Cameron Smith has found form at the perfect time after being crowned LIV London champion at Centurion, less than two weeks before his Open Championship defence begins.
Smith's wire-to-wire victory saw him see off former Masters champion Patrick Reed, and fellow Aussie and Ripper GC teammate Marc Leishman on the final day in St Albans. Having held the lead heading into Sunday, Smith carded a hard-fought three-under-par 68 to get him over the line.
The victory was somewhat bitter-sweet though, as Smith missed a putt on the 18th green to miss out on the team title. His all-Australian Ripper GC finished second in the team competition by a single shot, as Dustin Johnson's 4Aces prevailed with a 34-under-par for the week.
Smith's individual win could not have come at a better time, with his next competitive outing the small matter of the Open Championship where he will play as defending champion.
Plenty has transpired in the 12 months since the Australian's famous victory at St Andrews last June, having joined the breakaway league just weeks after becoming Champion Golfer of The Year. Ahead of this year's event, the tension within the game has simmered slightly amid the deal between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), which will see the Tour work in unison with their former LIV rivals.
Away from the politics, Smith will be out to do his talking on the course once more, and the Aussie has set himself up perfectly for his defence at Royal Liverpool. Speaking after his win, Smith said: "I think it's more of a confidence thing there. Just winning again I think is nice.
"It really hasn't been that long, I think. In Australia at the end of the year was my last win, but it feels like forever, and especially the way I've been playing the last couple months, I've been knocking on the door. It's nice to get one out of the way, and hopefully, it opens the floodgates a little bit."
The 29-year-old will no doubt be hoping those floodgates are open in Hoylake in two weeks, as he bids to become the first man to win back-to-back Claret Jugs since Padraig Harrington 15 years ago. With a week in between his trip to the Wirral, Smith has revealed he will be taking a break from the golf course before kicking off his Open preparation next weekend.
"Probably no golf for me next week," the Aussie added. I'll be heading up to Hoylake on Saturday, so I'll have a bit of a longer prep than usual, but yeah, put the clubs down for three or four days, just hang out in London, see all the sights, and yeah, just have a good time, relax."
