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Former PGA Tour champion Brooks Koepka took the win at the LIV Golf Jeddah event on Sunday. The American golfer sank a birdie putt on the third hole of the playoffs to defeat compatriot Peter Uihlein. Koepka’s win in Saudi Arabia was his first since February 2021.
Koepka stepped up on Sunday to come from behind and beat Uihlein in the final round. The golfer, who has been struggling with injuries in recent years, shot a 69 to tie at 12 under. He took the victory at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on the third extra hole.
Social media reacts to Brooks Koepka’s win
Brooks Koepka’s win landed him the LIV Golf winner’s paycheck of $4 million. While the feat sounds impressive to any golfer, not many golf fans were impressed. Some fans came out to laud Koepka for his win, and many others came out to slam the player and the LIV Golf for a “dull” evening of golf.
While the Saudi-backed series’ social media celebrated the golfer’s win, many social media users voiced their displeasure over the series for issues including lack of viewers. Many drew comparisons to other golf events and stated that a win at a LIV Golf event felt like an “exhibition.”
Here are some of the reactions:
Koepka gets emotional after win at LIV Golf Jeddah
Brooks Koepka had the perfect start to the LIV Golf event in Jeddah. He opened with an 8-under-par 62. However, he was soon overtaken by teammate Peter Uihlein, who went on to turn favorite to take the win by Saturday. The event also saw players like Joaquin Niemann, Sergio Garcia, Matthew Wolff, Dustin Johnson, and Paul Casey put in some tough competition.
However, Koepka managed to turn it around as he came back from behind to shoot a 69, tying at 12 under with Uihlein. The 32-year-old golfer took the win at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. Following the win, Koepka turned emotional. The golfer addressed the past dry spell in his career caused by injuries and said that he was relieved to take the victory.
Speaking at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Brooks Koepka said:
“I didn't know if my career was over for a half-second... So, it's nice to be able to come back and be able to win."
The former top-ranked player also remembered thanking his team and said:
"The last two years haven't been fun. It's been a long road. I’m super excited. My whole team, we got the band back together, literally, a couple months ago. We got Claude back on the team; and Pete — I’ve worked with Pete very, very hard; and Jeff as well. So a shout-out to them. This is for them.”
Thanks to Koepka and Uihlein’s strong performance, their team, Smash GC, won the team event. The team, which also consists of Koepka's brother Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak, took the winners’ paycheck. Following the event in Jeddah, LIV Golf now heads to Miami for the team championship event.
