Marc Leishman explains what Cam Smith is now taking more ‘seriously’ since his move to LIV Golf

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Aussie star Cam Smith played a vital role in Ripper GC’s LIV Golf Team Championship victory in Dallas back in September.

The quartet, which is made up of Matt Jones, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, and Smith, finished on 11 under at Maridoe Golf Club, three shots clear of the 4Aces and the Iron Heads.

Smith treated his Ripper squad after the event, and the end-of-season victory marked Ripper’s third team triumph of 2024 after Adelaide and Singapore.

Smith has no regrets about his LIV Golf move, and it’s clear that the 2022 Open Championship winner has embraced the team aspect of the Saudi-backed venture.

Leishman also shares this view, having noticed a change in his compatriot after playing with him on LIV.

Cam Smith takes leadership more ‘seriously’ after LIV Golf decision

In a recent social media post, the rest of Ripper was asked to sum up their captain, and Leishman believes Smith was made for a captaincy role.

“You can see him becoming more of a leader as times go on,” he said.

“He’s really taking his captaincy role seriously, and his sense of humour hasn’t changed. I feel like we’ve all got very similar traits, all four of us. I think our personalities are quite different, but we all mix together very well.”

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What has Cam Smith said about the team aspect of LIV Golf?

The team aspect of LIV Golf has divided opinion since the league’s inception back in 2022. On the one hand, the concept appears popular among the players, and the transfer window has provided a level of intrigue for fans worldwide.

However, with the teams having pretty much no history or geographical links, it’s difficult for fans to really get behind a side and genuinely care about their results.

Ripper, to some extent, are a bit of an outlier. All four players reside in Australia and have gathered a strong fan base down under. Moving forward, looking to form teams that all represent the same nation could be an option for LIV.

In a recent interview, Smith claimed that the team aspect of LIV will eventually make the PIF-backed league the dominant force in world golf.

“The team and stuff is so exciting. The stuff we talk about at meetings, not only within the team but within the league. Being so worldwide is a really great thing for us, we travel a lot but I think we bring a really good product to places that haven’t seen world class golf in a long time,” he said.

“I am really excited as a team, but as a tour, I think we are going to go from strength to strength, and I think as time goes on, we are going to have better players, more depth, and I think we are going to be the tour.”