After Jon Rahm was crowned ‘Individual Champion’ last week, the LIV Golf Tour in Dallas decided the Team Championship this week. Without the participation of the defending champions Crushers GC around captain Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, who was ill, the Australian team Ripper GC prevailed against the competition on the final day.
LIV Golf: Ripper GC Wins the Team Championship in Dallas
On the final day of the LIV Golf Team Championship in Dallas, team captain Cameron Smith and Ripper GC lived up to their role as favorites. In addition to the two surprise teams 4Aces GC and Iron Heads GC, who only finished 10th in the season rankings and, in the case of Iron Heads, a distant 13th, Ripper GC also had to deal with second-placed Legion XIII in the final. However, without Jon Rahm, who was ill, the newly formed team was clearly weakened. While Tyrrell Hatton did everything in his power with a round of 68 to make up for the Spaniard’s absence, it was Kieran Vincent’s weak round of 73 that ultimately made the difference. The one stroke over par was the weakest score among the four final teams. At Ripper GC, captain Cameron Smith was able to rely on the performance of his teammates (Herbert 69, Jones 70, Leishman 70) and successfully led the team to the Team Championship (-11) with a joint best score of the day of 68 strokes. Second place was shared by 4Aces GC and Iron Heads GC with the two captains Dustin Johnson and Kevin Na (-8).
POV: Last celebration of the season 🔥 #LIVGolf @rippergc_ pic.twitter.com/K89m2x3Z38
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) September 22, 2024
After the final round, team captain Cameron Smith was visibly relieved: “Yeah, it was pretty unreal. Yeah, so proud. There was something in me that was going to tell me that the boys were going to come through. The Gladiator, the last four of the five holes, pretty unbelievable. Really cool stuff. I mean, to be a part of this is unreal, especially with these guys.”