Cameron Smith managed to hold off his Ripper GC teammate, Marc Leishman and 4 Aces’, Patrick Reed, with Smith carding a final round 68 to claim a second LIV Golf title and first trophy since the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in November 2022.
The individual tournament had been exciting to watch, but it was also the team portion where attention was turned as 4 Aces GC, Ripper GC and Stinger GC battled it out. But, despite winning the individual portion, it was Smith who missed his final putt on the 18th, which meant his Rippers’ side missed out to the 4 Aces by a single shot.
Beginning on Sunday, it was the Australian who held a three-shot lead over his fellow countryman Leishman. However, out the gate that advantage was reduced quickly, with players scoring well early on.
Smith, though, fired back and, going into the back nine, he had managed to recover his three shot lead from the start of the day. Soon though, Smith was joined by Reed who was making his typical Sunday charge, with the American carding six birdies in an eight hole run from the eighth to the 15th.
Reed was still a few shots back off Smith but, at the par 5 15th, the Australian opened the door slightly as he pulled his tee shot left into the trees. Luckily, his ball came to rest just to the right of them and, after parring both 15 and 16, he made a birdie at the par 3 17th to sit two shots clear with Reed playing the last.
Pat Perez, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Peter Uihlein pose with the team trophy
(Image credit: Getty Images)
If Reed had birdied the 18th then Smith may have been slightly more nervous but, after the American made par, it gave the Australian some breathing space, a good thing after he found the bunker with a wedge for his third shot. Although he splashed out to under six-feet, Smith couldn’t convert, with his putt sliding just by on the right side.
Picking up the individual title, Smith’s Ripper GC side, who he captains, missed out on a playoff with Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces. The American trio of Reed, Pat Perez and Johnson shot rounds of six, five and four-under to scoop yet another team title.
In the Ripper GC camp, Leishman, Smith and Jed Morgan carded rounds of five, three and two-under, but their efforts weren’t enough as they came up a shot shy. Along with the two teams, Stinger GC’s Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester and Branden Grace fired a seven-under round for a 29-under team total to finish five shots back of the 4 Aces.
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