(Reuters) – Charles Howell pocketed $4 million at the first of LIV Golf’s 14-event season on Sunday, producing a flawless final round to win at El Camaleon Golf Course in Mayakoba, Mexico.
The American will also share a separate $3 million team prize with his Crushers GC team mates, after finishing four shots clear of Peter Uihlein (68).
Howell (63) was just one stroke behind co-leaders Uihlein and Talor Gooch heading into Sunday and gave his competitors little chance as he produced six of eight birdies on the front nine.
“It’s big we got the team win,” Howell said in a televised interview after the round. “I played here many times before and had an idea of what to expect coming in. But around this place, man, there’s double bogeys everywhere, so you never know.”
The day could scarcely have gone worse for Gooch, who carded a five-over par 76 to finish tied for 11th. And there was only bitter disappointment for Uihlein, for whom the win slipped out of reach when he landed in the trees en route to a triple bogey on the par-four 12.
Asked what he might have done differently, Uihlein joked: “Skipped the 12th.”
“It’s just a hole that does not set up well for me. I don’t like the look of it. But, you know, I’m proud of the way I battled,” he said. “Other than that hole, it was a pretty good day.”
South African Branden Grace carded a four-under par 67 to finish third.
The Saudi-backed circuit, whose slogan promises “golf, but louder,” produced its usual party atmosphere but little in the way of competitive drama as many of the marquee-calibre names it lured away from the PGA Tour failed to make an impact in the 2023 season kickoff.
LIV’s 2023 season kicked off amid ongoing bitterness with the PGA Tour, as Chilean Mito Pereira, who finished third in last year’s PGA Championship, and Colombian Sebastian Munoz joined LIV earlier this month.
Hundreds of miles from Mayakoba at the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic, Chris Kirk took home $1.512 million for overcoming fellow American Eric Cole in a playoff at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Kirk, who carded a one-under par 69, nearly had the win wrapped up when he drained an almost 19-foot putt for birdie on 16 but had to regain his nerve after a bogey on 18 forced the playoff.
“I’m so grateful for everyone that’s supported me throughout the past three or four years especially,” said Kirk, whose last PGA Tour win came in 2015.
“I was obviously very, very nervous today having not won in so long. Coming down the stretch, I felt good. Obviously that putt on 16 was huge and was in a great position on 18, just made a bad swing at the wrong time.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Chris Reese)
