Aussies score massive $12m LIV Golf payday

2 years ago 87

Dustin Johnson watched the last putt of his play rotation in, pumped his close fist and waited for the enactment to begin.

Another large celebration. Another large cheque, too.

Johnson drove the greenish connected the 370-yard par-4 16th to acceptable up an casual birdie that provided a spot of breathing room, Patrick Reed birdied his past spread to enactment their squad up for bully and 4Aces GC captured the season-ending LIV Golf squad title astatine Trump National Doral connected Sunday by 1 changeable implicit Cameron Smith and Punch GC.

The triumph capped a monster net twelvemonth for Johnson, by acold the biggest wealth victor successful the archetypal twelvemonth of the Saudi-backed LIV tour. Including his $28.1 cardinal for winning the season-long idiosyncratic title, Johnson finished with $55,635,009 successful earnings.

"It's been amazing," Johnson said. "Obviously, the fans (are) what makes it. This week's been incredible. This full play has gotten amended and amended and evidently this finale has been unbelievable."

Johnson (70), Reed (70), Talor Gooch (71) and Pat Perez (70) changeable a combined 7 nether 281 connected the par-72 Sunday — and divided $25 million.

"I consciousness unbelievable," Perez said.

Reed felt adjacent better, making birdie connected his last spread to springiness Johnson a one-shot pb to enactment with. Johnson was connected the par-4 18th greenish successful 2 erstwhile Reed finished, portion Smith — the different subordinate successful Johnson's twosome — was needing a occurrence that didn't arrive. Reed's birdie gave his squad the lead, and 2 putts from Johnson later, it was over.

"Makes maine consciousness great," Reed said.

Johnson coiled up claiming 14 per cent of the $398 cardinal successful purses and bonuses won by each players successful LIV's inaugural year, not including signing bonuses, which were monolithic and reported to beryllium astir $312 cardinal for Phil Mickelson, and astatine slightest $156 cardinal apiece for players similar Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

Smith (65), Matt Jones (70), Wade Ormsby (73) and Marc Leishman (74) finished astatine 6 under, splitting $12.5 million.

"I deliberation LIV Golf is going to beryllium bigger and amended due to the fact that of this event," Smith said.

Smash GC — Koepka (74), Peter Uihlein (75), Jason Kokrak (68) and Chase Koepka (75) — ended 4 implicit and divided $9.3 million.

Stinger GC, the squad of Louis Oosthuizen (71), Charl Schwartzel (71), Hennie du Plessis (76) and Branden Grace (80), finished astatine 10 implicit and divided $6.2million.

"Coming down the agelong here, you couldn't gully it up immoderate amended with maine and Cam battling it retired to triumph the squad championship," Johnson said.

The payouts adjacent year, erstwhile LIV grows from 8 to 14 events, volition scope $632 cardinal — provided by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealthiness fund. And if much players articulation LIV successful the coming months, determination volition beryllium much signing bonuses, too.

"Next twelvemonth we're going to play 14 events, positive ... the majors," Mickelson said during the LIV Golf broadcast connected YouTube, doing the knock-on-wood-for-luck determination earlier saying "the majors." "And that's a batch of golf. I've got a batch of play coming up adjacent twelvemonth and I truly privation to get backmost to the level that I cognize I tin play."

The majors stay successful immoderate question since overmuch of the qualifying process for them revolves astir satellite rankings. For now, LIV players don't get points toward their Official World Golf Ranking. They've been trying to alteration that.

All 16 of the players who competed Sunday finished their LIV twelvemonth with much than $3.12 cardinal successful earnings, though astir of them received overmuch more.

Perez made conscionable implicit $12.5 cardinal successful 7 LIV events, which is much than helium had successful his past 5 years connected the PGA Tour combined.

Uihlein, who ne'er won connected the PGA Tour, finished his LIV play with conscionable implicit $19.5 cardinal successful 7 events. That much than doubled his vocation net successful 10 years arsenic a pro.

"We've had a batch of headwinds," LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said connected the streamed broadcast anterior to the commencement of the last round. "We've weathered each the storms, and we're here. We've got a large unit of radical and we've got a large merchandise and we're disconnected and running."

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