Finals Recap: Ripper GC wins LIV Golf Dallas Team Championship

CARROLLTON, Texas – On a wild final day full of surprises where the lead was traded back and forth multiple times, it all came down to three strokes … and Ripper GC emerged victorious as the season-long LIV Golf Dallas Team Champions.

With clutch birdie putts down the stretch from team captain Cam Smith and Lucas Herbert, the Rippers grabbed control late and finished the day at 11 under par to claim the League’s ultimate prize at Maridoe Golf Club over Dustin Johnson's 4Aces GC.

"It's so good ... not only great golfers but they're better people and I think that's what being a Ripper is all about," Smith said shortly after his teammates doused him in champagne on the 18th green. "To have those guys out there today to lean on, there was something telling me that we were going to be alright."

After two days of team match play, the finals reverted to stroke play with all four players counting toward their team's final score, and only the top four teams able to win the Team Championship – Legion XIII, Ripper GC, 4Aces GC and Iron Heads GC – and it was Ripper who reigned supreme.

The all-Australian squad, who also won back-to-back events earlier this year at LIV Golf Adelaide and LIV Golf Singapore, entered Dallas as the No. 3 seed and earned their spot in the finals with a bye in the quarterfinals and a victory over Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC in the semifinals.

In Sunday's final, Ripper GC was powered to the top of the podium by Smith’s 4-under 68, Herbert's 3-under 69, Marc Leishman's 2-under 70 and Matt Jones' 2-under 70.

Ripper GC denied the 4Aces in their quest for their second LIV Golf Team Championship, having won the inaugural title in 2022. The Aces finished T-2 with Iron Heads GC, with both teams finishing at 8 under.

The 13th-seeded Iron Heads GC, led by Captain Kevin Na, showed some match-play magic on the first two days in Dallas, reaching the finals by knocking off Brooks Koepka’s No. 4 seed Smash GC in the quarterfinals and Bryson DeChambeau’s No. 1 seed Crushers GC in the semifinals. But the clock struck midnight on their Cinderella story late on Sunday.

Legion XIII, who won a League best four times in 2024, finished in fourth place at 6-under. The expansion franchise was trying to overcome the loss of their captain and 2024 Individual Champion Jon Rahm, who withdrew before the tournament started with severe flu-like symptoms and was replaced by LIV Golf reserve player, John Catlin.

While a majority of the focus was on the top four teams, the rest of the LIV Golf League teams were split into two tiers and played on Sunday based on their finishing positions through the semifinals.

FINAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES:

5th - Stinger GC (-15)

6th - Fireballs GC (-14)

T-7 - Crushers GC (-2)

T-7 - HyFlyers GC (-2)

9th - Majesticks GC (-5)

10th - Torque GC (-4)

11th - Cleeks GC (-1)

12th - RangeGoats GC (+4)

13th - Smash GC (+12)