Doral, Fla. – Phil Mickelson’s long year as a central figure at Saudi-funded LIV Golf ended on Friday when British Open champion Cameron Smith hit a 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole to defeat Mickelson and eliminate the tournament. group.
The LIV Golf Team Championship-Miami at Trump National Doral is all match play, with four teams advancing to Saturday’s semifinals to face the four teams from the previous seven LIV events.
Marc Leishman defeated Team “Punch” Matthew Wolfe of Australia in a singles match. In the fourth race, Bernd Weisberger and Cameron Tringale won the “High Flyers” points. That left it for the singles match between Smith and Mickelson.
He bought pars for most of the front nine — a shotgun start on the par-3 ninth — and dropped to the par-5 eighth. Mickelson missed his 8-foot birdie putt, and Smith holed his 7-footer for a 1-over victory.
In the other quarterfinal match, Harold Varner III easily defeated four-time major champion Brooks Koepka 4 and 3 for the “Niblix” team. But in this case, Koepka’s brother saved him. Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak win a “Smash” four-game match to one point after Peter Uhlein defeats James Piot in a battle of the US Amateur Champions.
Uihlein won the amateur in 2010, while Piot won in 2021.
Ian Poulter and his “Majestiks” easily swept the “Ironhead” and never went any further in matches. The captains have played each other in every quarter-final, meaning Poulter faced Kevin Na and won 4-2.
Graeme McDowell and Richard Bland led the “Clex” to victory. “Torque’s” Joaquin Niemann scored the team’s lone point, a 5-and-3 singles win over Jordan’s Shergo Al Kurdi, a late substitute when Martin Keimer was unable to play with an injured wrist.
Laurie Kanter hit a 25-footer for a 1-on-1 victory over Jediah Morgan that sent the “Clex” to the next round.
Dustin Johnson and his leading group “4 Aces” will face the Clex on Saturday. The other matches were Sergio Garcia’s “Fireball” vs. Smith and Punch; Brooks Koepka vs. Ian Poulter as he faces Smash’s majesty; and Bryson DeChambeau and his Crushers against the South African “Stinger” team led by Louis Oosthuizen.
The top four teams will advance to Sunday’s medal game where each player’s score will count.
Each member of Friday’s losing teams received $250,000. The losers of Saturday’s semifinals will each receive $750,000.
Each player for the winning team will receive $4 million.
