Tag: Sentosa Golf Club

Brooks Koepka wins 2024 LIV Golf Singapore; Ripper GC claim back-to-back team titles

The win is Koepka’s fourth since he joined the Saudi-backed circuit in 2022.

A pair of Aussie’s made a late charge but it wasn’t enough to catch Brooks Koepka.

Earlier in the week the five-time major champion was downplaying his chances to defend at the upcoming PGA Championship and just a few days later he was raising his fourth LIV Golf trophy after he won 2024 LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club on Sunday. Koepka shot a 3-under 68 in the final round to finish at 15 under, two shots clear of Ripper GC teammates Cameron Smith (64) and Marc Leishman (66) T-2 at 13 under. Defending champion Talor Gooch (67) finished fourth at 12 under, with Tyrrell Hatton (66) and Thomas Pieters (69) T-5 at 11 under.

Koepka previously won LIV Golf Jeddah (2022, 2023) and LIV Golf Orlando (2023).

Thanks to their captain Smith and his first mate Leishman, the Ripper GC boys took the team title at 32 under, three shots clear of runner-up Fireballs GC and Cleeks GC at 29 under. It’s the second consecutive win for the all-Australian squad after they won their home event last week in Adelaide.

The league is now off for a month until LIV Golf Houston makes its debut, June 7-9 at Golf Club of Houston.

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With PGA Championship defense on the horizon, Brooks Koepka leads by three at LIV Golf Singapore 2024

Koepka is rounding into form.

Brooks Koepka was open about his putting woes earlier this week: “I can’t find the hole at all, to be honest with you,” he added. “Something we’ve just been putting some work into, so trying to find some answers.”

Well, it looks like he’s figured something out as he leads by three with 18 holes to play at LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club.

He made three straight birdies on Nos. 4-6 and added four more on his back nine to sign for a 7-under 64 on the par-71 layout.

With the PGA Championship at Valhalla less than two weeks away, Koepka is rounding into form just in time for his title defense.

Thomas Pieters, Adrian Meronk, Abraham Ancer and Matthew Wolff are tied for second at 9 under.

On the team side, Smash GC holds a one-shot lead at 23 under over Ripper GC.

Sebastian Munoz leads Brooks Koepka among crowded leaderboard at LIV Golf Singapore

The 2023 PGA champion is lurking.

Sebastian Munoz had seven birdies to one bogey, opening in 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of LIV Golf Singapore.

In LIV Golf’s seventh event of 2024 and the final one before the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, in two weeks, there are plenty of names chasing Munoz at Sentosa Golf Club, including the 2023 PGA champion Brooks Koepka, who opened in 5-under 66, the lone blemish on his scorecard being a three-putt bogey.

Also tied for second is Thomas Pieters, Cameron Tringale, Abraham Ancer, Martin Kaymer and Kevin Na. Joaquin Niemann and Dustin Johnson are in a group two shots back and T-8.

Anthony Kim had one of his best rounds since joining LIV Golf, a 2-under 69.

‘I can’t find the hole at all’: LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka searches for answers ahead of PGA Championship title defense

“Just keep grinding away, keep doing the work, and hopefully something will turn around,” said Koepka.

Brooks Koepka is known for his swagger and confidence, but with two weeks to go until his PGA Championship title defense, the five-time major champion isn’t feeling very good about his chances at Valhalla Golf Club for the second men’s major of the year.

While speaking with the media ahead of 2024 LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club this week, Koepka said he felt like he wasted time from December until last month’s Masters, where he finished T-45 at 9 over thanks to four rounds over par of 73-73-76-75.

“Just keep grinding away, keep doing the work, and hopefully something will turn around,” said Koepka, who then criticized his poor putting as the main reason for his struggles.

“Ball doesn’t go in the hole, that’s usually one of them. I don’t know how else to simply put it,” he said of his woes with the flatstick. “I feel like I’m hitting good putts, they just keep burning lips. Eventually it starts to wear on you after a while. All you can do is hit a good putt and see where it goes from there. Hopefully they start falling soon.”

“I can’t find the hole at all, to be honest with you,” he added. “Something we’ve just been putting some work into, so trying to find some answers.”

Koepka switched to a mallet putter two weeks before the Masters and hasn’t touched the previous putter that he’s used for the last dozen years since.

So far this LIV Golf season, Koepka has two top-10 finishes (T-5 in the season opener in Mexico and T-9 last week in Australia) as well as a head-scratching T-45 out of 54 players in Miami.

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5 things to know from Hannah Green’s dramatic LPGA victory at the HSBC in Singapore

Green hit 28-of-56 fairways, the lowest in the field, but tied for third in total birdies with 18.

For newlywed Hannah Green, the celebrations continued just a five-hour plane ride from Perth, Australia, where she won with a flourish in her second start to the LPGA season. Green’s dramatic birdie putt on the 18th at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore sealed a narrow victory over France’s Celine Boutier, who won four times last season.

