LIV Golf Miami ended with a double Australian triumph, as Marc Leishman earned his first individual victory on the LIV circuit, while his all-Aussie team, Ripper GC, dominated the team standings. On the challenging Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral, Leishman finished with a total of 6 under par, winning by one shot over Charl Schwartzel, thanks to a bogey-free final round of 4 under par (68). Ripper GC, on the other hand, took home the team title with a total of +4, a historic result considering it is the first time a team has won a LIV event with a score over par.
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The Blue Monster, with its 7,701 meters and difficult conditions made by wind and hard greens, put the 54 players to the test. Leishman, 41, showed extraordinary consistency, closing out the only bogey-free round of the week. Starting three shots behind leader Bryson DeChambeau after the second round, the Australian took the lead with birdies on the first holes and sealed the win with a 14-foot putt for par on the feared 18th hole after a tee shot went into the trees. I wanted this win so badly, Leishman said. After Singapore, where I played poorly, to come here and win on a course like this is even more satisfying.
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Behind him, Charl Schwartzel (Stinger GC) finished five back with an impressive final 66, the best of the day along with Carlos Ortiz. Third place went to Sergio Garcia (Fireballs GC), four back, who almost made the playoff but bogeyed the 18th after a tee shot miss. For Leishman, this is his first win in four years, a milestone that caps a career of ups and downs in LIV Golf, where he had already come close to success with three second-place finishes.
In the team competition, Ripper GC, composed of Leishman, Cameron Smith, Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert, made the most of the preparation work done in January during a training camp on the Blue Monster. Despite the brutal conditions, with wind and cold, that retreat paid off: the team finished at +4, eight shots ahead of Crushers GC (+12) and 13 shots ahead of 4Aces GC (+17).
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LIV Golf Miami was a crucial test for the 12 players on the circuit who will be at the Masters this week. Here is how the most anticipated protagonists placed:
Charl Schwartzel, second, and Sergio Garcia, third, finished in the top positions, showing great form. Schwartzel, with his final 66, is ready to return to Augusta, where he won in 2011, while Garcia will look to capitalize on his second place of the season. Bryson DeChambeau, fifth, was leading after two rounds but collapsed with a final 75, marked by a bogey and a double bogey. Phil Mickelson, sixth, despite a resounding bad luck on the 7th hole (a chip against the pole ended up in the water), closed with a good tournament. Patrick Reed, seventh, Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm, both ninth, remain among the favorites for the Masters. Smith, captain of the Rippers, found consistency, while Rahm maintained his top-10 record despite a quadruple bogey on the 17th. Further back were Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Tyrrell Hatton, Bubba Watson and Joaquin Niemann, who however remains the leader of the individual seasonal standings.
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With the Masters just around the corner, LIV Golf Miami offered a high-level show and a taste of what we could see in Augusta. For Leishman and the Rippers GC, however, the satisfaction of a double triumph that will remain in the history of the circuit.
