Staff WriterLIV Golf Virginia was supposed to be a test of nerve, power and late-Sunday patience. For Lucas Herbert, it also became a test of sinuses, lungs and whatever emergency supplies were hiding in the medicine cabinet. The 30-year-old Australian arrived at Maaden LIV Golf Virginia 2026 battling the flu and left Trump National Washington, D.C. with his first LIV Golf individual trophy after a wire-to-wire victory that was far tougher than the final four-shot margin suggested.
Herbert, representing Ripper GC, closed with a composed 3-under 69 to finish at 24 under, holding off Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia, who made a proper nuisance of himself for much of the final round.
Garcia got within one shot early on the back nine, which is about the time most leaders begin hearing footsteps, ghosts and caddie whispers in stereo. Herbert, however, found the birdie he needed at the par-5 12th and gradually restored order.
“I spent about 60-odd holes with the lead on my own,” Herbert said. “So, 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’ve had for 2-1/2 years now since I joined the league.”
Herbert’s Wire-To-Wire Win Was Anything But Comfortable
Herbert began the final round three clear of Garcia and looked, for eight holes, like a man driving a hire car with full insurance. He stretched the advantage to five before the par-3 ninth decided to throw a piano down the stairs.
His tee shot sailed long into a collection area. His first chip came back toward him. The second stayed up. Two putts later, it was a double bogey. Garcia, meanwhile, rolled in a 27-footer for birdie. A three-shot swing, just like that.
“I 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,” Herbert said. “Despite that car crash of a hole, I’m still two in front.”
Garcia then birdied the 10th after a superb approach to cut the lead to one. The Spaniard had the bit between his teeth and, as ever, enough competitive wiring to power a small village.
“I was fighting hard,” said Garcia, a two-time LIV Golf winner. “Obviously Lucas was playing well. Other than what happened on 9 – 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.”
The 12th Hole Turned The Tide
The key moment came at the par-5 12th. Herbert made birdie. Garcia made par. It was not spectacular in the fireworks-and-flames sense, but it changed the air around the contest.
From there, Herbert steadied himself, handled a short rain delay with two holes to play, and produced the kind of closing sequence that tells you more about a player than any glossy highlight reel.
Asked what he learned about himself, Herbert responded: “That 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.
“I 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.”
That is the meat of the matter. LIV Golf Virginia did not hand Herbert a coronation. It handed him flu, Garcia, pressure, rain and one truly dreadful ninth hole. He beat the lot.
4Aces Win Playoff After Anthony Kim’s Sunday Surge
If Herbert had the individual title under control by the final green, the team championship was busy behaving like a toddler with a drum kit.
4Aces GC claimed their third team title of the season, but not before being dragged into a playoff with Fireballs GC. The spark came from Anthony Kim, who produced a bogey-free 10-under 62 — his lowest round relative to par since returning to golf in 2024 after a 12-and-a-half-year retirement.
Kim and Thomas Detry took on Josele Ballester and David Puig at the par-4 18th. Kim and Detry made par. Ballester also made par. Puig made bogey. That was enough for 4Aces GC to move to the top of the team standings at the halfway point of the 2026 LIV Golf season.
“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’s 5-Wood From The Rough Was The Shot Of The Playoff
The playoff’s defining blow came from Kim, whose 5-wood from 235 yards out of wet rough found the front of the green and finished inside 10 feet. The other three players missed the green with their approaches.
For a player whose comeback has already provided one of golf’s best stories this season, it was another reminder that Kim still has a taste for the absurdly difficult.
“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 had already made a clutch birdie on his final hole to give 4Aces GC a chance. Fireballs still led by one as Garcia played his last, but his bogey dropped them into a tie. For Garcia, it was a bruising finish to a day when he was chasing both individual and team success.
Why The Captains Stayed Out Of The Playoff
Neither Dustin Johnson nor Sergio Garcia played in the team playoff, despite both captains having the power to choose themselves.
Johnson sent Kim and Detry. Garcia went with Ballester and Puig, who had both shot 4-under 68 on Sunday. Ballester had also set the course record a day earlier with a 12-under 60, tying the lowest round relative to par in LIV Golf history.
“It was a very easy decision,” Johnson said. “They shot the two best scores today, and I was tired.”