For the 27-year-old Green, who got married in January and moved into a new home right before last week’s event in Thailand, it’s been a dreamlike start to 2024.

Green birdied the last three holes at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course to close with a third consecutive 67 and finish at 13 under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Boutier.

“Almost like it was meant to be today for me, holing those two putts today on the last two holes,” said Green as she held the trophy. “I’m so happy to have this in my hands.”

Now a four-time winner on the LPGA, including the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA, Green joins mentor Karrie Webb as the only other Aussie to win the HSBC.

Here are five things to know from a hot and rainy day in Singapore:

The shortest player on the LPGA is the 54-hole leader at the HSBC Women’s World Championship

Olympics and Taylor Swift on her mind.

Ayaka Furue is the shortest player on the LPGA, standing at 5 foot even. However, don’t let her stature fool you, she’s one of the best golfers in the world.

The 23-year-old from Japan holds a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the 2024 HSBC Women’s World Championship, shooting 4-under 68 on Saturday at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. The winner of the 2022 Women’s Scottish Open, Furue has proven she can win at this level, but winning one of the biggest events in Asia would be a big feather in her cap early in her career.

“I just feel excited to be part of the top of the leaderboard,” Furue said. “I think winning is the most important thing to play in the Paris Olympics, so yeah.”

Another thing on many player’s minds is said Summer Olympics, which every week creep closer. A win for Furue this week would go a long way in locking up her spot to represent Japan.

Furue started her round with birdies on her first two holes and added two more on the front. She had one circle and one square on the card on the back nine, otherwise, she sits at 10 under with 18 holes to play.

Australia’s Hannah Green shot 5 under on moving day to move into solo second at 8 under. Second-round leader Celine Boutier shot even par on moving day and is T-3 at 7 under.

Being only 5 foot, Furue said she doesn’t think about her size when she’s on the course.

“I don’t really think about other players is when I’m hitting my shot, how far they go or how far they hit,” she said. “Just focusing on my play.”

Another thing on Furue’s mind is Taylor Swift, who’s in Singapore for her Eras Tour.

“I want to go,” she said.

Maybe after a win Sunday, she can celebrate with a concert.

Celine Boutier got her dad a special birthday gift at the HSBC Women’s World Championship

What a birthday gift.

Friday was a special one for Celine Boutier at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.

The third-ranked golfer in the world fired an 8-under 64 to take the lead following the second round at the 2024 HSBC Women’s World Championship. Following a first round in which scores were higher than usual, plenty of golfers went low on the second day, but none lower than Boutier, who had the round of the day by two shots. She leads at 7 under.

“Definitely, it feels good,” Boutier said. “I feel like I didn’t really get the best of starts last week, so it feels a lot better to finally have one low round.”

Boutier had a clean card with eight birdies in her second round, and she holds a one-shot lead over Japan’s Ayaka Furue, who shot 5-under 67 on Friday and is at 6 under for the tournament.

Even bigger for Boutier, the 2023 Amundi Evian champion — Friday was her father’s birthday.

“Wished him a happy birthday before my round,” Boutier said. “He was like, yeah, so you’ve got to get me a gift, so that would be a nice gift. I hope he enjoys that one.”

Madelene Sagstrom is solo third at 5 under, while Patty Tavatanakit, who has won the last two weeks, is T-9 at 3 under along with fellow star Brooke Henderson, among others.

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‘He’s about 200 club lengths from where he was’: Brooks Koepka took relief in Singapore and left announcers confused

“You take them when you can get them. You get plenty of bad breaks. That’s a good one.”

There’s no doubt that Brooks Koepka is back to playing strong golf.

Since moving to play in the LIV Golf League, Koepka has won twice, the only golfer to do so, and even held the 54-hole lead at the Masters earlier this month before a final-round 75 (insert 72-hole tournament jokes here).

Even this week at LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club, Koepka finds himself a shot out of the lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

However, it’s a drop he took during the first round in Singapore that’s making the rounds. It even had LIV announcers questioning what was going on.

Let’s set the scene. Koepka was playing the par-4 15th hole measuring 428 yards when his tee shot went right. When reaching his ball, Koepka and his caddie, Ricky Elliott, said their line to the green was blocked by the LIV Golf Fan Village setup, so they asked for temporary immovable obstruction relief.

LIV on-course analyst Dom Boulet said on the CW live stream, “I’m not sure what he’s asking for,”  who then asked Elliott what was going on. Elliott confirmed Koepka was getting line-of-sight relief and he could drop on either side.

This still left commentators confused.

“It doesn’t appear there is anything between him and the hole,” David Feherty said.

Boutlet responded: “Well, there are toilets over there. Ricky just told me it’s line of sight. I think it’s the port-a-loos perhaps. But I didn’t think that was an option, to be honest with you. I mean, he’s got to go through a couple of trees to take that option.”

