By Steve Keating
MIAMI (Reuters) – Captain Dustin Johnson led the 4 Aces to the first LIV Golf team championship and the $16 million winner’s purse on Sunday at Trump National Doral to bring the curtain down on the Saudi-back venture’s tumultuous inaugural season.
Johnson had said that it was the competition not the money that excited him but the former-world number one and Masters champion cashed in anyway finishing top of the LIV money list with more than $35 million from just eight events (including an $18 million bonus as the season’s individual champion).
That total also does not include the reported $150 million LIV paid to lure Johnson away from the PGA Tour, and make him one of the rebel circuit’s marquee recruits.
Johnson’s 4 Aces team mates Pat Perez, Patrick Reed, and Talor Gooch, who all defected from the PGA Tour, also pocketed $4 million.
Four teams; the 4 Aces, Punch GC captained by Open champion Australian Cameron Smith, Smash GC led by four-time major winner Brooks Koepka and Stinger GC by Louis Oosthuizen played in Sunday’s final where every players scored counted towards their outfit’s total.
The format provided some compelling golf with the championship coming down to the final hole, Johnson draining a three-footer at the 18th after Reed had birdied his last hole to get 4 Aces to seven-under and a one shot lead over Smith’s Punch GC.
“Coming down the stretch you couldn’t draw it up any better with me and Cam battling it out to win the team championship,” said Johnson, who was paired with the mullet haired Australian for the final round. “It’s been amazing.
“This whole season has gotten better and better and obviously this finale has been unbelievable.”
Smith’s team of Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Wade Ormsby finished runner-up splitting $8 million, more than the entire $6.5 million purse on offer at this week’s PGA Tour stop at the Bermuda Championship.
A total of 12 team took part in the $50 million team final with the last four teams splitting $1 million for a single round of golf.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Miami. Editing by Christian Radnedge)
