Brooks Koepka is at it again. The Smash GC captain stormed through the rain-delayed second round at LIV Golf Singapore with a dazzling 7-under 64, giving him a three-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round.
This is the third time in the last 18 LIV Golf tournaments that Koepka has led by this much at this stage.
In his previous two attempts, he went on to win in Orlando and Jeddah last year. With five major championships under his belt, Koepka seems primed to defend his PGA Championship title later this month.
His competitors understand the steep hill ahead. Talor Gooch, the defending Singapore champion and Koepka’s Smash GC teammate, put it plainly: “Hard.”
But he wasn’t conceding defeat, adding, “Winning golf tournaments is never easy. We all know that. Hopefully, we can make it not easy on him.”
At 12 under for the tournament, Koepka’s closest competitors—Abraham Ancer from Fireballs GC, Adrian Meronk from Cleeks GC, and Thomas Pieters and Matthew Wolff from RangeGoats GC—are three shots back.
Gooch, along with Ripper GC’s Lucas Herbert and Marc Leishman, plus HyFlyers GC’s Cameron Tringale, are lurking another shot behind.
Koepka could make history on Sunday by becoming the first player to win four individual LIV Golf tournaments.
He could also celebrate a team victory, with Smash GC holding a one-shot lead over Ripper GC.
Despite his dominance, Koepka isn’t letting up. “Anything is possible,” he said. “Gooch is trailing.
He plays this place pretty well. I’ve just got to go out and do what I do, and from there, you can get beat.
I have no problem with that if I get beat. But I just want to go out and play good golf, and that’s all I want to do, especially leading into the PGA.”
Koepka’s round on Saturday was flawless despite a 4-hour, 45-minute weather delay that pushed the shotgun start to the afternoon.
After three pars to begin, he birdied the par-5 fourth by threading his second shot between a row of palm trees, leading to three consecutive birdies.
He finished with four more birdies in the last seven holes, including a stunning 53-foot birdie putt on the 13th and a near-ace on the 14th.
Thomas Pieters, who played with Koepka on Saturday, commented on his exceptional performance.
“Brooks was faultless today,” he said. “I assume he’s going to do the same tomorrow, and it’s going to take a very low one from those of us behind him to win.”
Matthew Wolff, who was traded from Smash GC to RangeGoats GC in the offseason, praised Koepka’s consistency.
“He’s comfortable being in the lead,” Wolff noted. “He’s playing good. I think this golf course actually suits him really well. I’ll do what I can control, and other than that, just see what happens.”
Koepka’s support system includes his wife Jena and their 9-month-old son Crew, who are in Singapore with him this week.
It’s Crew’s third tournament appearance—after LIV Golf Miami and the Masters—where Koepka finished T45 both times. Koepka hopes to have better luck this time around. “I was reminded of that on the way over here,” he said. “Hopefully get a little better result.”
Sunday promises to be an exciting conclusion to LIV Golf Singapore, with Koepka leading the pack and his Smash GC team in position to claim the team title.
ROUND 2 STATS LEADERS
Driving accuracy: Abraham Ancer, 92.86.% (13 of 14 fairways hit)
Driving distance: Matthew Wolff, 337.3 yards avg.
Longest drive: Matthew Wolff, 339.8 yards, 5th hole
Greens in regulation: Adrian Meronk, Marc Leishman, Henrik Stenson, Matt Jones, 88.89% (16 of 18 greens)
Scrambling: Richard Bland (5 of 5), Harold Varner III (4 of 4), Dean Burmester (4 of 4), Louis Oosthuizen (4 of 4), Bryson DeChambeau (3 of 3), Brooks Koepka (3 of 3), Adrian Meronk (2 of 2); Marc Leishman (2 of 2), Henrik Stenson (2 of 2), 100%
Putting: Lucas Herbert, 1.33 putts per hole
Bogey-free rounds: Brooks Koepka (64), Bryson DeChambeau (66), Adrian Meronk (66), Marc Leishman (67), Harold Varner III (67), Richard Bland (68)
TEAM COUNTING SCORES
Standings and counting scores for Saturday’s second round of the team competition at LIV Golf Singapore.
The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round.
The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
1. SMASH GC -23 (Koepka 64, Gooch 66, Kokrak 71; Rd. 2 score -12)
2. RIPPER GC -22 (Smith 65, Herbert 67, Leishman 67; Rd. 2 score -14)
3. RANGEGOATS GC -21 (Wolff 65, Pieters 67, Uihlein 70; Rd. 2 score -11)
T4. CLEEKS GC -20 (Meronk 66, Bland 68, Kaymer 69; Rd. 2 score -10)
T4. FIREBALLS GC -20 (Ancer 67, Garcia 68, Chacarra 69; Rd. 2 score -9)
6. LEGION XIII -17 (Hatton 68, Rahm 68, Vincent 68; Rd. 2 score – 9)
7. STINGER GC -14 (Oosthuizen 69, Burmester 70, Schwartzel 70; Rd. 2 score -4)
T8. CRUSHERS GC -13 (DeChambeau 66, Howell III 66, Lahiri 69; Rd. 2 score -12)
T8. HYFLYERS GC -13 (Mickelson 68, Tringale 68, Ogletree 71; Rd. 2 score -6)
T8. TORQUE GC -13 (Niemann 69, Muñoz 70, Pereira 70; Rd. 2 score -4)
11. 4ACES GC -12 (Varner III 67, Reed 68, Johnson 70; Rd. 2 score -8)
12. IRON HEADS GC -10 (Vincent 66, Na 70, Kozuma 72; Rd. 2 score -5)
13. MAJESTICKS GC -7 (Poulter 68, Stenson 68, Westwood 71; Rd. 2 score -6)
