STERLING, Va. — It wasn’t easy, but 4Aces GC won its third team title of the season at MAADEN LIV Golf Virginia.
Fueled by Anthony Kim’s bogey-free 10-under 62 – his lowest round relative to par since his return to golf in 2024 after a 12-1/2 year retirement – the 4Aces forced a playoff with Fireballs GC, which had started the round tied for the lead. The 4Aces won on the first playoff hole, with Kim and Thomas Detry each making par at the par-4 18th to beat youngsters Josele Ballester (par) and David Puig (bogey).
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“We’re all good players. We’re all very competitive,” said Detry, who shared sixth place on the individual leaderboard with Kim. “And I just love seeing that 4Aces name on top of the leaderboard.”
Kim – whose win earlier this season at LIV Golf Adelaide remains one of the most celebrated victories in the golf world this season – produced the best shot in the playoff, his 5-wood from 235 yards out of the rough finding the front of the green and finishing inside 10 feet from the pin. Meanwhile, the other three players failed to find the green with their approach shots.
“I noticed that the other three guys hit it really far, and I obviously don’t hit it as far as them at 40 years old and a broken body,” Kim said. “The goal was to just land it on the front and chase it back there with a 5-wood because the rough was wet. Just did what I was trying to do and executed the shot well.”
Kim also made a clutch birdie on his final hole that gave the 4Aces a chance at the playoff, although the team still needed help. The Fireballs had a one-stroke lead as Garcia played his final hole of the day, but his bogey dropped the team into a tie.
It was a tough way to finish for Garcia, who was also in the hunt for the individual title on the back nine.
Rapid Recap: MAADEN LIV Golf Virginia Final Round
FINAL LEADERBOARDS
Individual Top 10
1 (-24) – Lucas Herbert, Ripper GC (64-63-68-69)
2 (-20) – Sergio Garcia, Fireballs GC (66-67-65-70)
3 (-19) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers GC (69-70-64-66)
4 (-18) – Dean Burmester, Southern Guards GC (68-70-65-67)
5 (-17) – Josele Ballester, Fireballs GC (73-70-60-68)
T6 (-16) – Anthony Kim, 4Aces GC (68-72-70-62); Thomas Detry, 4Aces GC (70-69-66-67)
T8 (-15) – Joaquin Niemann, Torque GC (70-71-67-65); Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (69-70-65-69); Scott Vincent, HyFlyers GC (72-69-62-70)
Team Top 3
1 (-49) – 4Aces GC* (Kim 68-72-70-62, Detry 70-69-66-67; Johnson 71-71-67-69, Pieters 72-69-68-72; Rd. 4 score: -18)
2 (-49) – Fireballs GC (Ballester 73-70-60-68, Garcia 66-67-65-70, Masaveu 77-74-67-71, Puig 70-72-69-65; Rd. 4 total: -14)
3 (-48) – Legion XIII (Hatton 66-74-66-71, McKibbin 70-73-69-67, Rahm 69-70-65-69, Surratt 72-70-65-68; Rd. 4 total: -13)
*Won on first playoff hole with aggregate score of even par
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ROUND 4 NOTES
U.S. OPEN EXEMPTION: With his win Sunday, Lucas Herbert moved into third place in the season-long LIV Golf Individual Championship standings. That earned him a spot in next month’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, as he’s the highest-ranking top-3 player who wasn’t already exempt (No. 1 Jon Rahm and No. 2 Bryson DeChambeau were previously exempt).
Herbert received 200 points for the win, leaving him with 299.18 points – just ahead of Thomas Detry, who had entered Virginia ranked third in points but fell to fourth with his tie for sixth. Detry has 284.40 points.
“That’s a nice added bonus,” Herbert said. “My first major ever was at Shinnecock. Nice to go back and see what I’ve learned since then. Can’t wait to get there and try to play like I did this week.”
Detry, meanwhile, has other potential pathways into the U.S. Open, namely as a top-60 player in the Official World Golf Ranking. The 4Aces GC star was ranked 63rd in the world entering the week and earned more points with his top-10 finish.
“I’ve got plenty of pathways to get there,” Detry said. “I’m not worried about it. The way I’m playing golf, I don’t think it’s possible for me to not play the U.S. Open.”
