LIV Golf: Portland - Highlights Final Round

For the second consecutive LIV Golf Invitational, Branden Grace shot 65 in the final round. In London, it produced a third-place podium finish. In Portland, it resulted in the biggest payday of his 15-year professional career. Final Leaderboard

Grace’s 7-under 65 on Saturday at Pumpkin Ridge gave him the individual title at the LIV Golf Invitational Portland. His 13-under total for the 54-hole event was two strokes better than Carlos Ortiz, with Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson finishing another two strokes back.

Johnson’s 4 Aces GC claimed the team title at 23 under, seven strokes ahead of Stinger GC, the winning team in London. Thanks to Ortiz’s birdie on the final hole, Fireballs GC took third place and the final money position, one stroke ahead of Torque GC.

Grace’s win comes on the heels of a third-place finish in London, as the South African has found his form since joining LIV Golf. He follows countryman Charl Schwartzel in the winner’s circle, with Schwartzel having claimed the inaugural event at Centurion Club.

In winning, Grace claimed the $4 million individual prize, as well as a quarter-share of the $1.5 million second-place prize won by Stinger GC, making his total payout Saturday at $4.375 million. For the two LIV Golf events, he’s now won $6.4 million.

“I played with DJ at London, as well, on the Sunday and played really nicely, and just kind of found a groove,” said Grace after winning for the 15th time as a pro. “I've been feeling really comfortable. I've been hitting the shots that I see and things like that, and that's really important and gives you the confidence.

“Today was nothing different. From the first hole I hit the ball great. I made a couple of nice putts when it mattered, and obviously things go your way when you win a golf tournament.”

Grace produced several pivotal shots while battling with Ortiz and Johnson in the final group. He drove the green at the par-4 8th hole to set up a birdie. He rolled in a lengthy birdie putt at 10. He birdied the difficult par-4 13th, one of just two birdies recorded at the hole Saturday. His hole-out for birdie at the 16th gave him a two-shot lead with two to play. He followed with another birdie at the 17th, as he shot 5-under on his back nine.

“I thought the birdie on 13 was huge,” Grace said. “That hole doesn't suit me at all with my little fade. Going in there, the trees blocked me on the left, so hit a great drive down there, had a perfect number for a 3-iron, hit the 3-iron to about 20 feet and managed to make the putt. Then I thought I'm really in the tournament.”

Ortiz and Johnson, meanwhile, simply couldn’t keep up. Ortiz, who at one point held a 5-shot lead, shot a 3-under 69, while Johnson shot a 1-under 71.

“Obviously Branden played really well,” Johnson said. “But I did get it back to where I was within one with six or seven holes to go, and then he decided to go on a little tear there birdieing every hole coming in.”

Ortiz, a native of Mexico, enjoyed the vibe in playing in the last group. He said he fed off the energy from the fans at Pumpkin Ridge.

“They were unbelievable -- I didn't even know there were that many Mexicans in Portland,” joked Ortiz. “… It was unbelievable. I haven't had that many opportunities to be in final groups maybe like DJ, but it was crazy from the beginning. Both sides of the fairway were full of people, until the end, putting the ropes behind us. It was great. Being able to fight it out with Gracey, we were kind of in there until he decided to just keep going and left us behind. It was awesome. We had a great time.”

Although Johnson didn’t make the individual podium – he lost the third-place tiebreaker to Reed – he was happy to see his 4 Aces GC romp to the team title. The other two members are Talor Gooch, whose 2-under 70 score counted, and Pat Perez, whose 8-over 80 on Saturday did not contribute to the team score. Perez shot a 3-under 69 on Thursday to help the 4 Aces get out to an early tournament lead.

“The fans were electric from start to finish,” Johnson said. “I mean, there was a ton of energy out there, obviously coming down 17 and 18. Would have liked to have been a little bit closer to Branden finishing, but obviously he played unbelievable today and deserved everything with the way he played. But I thought the fans and the crowd were absolutely amazing.”

Reed said he fed off the support from the fans in shooting a bogey-free 5-under 67. He made a late run, holing out from eagle at the 17th before rolling in a birdie putt at 18.

“It was unreal. I might be moving to Portland sometime soon, so many fans on my side. I'm like, this is amazing,” Reed said. “… To go ahead and eagle 17 and start throwing fist pumps today, I haven't done that in God knows how long. Just that energy felt amazing. Being able to chip in on 18 and see the crowd just go absolutely insane and then come back and watch these guys finish up, seeing fans just pile in behind them -- we don't get that every week.”

Return