Cameron Smith wants people to start thinking differently, describing his LIV Golf team's home-turf triumph as a pointer to the future.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
Smith's all-Australian Ripper GC team of Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert prevailed in LIV Golf's first teams playoff in Adelaide on Sunday.
The Australians pipped the all-South African Stingers GC led by Louis Oosthuizen, winning on the second extra hole amid wild scenes at The Grange.
LIV's teams format - 13 teams of four players - has been derided by golf traditionalists.
But Smith says the nerve-jangling Adelaide finish reinforces the teams format's importance to the LIV concept.
"That has been from the get-go," Smith said.
"Ever since Leish and I come into this team with Jonesy ... that's all we talked about.
"It's such a different way to think about golf.
"Especially for us because we're all such good mates ... doing something for your mates is special.
"Usually in golf if we were playing on the tour and Leishy was up on the leaderboard, I'd be barracking for him or for Jonesy or whatever.
"But for it to actually mean something and do something for the guy you're leaning on is a cool feeling.
"And it's something that we haven't experienced probably since we were 17, 18 years old playing in the interstate series.
"It's just how this is going to go, I think, for a very long time."
Leishman said critics of the teams format missed the point.
"It shows that LIV Golf is just a different product," Leishman said.
"It's something that can embrace four blokes - eight blokes, including our caddies.
"And then today it's something that a whole country embraced one team.
"That's something that I don't think happens very often and that goes to show that it's certainly going somewhere and a force to be reckoned with."
On the initial two days of the tournament, only the top three players' scores from each team count.
But on the final day all four count, and the Australians and South Africans were locked at 53 under - a record low LIV teams total.
Smith picked Leishman as his partner for a playoff of only two players per team and decided by aggregate scores on a hole.
After both teams banked two pars on the first extra hole, the Rippers then cashed in on a pair of Stingers blunders, which were accompanied by brutal Australian barracking.
Asked about the etiquette, or lack of, Leishman replied: "The first time we go to South Africa and if we're in a playoff with the Stingers, I think we'll embrace that they can do whatever the hell they want to us.
"I think it was cool. The first team playoff is going to be remembered, and I'm going to remember it for all positive things."
Australian Associated Press
