’s Majesticks GC and Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC against Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger GC.

[vertical-gallery id=778304283]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Brooks Koepka praises reunion with swing instructor Claude Harmon III as main reason for his run of form with LIV Golf

Harmon thinks Koepka is hitting the ball like its 2019 all over again, and Koepka agrees.

DORAL, Fla. — Brooks Koepka played his morning pro-am ahead of the LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami with former President of the United States Donald Trump on Thursday. But don’t get it twisted, despite playing with the club’s namesake at Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster, the four-time major champion didn’t get any helpful info to take back to his Smash GC teammates.

“He didn’t give me any tips. He’s not gonna give me any tips. He didn’t want me to beat him,” Koepka said of his round alongside the former president with a smile. “We had a great time. It’s always fun playing with him.”

Not that Koepka needs the help, anyways. Sure, he struggled early after joining the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with finishes of T-16, T-11, T-26 and T-21 over his first four starts in the 48-player, no cut events. But when the series took the show to Bangkok, the old Koepka appeared on the course. The 32-year-old finished T-8 at the event in Thailand before winning the next week at the regular-season finale in Saudi Arabia via a three-hole playoff with teammate Peter Uihlein.

After splitting with longtime swing instructor Claude Harmon III, who began working with Koepka in 2013 when he was playing on the European Challenge Tour, two years ago following the November 2020 Masters, the pair are working together once again. Harmon told Golf Magazine he thinks Koepka is hitting the ball like its 2019 all over again, and Koepka agrees.

“I think we’ve seen it coming for a couple weeks,” Koepka said. “I think it was when we were in Bedminster, I called (Harmon) and he was on the range on Friday or Saturday. I started working with him there and it’s been, if we’re home four or five days a week I’ve just been bugging him to see if he’ll work with me every day. It’s come along really nicely. I’m very pleased. Very happy.”

“I’m just happy to be back,” Koepka continued. “There was always a question mark of, ‘Am I gonna be the same player?’ just because of all the injuries and all the different things. You start questioning whether you can do it and all of a sudden, it’s like all the pieces are starting to come back. Then you go out and win and it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ve still got the mental side of it. I’ve still got the physical side of it.’ So just put them all together every week and I’m just very happy.”

After this week’s event in Miami, the series will be on a break until it transitions into the LIV Golf League in 2023, with events likely to begin in February.

“Honestly, just keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing,” Koepka said of the four-month offseason, noting how he wants to get back in the gym. “But just keep playing golf. I think that’s one of the big things, I’ve been working with Claude and I’m very pleased and I don’t want it to get out of whack and just return to where it was.”

[vertical-gallery id=778304283]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Photos: Former President Donald Trump plays pro-am at LIV Golf Miami season finale

“You think Biden can do that? I don’t think so.”

DORAL, Fla. — “You think Biden can do that? I don’t think so.”

That’s what former President of the United States Donald Trump had to say after hitting his first drive on Thursday during the pro-am for the LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami at his very own Trump National Doral in Florida. The Team Championship is LIV’s season-finale, where a whopping $50 million is up for grabs.

Trump played with Brooks Koepka in the morning and Sergio Garcia in the evening, as well as his son, Eric, and granddaughter, Kai.

Here are some of the best shots from Trump’s pro-am on the Blue Monster at Doral.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]