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Fox Sports
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
LIV Golf Mexico City: Ripper GC pulls ahead of Crushers GC after Round 2
MEXICO CITY – Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau is arguably golf's biggest hitter. Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith is arguably the sport's best putter. On Sunday at LIV Golf Mexico City, they'll face off for the first time in the final group of a LIV Golf final round. DeChambeau, thanks to a birdie at the par-3 18th Saturday, grabbed a one-shot lead over Smith. Both shot matching 5-under 66s while playing together during Saturday's second round, a precursor to what promises to be a dramatic and entertaining finish at Club de Golf Chapultepec. And if that wasn't enough, the third member of the final threesome is Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann, the current season-long points leader. Niemann is three shots off the lead and tied for the low round of the day Saturday with a 7-under 64. "Hopefully Bryson and I and Joaco can put on a good show," said Smith. [MORE: What is LIV Golf? Format, everything to know about the 2025 season ] Having spent 18 holes together on Saturday, and with 18 more set for Sunday, DeChambeau (13 under) and Smith (12 under) left no doubt how impressed they are with each other's biggest strengths inside the ropes. "It's scary when he gets on the greens," DeChambeau said. "Whenever he gets on the greens, I'm like, well, that's a one-putt. Pretty awesome to watch him putt." "I wish I could drive the ball like him," Smith said. "I often wonder how much better of a golfer I would be if I could drive the ball like him." Added DeChambeau: "Playing in the final group tomorrow will be a lot of fun. We're going to go after it." DeChambeau and Smith are each seeking their first LIV Golf individual titles since 2023 when they combined to win four consecutive events near the end of the season. Since then, DeChambeau has made 19 LIV Golf regular-season starts without a win; Smith's drought is at 20. [MORE: How to watch LIV Golf Mexico City 2025: Schedule, start time, TV channels, tee times, streaming] Fortunately, they've enjoyed success from a team perspective, with the Crushers winning the 2023 Team Championship and the Rippers winning last year, with both teams also collecting multiple regular-season trophies. The Rippers, looking for their second consecutive win after last month's victory in Miami, own a two-shot lead over the Crushers, with Torque GC and Legion XIII tied for third. While DeChambeau did win the U.S. Open last year for his second career major, Smith has made 33 starts worldwide since his last victory. Both are extremely hungry for an individual LIV Golf champagne celebration on Sunday. [MORE: 2025 LIV Golf Mexico City odds, predictions: Favorites, picks from the field] "I'm trying to win every week," said DeChambeau, who also led after 36 holes in Miami before finishing solo fifth. "Sometimes I don't bring my best game, but I'm giving it my all and attempting my best every single time I show up and put a peg in the ground. Tomorrow is going to be no different." Said Smith, who is playing in the final group for the first time since his 2023 win in Bedminster: "Being in contention tomorrow and today was so much fun. It's been a while for me to be at the top of the leaderboard, so I'm really enjoying it." LIV Golf's new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Saturday's Rd. 2 of LIV Golf Mexico City. 1. RIPPER GC -24 (Smith 66, Jones 67, Herbert 71, Leishman 71; Rd. 2 score: -9) 2. CRUSHERS GC -22 (DeChambeau 66, Casey 69, Howell III 71, Lahiri 71; Rd. 2 score: -7) T3. TORQUE GC -19 (Niemann 64, Muñoz 65, Ortiz 68, Pereira 72; Rd. 2 score: -15) T3. LEGION XIII -19 (Surratt 64, Hatton 67, Rahm 69, McKibbin 70; Rd. 2 score: -14) 5. 4ACES GC -18 (Johnson 66, Varner III 67, Pieters 69, Reed 70; Rd. 2 score: -12) 6. SMASH GC -12 (Gooch 68, McDowell 70, Koepka 71, Kokrak 72; Rd. 2 score: -3) 7. STINGER GC -5 (Schwartzel 66, Grace 67, Burmester 68, Oosthuizen 73; Rd. 2 score: -10) 8. MAJESTICKS GC +1 (Westwood 67, Stenson 69, Poulter 74, Horsfield 77; Rd. 2 score: +3) 9. CLEEKS GOLF CLUB +3 (Bland 66, Kaymer 69, Kjettrup 73, Meronk 75; Rd. 2 score: -1) 10. FIREBALLS GC +4 (Ancer 69, Puig 70, Masaveu 73, Garcia 74; Rd. 2 score: +2) 11. RANGEGOATS GC +7 (Uihlein 71, Watson 71, Catlin 73, Wolff 77; Rd. 2 score: +8) 12. HYFLYERS GC +8 (Mickelson 69, Tringale 73, Ogletree 74, Steele 74; Rd. 2 score: +6) 13. IRON HEADS GC +27 (Lee 69, Na 72, Kozuma 74, Jang 85; Rd. 2 score: +16) Wild Cards: C. Lee 74, Kim 77 [MORE: How Tom Brady helped Phil Mickelson master the art of longevity] This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily . FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience LIV Golf recommended Get more from LIV Golf Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Arab News
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Rippers, Marc Leishman sweep both trophies on demanding Blue Monster
MIAMI: The all-Australian Ripper GC team held a preseason training camp in January on the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral. The weather was cold, misty and windy. The 10th fairway was inaccessible. The conditions were brutal — but the payoff came Sunday at LIV Golf Miami. The Rippers won the battle of survival under the harshest scoring circumstances in league history, with popular veteran Marc Leishman claiming his first LIV Golf individual title after shooting the week's only bogey-free round. His Rippers won the team title with a cumulative 4-over total, the first time any team has won with an over-par score. 'It kicked our butts when we were here in January for the training camp, and it did the same again this week,' Leishman said. 'I guess it kicked our butt less than everyone else.' Leishman conquered the Blue Monster on Sunday by posting the only bogey-free round by any player this week, a 5-under 67 to finish at 6 under, one stroke better than Stinger GC's Charl Schwartzel. Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia was another stroke back in solo third. It's the 14th time in LIV Golf history that a team has swept both trophies. And it's the first win of any kind in four years for the 41-year-old Leishman, who had three runner-up finishes and five other top 10s since joining LIV Golf with his captain Cameron Smith in the middle of the inaugural 2022 season. 'It's been a long time coming for Leish,' Smith said. 'He's knocked on so many doors, and at times has felt probably unlucky. Even for me as a mate, I've felt like he's been unlucky.' In the previous LIV Golf tournament in Singapore last month, Leishman tied for 51st, his worst result in LIV Golf. But on a demanding course toughened by wind gusts and firm greens, Leishman produced a masterpiece of steady, patient play. 'It was pretty disgusting how I played there,' Leishman said of Singapore. 'To come back on a golf course like this where there's trouble around every single corner, I think playing so bad in Singapore helped me today just not letting my guard down at all.' Leishman started Sunday three shots off the lead but quickly moved up the leaderboard with birdies in two of his first four holes. He shared the lead with round 2 leader Bryson DeChambeau through eight holes, but the Crushers GC captain went bogey-double bogey around the turn to effectively end his chances. Leishman's final birdie of the day at the par-5 10th gave him a three-shot cushion and he nursed it with eight consecutive pars to end his round, never providing his challengers with an opening. Even so, several players made a charge on the back nine. Stingers GC's Charl Schwartzel reeled off four straight birdies to climb into contention, while teammate Dean Burmester, the defending LIV Golf Miami champion, also made noise before a disastrous final two holes. Garcia, seeking his second win of the season, was 3-under during a 11-hole stretch. His birdie at the 17th after a brilliant approach shot moved him within a shot of Leishman's lead. Leishman, playing in the group ahead of Garcia, found the trees with his tee shot at the 18th and had to punch out. His third shot left him 13 feet above the pin, but he knocked in the clutch par putt to keep the lead. Garcia ultimately bogeyed the 18th, hitting his tee shot into the trees, then finding the water with his approach. 'I've played well in a lot of LIV events,' Leishman said. 'I've had chances to win, haven't won. You wonder if you're going to win again … I doubted myself but that just made it all so much sweeter today.'
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lights, camera, action ... Cam Smith out to star again
LIV Golf is set to launch its new season under lights - with Cameron Smith determined they'll be shining on him and his Aussie champion mates again after his own personal win drought in 2024. The fourth edition of the lucrative breakaway Saudi-based tour begins on Thursday with its players all having been practising under floodlights as they prepare to tackle the Riydah Golf Course at night. Leading the way in the Saudi capital will be the Australian quartet of Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones - aka "Ripper GC" - who are defending the team title they won last year. New year, new format 👀Get the lowdown on the season ahead 📲#LIVGolfRiyadh — LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 5, 2025 Their captain Smith, the former British Open and Players' champ, loves the team aspect of LIV Golf but wants to also make sure his own personal campaign in 2025 is a step up from his rare winless season worldwide last year, the first campaign in which he'd gone without an individual triumph since 2020. "I don't like to put too much pressure on myself," says Smith. "I think I just expect to prepare well and work as hard as I can and be competitive, be there on Sundays and hopefully get a couple of wins. "This was my first winless season for a while, so it's definitely been in the back of my mind." His victory with his Aussie colleagues helped make up for that in 2024, as the quartet won three times, and they're looking to repeat their overall triumph, with a particular focus on the tour's next stop after Riyadh back home in Adelaide. The South Australia event has been moved from the back half of April into next week, with the Rippers keen to get off to a blistering start. "The talk of our team since we finished has been all about preparing for Adelaide," said Smith. "We've typically had three or four events before Adelaide and had a little bit of time to get into the speed of things. This year we don't. It's by far our more important of the year. So, we need to be ready." The Rippers started slowly last year, not scoring points in three of their first five events before they triumphed in the Adelaide play-off. It's go time Under the Lights 🌃#LIVGolfRiyadh — LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 5, 2025 "We came in, I'd say, sluggish or underprepared to start the year last year," Jones said. "We want to get off to a better start and be ready to really go in Adelaide." The quartet got together in January in Florida to get in some practice time together, with Leishman flying in from his Virginia base. "I think we'll be better prepared for the first few events this year compared to last year," he said. "Adelaide is definitely extra motivation to do that." LIV Golf has changed its scoring format for the teams this year, with every player's score in every round counting towards the team's total score, as opposed to previous campaigns when only the teams' best three scores were taken in the first two rounds. The tour's officials were also celebrating the US Open's announcement on Wednesday that the event will offer an exemption to a leading LIV Golf player to compete. So the top LIV player, who's not otherwise exempt and is in the top three of the standings on May 19, will earn a place in the field at Oakmont from June 12-15.