NO CAPTAINS FOR THE PLAYOFFS: Neither 4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson nor Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia competed in the team playoff, although both captains could have done so as the final decision-makers on which members of their team get to participate.
Both captains opted to go with the hottest hands. For Johnson, that mean sending on Anthony Kim and Thomas Detry, who tied for eighth as the team’s top finishers this week.
“It was a very easy decision,” Johnson said. “They shot the two best scores today, and I was tired.”
Although Garcia was the Fireballs’ best player this week with a solo second, he went with Josele Ballester and David Puig, who posted the team’s lowest rounds on Sunday, each shooting 4-under 68. Also, Ballester set the course record the day before with a 12-under 60 that ties for the lowest round relative to par in LIV Golf history.
“They both played well today,” Garcia said. “I was a little tired. I would have loved to be there, but I was a little too tired. I thought playing from the back [tees at 18], it was a good hole for them.”
Despite losing the playoff, Ballester and Puig appreciated getting the opportunity.
“It was pretty cool. Happy to share it with my good friend David,” Ballester said. “I wish it would have ended a different way for us, but happy with the way we fought the last few holes.”
4ACES’ TOTAL TROPHY: With their third win of the season, 4Aces GC now has nine regular-season team victories, which ties Crushers GC and Legion XIII for most by any team.
Making that total more impressive is that the 4Aces went the entire 2024 and 2025 seasons without a team win, but the addition of Thomas Detry in the offseason and Anthony Kim starting with the second tournament of this season has made a huge difference.
The 4Aces moved to the top of the team standings through the halfway point of the 2026 season.
27TH WINNER: With his win Sunday, Lucas Herbert becomes the 27th different player to win a LIV Golf regular-season individual title.
In addition, his Ripper GC team now becomes the first LIV Golf team in which all four members have won individual titles while representing the team, as he joins previous league winners Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Elvis Smylie, the latter having won in his LIV Golf debut this year in Riyadh.
The four players on Torque GC also have each won individual LIV Golf titles, but Abraham Ancer’s win came as a member of Fireballs GC before he joined Torque in the offseason.
ROUND 4 NUGGETS
The par 3s this week in Virginia saw the fewest birdies made across the tournament for the season, with only 93 for the weekThe tournament had the second-most eagles in a LIV Golf tournament with 48 across the four days; only London 2023 had more (50)This week produced three of the top 13 strokes gained performances in league history – Lucas Herbert’s Rd. 2 of +8.60 (7th), Anthony Kim’s Rd.4 of +8.38 (10th) and Josele Ballester’s Rd.3 of +7.93 (13th)Herbert went 16 under on par 5s this week (from 16 holes), the best-ever score relative to par on par 5s across a tournament in LIV Golf historySergio Garcia posted his best finish since his win in Hong Kong 2025. He led in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 1.98 strokes per round, his best putting performance in a LIV Golf tournamentGarcia’s runner-up finish is his 5th in league history, tying Anirban Lahiri for the second-most runner-up finishesDean Burmester had four eagles across the tournament, the most he has had and tied for the most by any playerAnthony Kim had his best Strokes Gained round on LIV Golf, gaining 8.38 strokes on the field.Elvis Smylie extended his par 5 par or better streak to 69, placing him 6th in the all-time listLucas Herbert extended his par 5 birdies or better streak to 12, which is tied for 2nd in the all-time listSTATS LEADERS
Round 4
Driving Distance: Josele Ballester, 328.6-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Josele Ballester, 348.5 yards (12th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 2 & 12.
Driving Accuracy: Anirban Lahiri, 85.71% (12 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Tom McKibbin, 94.44% (17 of 18)
Scrambling: 9 players at 100%, led by Richard T. Lee (7 of 7)
Fewest Putts: Anthony Kim, 24
Bogey-free rounds: Anthony Kim (62), Joaquin Niemann (65), Bryson DeChambeau (66), Thomas Detry (67)
Cumulative
Driving Distance: Matthew Wolff, 310.1-yard avg.
Driving Accuracy: Graeme McDowell, 78.57% (44 of 56)
Greens in Regulation: Paul Casey, 84.72% (61 of 72)
Scrambling: Dean Burmester, 80.00% (16 of 20)
Fewest Putts: Anthony Kim, Dustin Johnson, 107