SUGAR GROVE, Unwell. — British Open champion Cameron Smith made his determination to depart the PGA Tour for LIV Golf repay Sunday when he closed with a 3-under 69 for a three-shot victory within the LIV Golf Invitational-Chicago.
Smith was solely briefly threatened within the third and ultimate spherical. One of many key moments was a 10-foot par putt on the thirteenth gap, and neither Dustin Johnson nor Peter Uihlein might do sufficient to catch him.
Smith, making his second begin with the rival golf league, gained $4 million from the $20 million purse for particular person play.
“I believe I needed to show to myself and different those who I am nonetheless an ideal participant, I am nonetheless out right here to win golf tournaments,” Smith mentioned. “I did not have my finest stuff, however I caught powerful and made some putts.”
Johnson (70) and Uihlein (69) every made birdie on the par-5 18th gap at Wealthy Harvest Farms and tied for second, every incomes $1,812,500.
Johnson’s birdie enabled his group to win for the fourth straight time, which was value an extra $750,000 for Johnson, Talor Gooch, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez. Within the 5 occasions Johnson has performed, he now has made simply over $12.5 million.
Uihlein’s group — Brooks Koepka is the captain — completed second, which was value $375,00 for every group member. With the runner-up end as a person and group, Uihlein picked up practically $2.2 million on Sunday.
Smith let his quick sport do many of the harm. He made sufficient birdies on the entrance 9 to remain in entrance, and hit a flop store to a foot on the par-5 eleventh for an additional birdie.
Uihlein made birdie on the thirteenth and seemed as if he may be capable to trim the deficit to 1 shot till Smith made his clutch par.
Smith left little doubt on the finish, hitting his strategy over the water to 4 ft on the seventeenth to take a three-shot result in the par-5 end, after which holing an 18-foot birdie putt that gave his group a tie for third with Phil Mickelson’s group.
Mickelson had his finest spherical since becoming a member of Saudi-funded LIV Golf with a 66 and tied for eighth, his first top-10 end in 5 occasions.
Johnson is the one participant from the 48-man area to have completed within the prime 10 at each LIV Golf occasion. He was coming off a playoff victory two weeks in the past exterior Boston.
Smith was No. 2 on this planet when the 29-year-old Australian signed up with LIV Golf after the PGA Tour season ended, the highest-ranked participant to affix.
Johnson stays one of the vital important gamers to enroll, a two-time main champion who was No. 1 on this planet longer than any participant since Tiger Woods.
“He is in all probability the one who you take a look at it feeling he will be on the prime of the leaderboard each week,” Smith mentioned. “I hope he thinks the identical of me, and hopefully, we will maintain it going.”
Sergio Garcia, criticized final week for withdrawing from the BMW PGA Championship after one spherical and exhibiting up on the sideline of the Alabama-Texas soccer sport, had a 67 and tied for fourth with Joaquin Niemann (68).
The subsequent LIV Golf occasion is in three weeks in Bangkok.
The collection doesn’t return to America till the ultimate group occasion at Trump Doral close to Miami the final weekend in October.
