LIV Golf Bedminster: Cameron Smith eyes £14m prize after win puts him top of league
Cameron Smith has set his sights on being crowned LIV Golf League individual champion after claiming his second win of the season at Bedminster on Sunday.
The Australian romped to a seven-shot victory that lifted him to the top of the standings – and in pole position for an $18m (£14m) champion’s bonus – with just two individual events left to play.
Smith only joined the Saudi-backed circuit 12 months ago but, having notched one win last year, quickly targeted a run at Dustin Johnson’s overall title.
“It’s something that I’ve worked for,” said the former Open champion. “Something that was a goal of mine at the start of the year was to be up there with at least a chance for the last event.”
The 29-year-old leads the individual standings by 21 points from Talor Gooch, a three-time winner this season, and is the man in form as the season nears a conclusion.
Smith also won the London leg of the LIV Golf League last month and can put himself out of reach if he wins in Chicago next month and Gooch finishes outside the top three.
Having already banked $13.7m (£10.8m) in individual winnings, plus an estimated $1m (£790,000) in team prize money, Smith is on course to rival Johnson’s 2022 earnings.
The American pocketed more than $35m (£27.6m) last year for topping the individual standings in the inaugural season of LIV Golf and leading his 4Aces to the team championship.
Smith’s performance in Bedminster helped his Ripper GC win their first team title, making up for the bittersweet taste of falling just short at Centurion Club a few weeks ago.
“I won a couple of weeks ago in London, and I wasn’t happy with the way that I won,” he added. “I didn’t want the same thing to happen today.”
The individual title at each LIV Golf event is worth $4m (£3.15m), with a further $3m (£2.36m) divided among the winning team at the captain’s discretion.
Smith set the tone by shooting a three-under-par 68 that extended his four-shot overnight lead and left him way out in front on 12 under.
Anirban Lahiri was his nearest challenger on five under, with Abraham Ancer, Patrick Reed and Dean Burmester a further shot behind.
Reed’s fifth top-five finish of the season lifted him into third in the individual championship, 50 points behind Smith with 40 on offer to the winner of each tournament.
Ripper GC also benefited from a fine last round from 23-year-old Jediah Morgan, Smith’s fellow Brisbanite, who atoned for his 78 on Saturday with a 66, the best score of the day.
“I was not very happy with myself after [Saturday]. To let myself and these guys down a bit, it annoyed me,” said Morgan.
“Today [Sunday] was awesome. I didn’t look at the leaderboards all day, and then my caddie on the last hole just said, mate, we’ve got a 10-shot lead, and I was like, you’re kidding. It’s been nice.”