Cam Smith warms up for The Open with LIV Golf London title

Cameron Smith warmed up in the best possible fashion for his title defence of The Open in two weeks’ time with victory in the LIV Golf London individual event, but had to see the team title slip into the hands of the 4Aces on the very last hole on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Australian had battled all the way for the Rippers, but a missed par putt on the 18th green saw Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces take the team title at the very last to cap a dramatic final day at the Hertfordshire venue near London.

The Aces owed the $3 million prize purse to fine efforts of 65 from Patrick Reed and 66 by Pat Perez, It confirmed that the Aces seem to have the formula for success as Sunday’s win was their sixth team title going back to last season, and their second of 2023 after the Adelaide title.

The Centurion Club result also increased the Aces’ lead in the team standings to 39 points over Torque GC, three-time tournament winners this year.

On Sunday, Perez turned in a bogey-free round when the team needed him most despite the presence of major winners Johnson and Reed in the ranks.

“We have guys that are always going to play well,” Perez said later. “Being able to step up my game enough this year to actually help and contribute for one, it’s been satisfying for me. Last year, I didn’t do anything, which kind of sucks. I knew coming into the season I had to be a better player than I was, and I’ve worked hard at it to try to help a lot and contribute.”

While Smith was elated with the individual title, his second victory in 13 starts at LIV, he was also disappointed to have missed the par putt that would have forced the first team playoff in LIV Golf history.

“Obviously thrilled about the individual win, but it would’ve been nice to get up there with the boys,” said Smith, who shot a final-round 68 for a winning score of 15 under. “It’s a bit of mixed emotions at the moment.”

But it was a perfect way to build momentum for his title defence in two weeks at the Open Championship being the first win in 2023 after last November’s Australian PGA Championship.

“It feels like forever,” Smith said. “Especially the way I’ve been playing the last couple months, I’ve been knocking on the door. It’s nice to get one out of the way. Hopefully it opens the floodgates a little bit.”

Smith and Rippers teammate Marc Leishman were the last hope for the Rippers to catch the 4Aces, who rallied from four strokes down to start the day to take the lead at 34 under. The all-Australian side were 33 under going into the final hole, needing a birdie-birdie haul to win.

And while Leishman did his bit with a closing birdie, Smith found the bunker and a six-foot putt for par to tie team totals slipped past to snuff out their hopes. The bogey was enough to seal Smith’s individual win but the chance to net the Rippers’ first team title had gone.

“I really wanted Cam to make the one on the last there,” Leishman said later. “He played great and putted great all week. To win the tournament and still walk off the green disappointed, I guess that’s what this is all about, the team format.”

Added Perez, “Cam hasn’t missed one of those in his life, so I’m pretty shocked. Nonetheless, it would’ve been cool. That would’ve been a separator again in golf, to have a team playoff. I think it would’ve been awesome.”

“We were seeing a lot of those teams getting too close to us at the top of that board,” Aces lead scorer Reed said. “I felt like as a team, we just weren’t really getting the numbers we wanted to. This week meant a lot for us to go out and make a statement.”

One of those statements is the ability to finish off tournaments. Reed was a bogey-free 7 under on his first 11 holes. Perez was 4 under on his last 7 holes. Team leader Johnson added an eagle and a birdie in the back end of his round to keep the pressure on the chasing pack.

“That was the biggest thing,” Reed said. “We kept pressure on them.”

The victory took Smith into second place behind three-time winner Talor Gooch in the individual points race with 130 points to Gooch’s 137. On Sunday, Gooch finished 22nd.

Final team scores

1. 4Aces GC (-34): Patrick Reed 65, Pat Perez 66, Dustin Johnson 67

2. Ripper GC (-33): Marc Leishman 66, Cameron Smith 68, Jediah Morgan 69

3. Stinger GC (-29): Louis Oosthuizen 68, Branden Grace 69, Dean Burmester 69

4. RangeGoats GC (-26): Harold Varner III 67, Talor Gooch 68, Bubba Watson 71

5. Majesticks GC (-24): Ian Poulter 66, Henrik Stenson 69, Laurie Canter 70

6. Cleeks GC (-23): Richard Bland 66, Bernd Wiesberger 67, Graeme McDowell 69

7. Crushers GC (-22): Anirban Lahiri 68, Bryson DeChambeau 68, Charles Howell III 71

8. Fireballs GC (-21): Eugenio Chacarra 67, Carlos Ortiz 67, Abraham Aner 69

9. Iron Heads GC (-18): Scott Vincent 66, Danny Lee 69, Kevin Na 69

10. Torque GC (-17): Sebastian Munoz 65, Joaquin Niemann 69, Mito Pereira 69

11. Smash GC (-17): Brooks Koepka 68, Jason Kokrak 70, Chase Koepka 72

12. HyFlyersS GC (-16): Cameron Tringale 68, Phil Mickelson 71, Brendan Steele 71