Koepka proceeded to pick up his ball and walk toward the 16th past some tents. It was there he spoke with a rule official on where he could take the drop.

“And under the local rule, he can take relief on either side of the TIO,” rules analyst Tony Zirpoli said on the broadcast. “It probably gives him a better shot. So, he’s taking the smart way out by taking that other side relief. And it’s also a long walk.”

Feherty added: “It sure is. It’s an unusual situation that there would be such a gap. He’s going to walk to the point, Tony, where he has a clear look?”

Boulet: “He’s going to drop in the middle of the 16th fairway.”

Zirpoli: “He will have a clear view of the edge of the TIO. He will then get a one club-length corridor, and then from that one club-length corridor, he gets an additional one club length, which is his relief area.”

Feherty: “Well, he’s about 200 club lengths from where he was.”

Koepka proceeded to drop his ball just on the 16th fairway.

“I heard Ricky say 167; that’s what they’re measuring it because that’s where they wanted to take relief — the same distance,” Boulet said. “Now I didn’t think it was an option what he had to go over there — port-a-loo or tent or whatever it was he was going over. But David Blake, referee, gave him the ruling, and he’s got a big break here.”

Added Feherty: “You take them when you can get them. You get plenty of bad breaks. That’s a good one.”

Koepka then hit his second shot over trees in front of him to 8 feet, and he two-putted for par.

Also during the Masters earlier this month, there was a rules controversy involving Koepka and Elliott and Gary Woodland. He was later absolved of the rules violation.

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The leaderboard at LIV Golf Singapore remains loaded, as Talor Gooch and Sergio Garcia pace the field with 18 to go

Talor Gooch is 32 under in his past five rounds. 

There have been plenty of big names who have hoisted a trophy through the LIV Golf League’s first two seasons, like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith. But there hasn’t been a leaderboard as good as the one we’ve got in Singapore with 18 to play.

Sentosa Golf Club has provided great theater through two rounds of LIV Golf Singapore, as last week’s winner in Adelaide, Talor Gooch, and Sergio Garcia are tied for the lead at 13 under. Koepka, the only two-time winner on LIV, is a shot behind. Then there’s Smith at 11 under and Phil Mickelson, who at one time held the lead early in the second round after a hole-out eagle, at 10 under.

“Obviously the caliber of players here, it just shows,” Garcia said of the packed leaderboard. “On a day like today where there wasn’t much wind the course was gettable. We were able to pick the ball up on the fairway, so that always probably makes it one or two shots easier.”

Preferred lies were in play during round two because of wet course conditions. And Garcia, Gooch and others took advantage.

Garcia fired a bogey-free 7-under 64 to move into a tie for the lead. His best finish since moving to LIV Golf are a pair of fourths last season in Jeddah and Chicago.

Meanwhile, Gooch is looking to join Koepka as a two-time winner and the first back-to-back winner. He carded seven birdies and a lone bogey, signing for 6-under 65 to remain tied for the lead.

LIV Golf Singapore: Photos

“Sergio and I had a bunch of fun out there and Cam as well,” Gooch said. “Our group played really well again, and we were just kind of feeding off each other the whole day. It felt like Cam kind of got off running, and then I kind of came running in the middle, and then Sergio got it going on the back.”

Gooch is 32 under in his past five rounds.

Koepka shot 65 for the second straight day to sit a shot behind and earn a final-group tee time on Sunday. Mickelson was 5 under thru 5 holes and finished his day at 5 under for the round, but he’s solo seventh. Scott Vincent and Cameron Tringale are tied for fourth at 11 under with Smith, who is finding his form after a slow start to the season.

The second round will air on the CW from 1-6 p.m. Saturday. However, final-round action gets underway at 8 p.m. ET Saturday in the United States. The final round will also air on tape delay Sunday.

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Photos: 2023 LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club

Check out the best photos of the week from Sentosa Golf Club.

After a week Down Under, the LIV Golf League is back in action once again this week with its fifth event of the season.

LIV Golf Singapore will tee it up Friday-Sunday, April 28-30, at the Serapong at Sentosa Golf Club in Sentosa Island, Singapore. The course is a par-71 layout playing 7,406 yards. The field of 48 players and 12 teams will compete for the $25 million purse, where the winning player will take home $4 million and the winning team will earn $3 million.

The second and third rounds can also be live streamed on the apps, while the CW Network will broadcast the event on a tape delay from 1-6 p.m. ET.

Talor Gooch remains in the lead for the fifth straight round, tied with Sergio Garcia at 13 under and a shot in front of Brooks Koepka with 18 holes to play.

In the team competition, Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers and Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats are tied at 25 under, with Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC three shots behind.

Play will begin at 8 p.m. ET in the final round Saturday night.

Check out the best photos of the week from LIV Golf Singapore.