{"id":577340,"date":"2026-05-11T02:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T02:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/577340\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T02:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T02:19:09","slug":"herbert-goes-wire-to-wire-in-virginia-4aces-gc-top-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/577340\/","title":{"rendered":"Herbert goes wire to wire in Virginia; 4Aces GC top team"},"content":{"rendered":"

STERLING, Va. \u2014 Lucas Herbert started the week at Maaden LIV Golf Virginia 2026<\/a> battling the flu. The 30-year-old Australian ended it with an impressive wire-to-wire victory and his first LIV Golf individual trophy.<\/p>\n

The Ripper GC star shot a final-round 3-under 69 to hold off Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia, winning by four shots at 24 under at Trump National Washington, D.C. Garcia had closed the gap to a single stroke early on the back nine, but Herbert responded to the pressure with a timely birdie, eventually extending his lead to give himself the opportunity for a satisfying victory walk to the 18th green.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Leaderboard<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cI spent about 60-odd holes with the lead on my own,\u201d Herbert said. \u201cSo, it was nice to kind of just get to the finish line and have this one presented to me and achieve a goal that I\u2019ve had for 2-1\/2 years now since I joined the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

4Aces GC didn\u2019t have the same easy stroll in winning their third team title of the season.<\/p>\n

Fueled by Anthony Kim\u2019s bogey-free 10-under 62 \u2013 his lowest round relative to par since his return to golf in 2024 after a 12-1\/2 year retirement \u2013\u00a0the 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).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re all good players. We’re all very competitive,\u201d said Detry, who shared sixth place on the individual leaderboard with Kim. \u201cAnd I just love seeing that 4Aces name on top of the leaderboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim \u2013 whose win earlier this season at LIV Golf Adelaide remains one of the most celebrated victories in the golf world this season \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Kim said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It was a tough way to finish for Garcia, who was also in the hunt for the individual title on the back nine.<\/p>\n

Herbert started the round with a three-stroke lead over Garcia and extended that to five through the first eight holes. But at the par-3 ninth, Herbert\u2019s tee shot sailed long and into a collection area below the green. His first chip shot rolled back toward him, leaving him with another chip that eventually stayed up, and he two-putted for double bogey. Meanwhile, Garcia rolled in a birdie putt from 27 feet for a three-shot swing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sort of walked off that green, had a bit of a laugh with Pughy [caddie Nick Pugh] and just reminded myself I’m still two in front,\u201d Herbert said. \u201cDespite that car crash of a hole, I’m still two in front.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet Garcia then added another birdie after a terrific approach at the par-4 10th, cutting the deficit to one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was fighting hard,\u201d said Garcia, a two-time LIV Golf winner. \u201cObviously Lucas was playing well. Other than what happened on 9 \u2013 and he actually hit a good shot, he just hit it in the wrong spot over the green. I was giving everything that I had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two holes later at the par-5 12th, Herbert birdied while Garcia had to settle for par, and that seemed to switch the momentum that the Australian maintained the rest of the way \u2013 even through a short rain delay with two holes left in his round.<\/p>\n

In the end, this was Herbert\u2019s week, even though it started with an illness and limited practice time.<\/p>\n

Asked what he learned about himself, Herbert responded: \u201cThat I can perform pretty damn well when things aren’t perfect. I was pretty sick all week, and I woke up this morning probably feeling worse than I did the last few days. I had Sergio coming at me for 36 holes really hard, and he pushed me the whole way, made me earn that one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t doubt myself. I missed a few putts here and there and made it a contest late. But after the rain delay, the way I played those eight shots, I’m so proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

FINAL LEADERBOARDS <\/p>\n

Individual Top 10<\/p>\n

1 (-24) \u2013 Lucas Herbert, Ripper GC (64-63-68-69)<\/p>\n

2 (-20) \u2013 Sergio Garcia, Fireballs GC (66-67-65-70)<\/p>\n

3 (-19) \u2013 Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers GC (69-70-64-66)<\/p>\n

4 (-18) \u2013 Dean Burmester, Southern Guards GC (68-70-65-67)<\/p>\n

5 (-17) \u2013 Josele Ballester, Fireballs GC (73-70-60-68)<\/p>\n

T6 (-16) \u2013 Anthony Kim, 4Aces GC (68-72-70-62); Thomas Detry, 4Aces GC (70-69-66-67)<\/p>\n

T8 (-15) \u2013 Joaquin Niemann, Torque GC (70-71-67-65); Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (69-70-65-69); Scott Vincent, HyFlyers GC (72-69-62-70)<\/p>\n

Team Top 3<\/p>\n

1 (-49) \u2013 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)<\/p>\n

2 (-49) \u2013 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)<\/p>\n

3 (-48) \u2013 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)<\/p>\n

*Won on first playoff hole with aggregate score of even par<\/p>\n

Click here for full leaderboard<\/a><\/p>\n

ROUND 4 NOTES <\/p>\n

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\u2019s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, as he\u2019s the highest-ranking top-3 player who wasn\u2019t already exempt (No. 1 Jon Rahm and No. 2 Bryson DeChambeau were previously exempt).<\/p>\n

