PGA golfer Brooks Koepka has won the inaugural Aon Risk Reward Challenge trophy and its $1 million prize.
Global professional services firm Aon, which includes retirement consulting and investment consulting units, introduced the contest this year to test professional golfers and their caddies on their skill in analyzing the risk and making strategic decisions on golf's most challenging holes.
There were 65 designated challenge holes throughout the competition, which took the two best scores from every participating event in which players competed, measured by the lowest average score to par on those challenge holes.
The competition also includes the LGPA. The winning LGPA player will claim her prize — also a trophy and $1 million — in November at the CME Group Tour Championship.
The final challenge hole of the season was the 545-yard Par 5 15th hole at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., for the Wyndham Championship. A video on the Aon competition's website showcased some of the hole's specific risks based on past performance by players. For example, the stroke average of players who missed the fairway off the tee was 5.1 last season. The average of those who found the fairway was 4.22.
The 15th hole also featured risk zones surrounding the green on all sides, necessitating an accurate approach shot if they wanted to find the green in two shots. The video noted that 82% of the field that went for the green in two shots averaged under par at 4.28 strokes last season, compared with the 18% of the field that laid up and had an average of 5.59 strokes.
Mr. Koepka's average score to par to finish the challenge came in at -1.000.
Information on the Aon Risk Reward Challenge is available on the PGA Tour's website as well as on Aon's website.
