Marc Leishman of Australia came from behind to prevail at LIV Golf Miami on Sunday, finally capturing his first LIV Golf title.
Leishman began the final round three shots off the pace set by Bryson DeChambeau, but a 4-under-par 68 with four birdies and no bogeys vaulted him into first place and also helped his all-Australian team, Ripper GC, claim the team title.
Leishman finished the weekend at 6-under 210, one better than a hard-charging Charl Schwartzel. The South African posted a 66 to finish alone in second.
Leishman was among the early players who left the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed upstart league in 2022, yet the now-41-year-old hadn’t won a LIV event until Sunday.
“Of course you doubt yourself, especially after a week like I had in Singapore,” said Leishman, who tied for 51st in Singapore in the most recent LIV event. “I played terribly. I’ve played well in a lot of LIV events. I’ve had chances to win, haven’t won. You wonder if you’re going to win again.
“It’s been the greatest. I’ve been so happy. I’ve been the happiest person out here.”
Sergio Garcia made things interesting when he birdied the 17th to get to 5 under for the tournament, but the Spaniard put a ball in the water on the par-4 18th and closed with a bogey, placing third at 4 under with a 71.
“I knew he’d birdied 17. I always watch the leaderboards,” Leishman said. “I saw that. I’m like, ‘Wow, I need to birdie this.’ I knew Charl had one to play, so that was a birdie hole today.”
Leishman, in fact, made pars on his last eight holes after making four birdies through the first 10, but that was enough.
Leishman, captain Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones combined to go 5-under-par in the third round to post a winning team score of 4 over, eight shots better than DeChambeau’s Crushers GC in second place.
“It just goes to show the player he is,” Smith said of Leishman. “I think he’s been knocking on the door now for a few years, and whether things haven’t gone his way or he hasn’t had the greatest back nine, it was nice to see him out there in really tough conditions today on probably the toughest golf course we’ve played and get it done.”
Schwartzel, who hadn’t had a top-10 this season before Sunday’s second-place finish, will head to Augusta National next, making the Masters field thanks to his 2011 victory.
“It’s the first time in a long time I said to the guys that I actually feel very optimistic,” Schwartzel said. “I feel quite confident about it. The last few years I’ve either had injuries or the game is not in great shape. If you’re going to win a major, you don’t need any flaws of any sort.
“This year so far, I’ve put in a lot of effort in the off time. Lost over 10 pounds of weight, got fit, started practicing harder, and the biggest thing is I have no injuries. So I’ve been swinging the club freely.”
DeChambeau fell out of contention with a 74 and placed fifth at 2 under.
–Field Level Media
