Big final round at Trump National Doral lifts Leishman to first LIV title
When it was over, the 41-year-old Australian finally had his first career LIV individual title.
Leishman shot a 4-under-par 68 and finished at 6-under to win the tournament at Trump National Doral.
Charl Schwartzel finished second at 5-under, with Sergio Garcia third at 4-under.
'It was one of those days where I just kept hitting really good golf shots,' Schwartzel said.
Schwartzel posted a 6-under 66 in the final round, as did Carlos Ortiz, who finished fourth at 3-under. Bryson DeChambeau rounded out the top five at 2-under after carding a 75 Sunday.
'It was an unbelievable leaderboard. I saw all the guys right behind me and I knew the holes I had to finish off on,' Leishman said. 'I played probably some of my best golf I've ever played today, especially coming off Singapore a couple weeks ago where I think I beat three people.
'Confidence wasn't overly high. But I knew things were looking pretty good. I was playing good golf and showed that today. To win out here, you're playing against top fields every week, so yeah, I'm still just letting it sink in.'
Leishman's Rippers GC, captained by Cameron Smith, claimed the team title with a combined score of 4-over, eight strokes better than DeChambeau's Crushers GC, which finished second.
The all-Australian foursome of Leishman, Smith (-2), and teammates Matt Jones (-1) and Lucas Herbert (+2), which entered Miami ranked fourth in the LIV team standings, led by 11 strokes at one point.
'It just goes to show the player he is,' Smith said of Leishman. 'He has been knocking on the door for a few years.'
Said Leishman: 'I just wanted to hit good shots, limit mistakes and give myself opportunities.'
DeChambeau started the final round as the tournament leader, holding a two-stroke lead over Garcia and a three-stroke advantage on Leishman, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson.
But he plummeted out of contention with two bogeys and two double bogeys in his first 10 holes Sunday after only three bogeys in the first two rounds combined.
In the team competition, Garcia's Fireballs GC, which was vying for its fourth consecutive tournament title, finished fifth Sunday at 20- over.
After the field struggled through some of the toughest conditions in LIV Golf's four-year history Saturday, several golfers had stellar scores for the final round Sunday.
That included Ortiz, who had seven birdies and just one bogey after a pair of rounds over par Friday and Saturday. He made a significant rise in the standings, as did Schwartzel, who recorded five birdies over a six-hole stretch on the back nine Sunday. Schwartzel capped his round with a seventh birdie on the final hole, overtaking Garcia, who bogeyed his final hole.
Neither could catch Leishman, who opened the round with four birdies in his first 10 holes, including one on the 608-yard, par-5 No. 10.
He shot par on each of the final eight holes, steadily navigating the challenging Blue Monster course that dealt golfers bogeys with regularity this weekend.
Defending LIV Golf Miami champion Dean Burmester, who defeated Garcia in a sudden-death playoff on the second hole last year, made some noise Sunday with birdies on holes 6, 7, 9, and 10. However, he bogeyed No. 13 and needed nine shots on the notoriously difficult 468-yard par-4 18th to finally sink his ball.
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