Garcia’s explanation was similarly practical.
“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.”
The youngsters did not quite pull it off, but the faith was not lost on them.
“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.”
Herbert Earns U.S. Open Exemption At Shinnecock Hills
Herbert’s win did more than deliver his first LIV Golf individual title. It moved him into third place in the season-long LIV Golf Individual Championship standings and earned him a spot in next month’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, the top two in the standings, were already exempt, leaving Herbert as the highest-ranking top-three player not already in the field.
Herbert collected 200 points for the LIV Golf Virginia win, moving to 299.18 points. That nudged him ahead of Thomas Detry, who slipped to fourth on 284.40 despite finishing tied sixth.
“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 may yet join him through another route, most likely via the Official World Golf Ranking. He entered the week ranked 63rd and added more ranking momentum with another 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.”
Jon Rahm Adds An Albatross To A Wild Sunday
Jon Rahm did not finish inside the top five for the first time this season, but he still found a way to leave fingerprints all over the final round.
The Legion XIII Captain holed out from 217 yards for an albatross at the par-5 17th, the fifth albatross in LIV Golf history and the third this season.
Rahm’s 3-under 69 was a strange old cocktail: an eagle at his opening hole, a double bogey at the 10th, three birdies, three bogeys, and that outrageous albatross near the end. He finished tied eighth at 15 under, a rare quieter result for the reigning two-time Individual Champion and current points leader.
4Aces Are Back On Top
The 4Aces’ third win of 2026 gives them nine regular-season LIV Golf team victories, tying Crushers GC and Legion XIII for the most by any team.
That figure has extra weight because 4Aces GC went through the entire 2024 and 2025 seasons without a team win. The additions of Thomas Detry in the offseason and Anthony Kim from the second tournament of this season have changed the chemistry, the scoring depth and, apparently, the trophy cabinet’s workload.
At the halfway point of the season, 4Aces GC lead the team standings. That is not a small note. It is a warning label.
Ripper GC Make LIV Golf History
Herbert also became the 27th different player to win a LIV Golf regular-season individual title.
His victory means Ripper GC are now the first LIV Golf team to have all four members win individual titles while representing the side. Herbert joins Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Elvis Smylie, who won on his LIV Golf debut earlier this year in Riyadh.
Torque GC also have four players with individual LIV Golf titles, but Abraham Ancer’s win came while he was still with Fireballs GC.
Dean Burmester also deserves a nod after finishing fourth at Trump National Washington, D.C., capping a strong LIV Golf Virginia performance that included four eagles across the tournament.
The Numbers Behind LIV Golf Virginia
The final round had plenty of theatre, but the statistics were just as revealing.
The par 3s in Virginia produced only 93 birdies across the week, the fewest in a LIV Golf tournament this season. Meanwhile, the event produced 48 eagles, the second-most in LIV Golf history behind London 2023, which had 50.
Herbert’s dominance on the par 5s was historic. He played them in 16 under from 16 holes, the best-ever score relative to par on par 5s across a LIV Golf tournament.
This week also produced three of the top 13 strokes-gained performances in league history: Herbert’s second round at +8.60, Kim’s final round at +8.38, and Ballester’s third-round 60 at +7.93.
Garcia finished runner-up for the fifth time in LIV Golf, tying Anirban Lahiri for the second-most runner-up finishes in league history. He also led the field in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 1.98 strokes per round, his best putting performance in a LIV Golf tournament.
Elvis Smylie extended his par-5 par-or-better streak to 69, placing him sixth on the all-time list, while Herbert’s par-5 birdie-or-better streak moved to 12, tied for second all-time.
Final Word
LIV Golf Virginia gave Herbert the breakthrough he had been chasing since joining the league, but it did not arrive gift-wrapped. He had to drag it through illness, a late Garcia charge, a double bogey that could have rattled a lamppost, and a rain delay when the finish line was finally in sight.
The result was not just a win. It was proof of resilience under bad conditions and worse timing.
Herbert now heads toward Shinnecock Hills with a LIV Golf trophy, a U.S. Open exemption and the kind of confidence that comes from winning when the body is grumbling and the leaderboard is snarling. That is usually when you find out who has the stomach for it. Herbert, flu and all, had plenty.
