In the last #LIVTour event prior to the Open Championship at the end of the month, Australian golfer, Cameron Smith, takes home the win.
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.
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 carded a final round of 68 at the Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead to finish 15 under par, a shot ahead of Leishman and former Masters champion Patrick Reed. However, he bogeyed the par-5 18th, helping the 4Aces team led by Dustin Johnson to defeat his Ripper team by a single stroke.
“It’s good,” said Smith, who won his first major title at St Andrews last year thanks to a superb closing round of 64 on the Old Course.
"I'm thrilled about the individual win, but it would have been nice to get up there with the boys," said Smith. "I hit a good putt, too. It's a bit of mixed emotions, I think, at the moment. We [Ripper GC] showed some form early last week, and we're showing form again here. It's good to see Leishman play really good golf. He played incredible this weekend. I got to play with him the last two days, and he might not be too far behind me."
Smith will be defending his 2022 Open Championship win in a few weeks, and he feels good about his game heading into the final major of 2023. “I wouldn’t say it really takes the pressure off. I think it’s just nice to be playing good golf. There’s nothing worse going into a big golf tournament and you’re playing crappy golf.” Asked how he will prepare for defending the Claret Jug on a course he has never played before, Smith added: “Probably no golf for me next week.
Cam also was able to have some fun on the course outside of his win this weekend. Kevin Na had yanked a tee shot embarrassingly wide left Saturday. He immediately was disgusted with the swing and let his club fly behind him, nearly hitting Smith in the process. So what did Smith do? He showed up on the final day with a hard hat in his bag. He put it on as Na approached the tee, and they laughed about it.
