Cameron Smith and fellow Aussies set the seal at LIV Bedminster while Phil Mickelson misses opportunity

Cameron Smith won his third LIV Golf title at Bedminster Golf Club in resounding fashion with an emphatic seven-shot lead over the competition, helping his team Rippers GC secure their first team title.

Cameron went for an Aussie beer ‘shoey’ after winning his third LIV title, at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, but this time with his Rippers GC teammates joining in on the celebratory action. Smith’s won before on the LIV tour—in Chicago last year and London this year—but never the team he captains. Thanks to the high margin of Smith’s leaderboard standing along with Marc Leishman’s tie for seventh finish at two-under, Rippers made winning at LIV a full-Aussie affair.

Between Smith and his Australian teammates, it was a great payday, with them collectively receiving a total of $7 million, including the single winner’s check of $4 million for Cam Smith alone and $3 million shared amongst the Rippers, including Matt Jones and Jediah Morgan in addition to Smith and Leishman.

Cameron Smith outpaced Phil Mickelson at LIV Bedminister

The 2022 Open Champion Smith was the player to beat throughout, adding to his dominant performance each day and ending at 12-under with five birdies to offset the two bogeys that perhaps showed some nerves at the start of the final round. Smith may have been nervous at first on Sunday with six-time major winner Phil Mickelson nipping at his heels, who had been just three shots behind him.

The close competition between Smith and Lefty injected the event with early excitement, which, unfortunately, became short-lived on Sunday. If Mickelson had displayed Zen confidence in the second round, all momentum for the 53-year-old evaporated as he struck terrible luck at the par-three seventh hole, where he let two drives plunk straight into the water. His hand went up to his forehead when he realized that his second place—and any chance to overtake the leader—slipped through his fingers, going from five-under to a devastating even par.

Three birdies later helped the 2021 PGA Championship winner retain an under par score, with Mickelson finishing at one-under and tied for ninth. It was a massive letdown, however, for the golfing legend who has never won on the LIV tour, a golf league that he helped spearhead. His second-place position on Day 2 was the closest he’s ever gotten to a LIV title.

With Mickelson faltering, Smith surged ahead, adding two more birdies on the back nine, and extending the margin between him and the rest of the field, with Anirban Lahiri finishing in second place at five-under and Abraham Ancer, Patrick Reed and Dean Burmester all tying for third at four-under.

Smith’s win at Bedminster allowed him to surpass Talor Gooch in the LIV Golf individual standings by 21 points.

“That was the goal since the start of the year, to be up with a shot at it,” Smith said of leading in the individual standings, and having an excellent shot of collecting the yearend bonus of $18 million, according to ESPN. “Got a couple of weeks left.”

The next LIV Golf league event will take place at the Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club in Chicago, IL, starting Sep. 22.