[PHOTO: LIV Golf]
While Sebastian Munoz and Jon Rahm split the spotlight at LIV Golf Indianapolis, the former winning the tournament and the latter clinching the overall season-long individual championship, Australia’s contingent experienced a mixed bag.
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Cameron Smith was the standout. The Ripper GC captain strung together rounds of 64-69-67 at The Club at Chatham Hills to finish at 13-under, good enough for a share of 14th alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Graeme McDowell. Smith’s form looked sharp from tee to green, though a cold putter on day two halted his momentum. Still, it was a positive step as he eyes the upcoming teams finale this week and the upcoming Australian summer of golf.
Teammate Lucas Herbert finished tied 45th at four-under. Herbert closed with a 67 but early struggles left him too far back to mount a serious push. Matt Jones shared 47th at three-under after a final-round 67.
Marc Leishman had been in strong form, having won the LIV event at Miami’s Doral course in April and was the only Australian to make the cut at The Open at Portrush. He opened Indiana with a solid 65, but faltered with a second-round 77 and could not recover. A closing 73 dropped him into a tie for 51st at two-over.
Aussies on the season-long LIV standings
The curtain closed on the 13-event LIV season with Ripper GC squad producing mixed results on the individual front. While Leishman was the standout as the only individual winner this year, Herbert was sensational for the first half of the season, Smith put himself in position for several victory chances without picking one off while Jones produced a top-10.
Leishman ranked 13th overall with 74.50 points, buoyed by his victory in Miami. He opened with a T6 in Riyadh and later added a T10 at Virginia, but outside of those results consistency was lacking. A string of mid-table and a handful of lower-table finishes kept him from pressing into the top 10 on the overall ladder.
Smith, winless in a LIV season for the first time since joining in 2022, finished in 18th place on the standings with 68.80 points. The 2022 Open champion built momentum mid-season with five top-10s: a T-9 in Miami, T-5 in Mexico, a T7 in Korea, a T7 at AndalucÃa and a 10th at JCB.
Herbert finished the year in 15th place on 71.90 points, producing the most top-fives of the Australians. He began with a T4 in Riyadh and added a fourth in Hong Kong before a brilliant T-2 in Mexico. But he didn’t register another top 10 for the season.
Jones was 40th in the standings with 19.25 points. His season highlight came at AndalucÃa, where he produced a ball-striking masterclass to finish T4.
The teams championship tees off this week in Michigan, where Ripper GC are the defending champions.