Cam Smith felt the energy, but also the pressure.

Often, he felt both at the same time while leading his all-Australian LIV Golf team, Ripper GC, to another team title in Adelaide.

Captain Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman and Elvis Smylie scored on Sunday before raucous home-crowd support at the Grange.

"It can motivate you at times," Smith said.

"And then, like this afternoon when they're trying to get you across the line, it's almost a little bit more nerve-racking.

"It's just one more thing to worry about other than yourself.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Ripper GC (@rippergolfclub)


 

"If you're coming down the stretch individually and you've got a chance to win, you're going to have maybe 50 per cent of the crowd rooting you on.

"Whereas today, no matter where Herby (Herbert) and I walked, it was: 'Up the Rippers, let's go, boys, let's get going.'

"It's a sense of energy. But it's also a sense of pressure, as well, because you don't want to let them down."

PLUS...

Inside the Ropes as Kimmy slays the Big Dogs

Anthony Kim's charge to the title at LIV Adelaide was some of the great theatre, and our man Matt Cleary followed along, inside the ropes, as Kim thrilled the people with a Cindarella story for the ages.

The triumph for Smith's Rippers in Adelaide followed their team win in Saudi Arabia in last weekend's season-opener.

And the Australians now have two team victories from four tournaments in Adelaide, which they unashamedly rate as career highlights.

"I remember watching the 2024 playoff," Ripper newcomer Elvis Smylie said.

"And I'm like, 'Gosh, I want to be part of this team'. I genuinely did.

PLUS...

Golf Australia magazine March 2026: Why this issue hits different

The March 2026 issue of Golf Australia magazine will be on shelves across the country this Thursday ... and it’s a proper ripper.

"Because a few years ago when I was a professional golfer and playing on tours around the world, it was quite individual and isolated and you were travelling by yourself.

"But to be able to achieve what we did today as a group, as a collective, it's such a better feeling than when you win individually."

The Australian quartet finished a combined 55 under, two strokes clear of Jon Rahm's Legion XIII outfit.