Herbert received 200 points for the win, leaving him with 299.18 points \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s a nice added bonus,\u201d Herbert said. \u201cMy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got plenty of pathways to get there,\u201d Detry said. \u201cI\u2019m not worried about it. The way I\u2019m playing golf, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s possible for me to not play the U.S. Open.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s top finishers this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very easy decision,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey shot the two best scores today, and I was tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Garcia was the Fireballs\u2019 best player this week with a solo second, he went with Josele Ballester and David Puig, who posted the team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey both played well today,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite losing the playoff, Ballester and Puig appreciated getting the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty cool. Happy to share it with my good friend David,\u201d Ballester said. \u201cI wish it would have ended a different way for us, but happy with the way we fought the last few holes.\u201d<\/p>\n

RAHM\u2019S ALBATROSS: Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm holed out from 217 yards with his second shot Sunday at the par-5 17th to record the fifth albatross in LIV Golf history and the third this season.<\/p>\n

It came near the end of a rollercoaster round for Rahm that included an eagle on his starting hole (par-5 second), a double bogey at the par-4 10th, along with three birdies and three bogeys. The reigning two-time Individual champion and current points leader shot a final-round 3-under 69 to finish at 15 under and in a tie for 8th \u2013\u00a0the first time this season he has not finished inside the top 5.<\/p>\n

4ACES\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The 4Aces moved to the top of the team standings through the halfway point of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

27TH WINNER: With his win Sunday, Lucas Herbert becomes the 27th different player to win a LIV Golf regular-season individual title.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The four players on Torque GC also have each won individual LIV Golf titles, but Abraham Ancer\u2019s win came as a member of Fireballs GC before he joined Torque in the offseason.<\/p>\n

ROUND 4 NUGGETS<\/p>\n

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\u00a0strokes\u00a0gained performances in league history \u2013 Lucas Herbert\u2019s\u00a0Rd.\u00a02 of +8.60\u00a0(7th), Anthony Kim\u2019s Rd.4 of +8.38\u00a0(10th) and Josele Ballester\u2019s Rd.3 of +7.93 (13th)Herbert went\u00a016 under\u00a0on par 5s this week (from 16 holes), the\u00a0best-ever\u00a0score relative to\u00a0par on par\u00a05s across a tournament in LIV Golf historySergio Garcia posted his best finish since his win in Hong Kong 2025. He led\u00a0in\u00a0Strokes\u00a0Gained Putting, gaining 1.98 strokes per round, his\u00a0best putting performance\u00a0in a LIV Golf tournamentGarcia\u2019s runner-up finish is his 5th\u00a0in league history, tying Anirban Lahiri\u00a0for the\u00a0second-most\u00a0runner-up\u00a0finishesDean Burmester had four eagles across the tournament, the most he has had and tied for the most by any playerAnthony\u00a0Kim\u00a0had his\u00a0best\u00a0Strokes Gained round on\u00a0LIV Golf, gaining 8.38 strokes on the field.Elvis\u00a0Smylie extended his par 5 par or better streak to 69, placing him 6th in the\u00a0all-time\u00a0listLucas Herbert extended his par 5 birdies or better streak to 12,\u00a0which is tied\u00a0for 2nd in the\u00a0all-time\u00a0listSTATS LEADERS <\/p>\n

Round 4<\/p>\n

Driving Distance: Josele Ballester, 328.6-yard avg.<\/p>\n

Longest Drive: Josele Ballester, 348.5 yards (12th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 2 & 12.<\/p>\n

Driving Accuracy: Anirban Lahiri, 85.71% (12 of 14)<\/p>\n

Greens in Regulation: Tom McKibbin, 94.44% (17 of 18)<\/p>\n

Scrambling: 9 players at 100%, led by Richard T. Lee (7 of 7)<\/p>\n

Fewest Putts: Anthony Kim, 24<\/p>\n

Bogey-free rounds: Anthony Kim (62), Joaquin Niemann (65), Bryson DeChambeau (66), Thomas Detry (67)<\/p>\n

Cumulative<\/p>\n

Driving Distance: Matthew Wolff, 310.1-yard avg.<\/p>\n

Driving Accuracy: Graeme McDowell, 78.57% (44 of 56)<\/p>\n

Greens in Regulation: Paul Casey, 84.72% (61 of 72)<\/p>\n

Scrambling: Dean Burmester, 80.00% (16 of 20)<\/p>\n

Fewest Putts: Anthony Kim, Dustin Johnson, 107<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STERLING, Va. \u2014 Lucas Herbert started the week at Maaden LIV Golf Virginia 2026 battling the flu. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-577340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}