Cameron Smith has confirmed what he plans to do with his LIV Golf team in 2025 after Ripper won the season-ending Team Championship in Dallas.
Cameron Smith has confirmed he plans to make precisely zero changes to the Ripper line-up for the 2025 LIV Golf season.
Smith and his all-Australian side claimed the Team Championship in Dallas over the weekend, bringing the curtain down on LIV’s third campaign.
Attention will now turn to who LIV will target in the off-season, given there are spaces to fill after five players were relegated and some golfers’ contracts have expired.
It has been rumoured already that one high-profile LIV Golf player has been offered the chance to return to the PGA Tour.
Said player has allegedly been offered starts in all of the signature events as a ‘bribe’.
Sergio Garcia’s teammate, Eugenio Chacarra, is also said to be unhappy and wants to quit LIV Golf.
But the Spaniard has already denied the rumour.
As for Smith’s teammates Lucas Herbert, Matt Jones and Marc Leishman, they all avoided the dreaded drop zone.
But they can rest assured knowing they will be in the Ripper colours in 2025.
“It’s been a very frustrating year [personally], but from a team standpoint, I couldn’t have wished for anything more,” Smith told reporters.
“You’re always digging deep for these guys, genuinely, and it’s a pretty cool feeling to have, not having that before, and I can’t wait for next year.
“We’re going to be the same next year. It’s going to be the same line-up. I really think there’s going to be some added motivation before — I think we start in Saudi next year.”
Smith was correct and LIV’s 2025 campaign kicks off in Riyadh.
Undoubtedly, LIV’s most successful event of 2024 came when they visited Adelaide in April.
Ripper won a thrilling playoff over the all-South African Stinger team, led by former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen,
Smith added: “Being that Adelaide is going to be our biggest event of the year again probably next year, I think there’s probably some added prep and some incentive to defend that.
“I think the biggest regret from all of us this year is just not starting off as well as we finished.”
“I wish I would have trusted what I was doing technically a little bit more”
Smith joined LIV Golf in 2022 shortly after winning the Players and landmark 150th Open Championship.
But truthfully there have only been a couple of occasions where he has contended in the majors since then.
In 2024, Smith missed the cut at The Open, finished in a tie for sixth at The Masters, finished 32nd at the U.S. Open and shared 63rd spot at the US PGA.
He didn’t win a individual title on LIV either, but claims it’s been a ‘solid’ season nonetheless.
“I think probably in hindsight I wish I would have trusted what I was doing technically a little bit more,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve made some really good strides with my golf swing.
“Hit the ball great some days and other days just not great, just purely because of — I guess just trying to get better and trying to improve.
Cam Smith confirms Ripper GC will be the same 4 golfers in 2025 pic.twitter.com/ASZ3umb5Nw
— LIV’r & Onions! (@LIVRandONIONS) September 23, 2024
“There’s some shots that you used to play that you can’t play.”
He added: “Yeah, so I think it’s been a very good year technically for me. I feel like I’ve ticked a lot of boxes.
“For me now, I just need to really let things go and basically play better.
“It’s not a thing of on the range. I get on the range and flush it and get out there and seems I can’t hit the middle of the club face.
“It’s been a very frustrating year, but from a team standpoint, I couldn’t have wished for anything more.
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