SUGAR GROVE, Ill. (AP) — British Open champion Cameron Smith made his decision to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf pay off Sunday when he closed with a 3-under 69 for a three-shot victory in the LIV Golf Invitational-Chicago.
Smith was only briefly threatened in the third and final round. One of the key moments was a 10-foot par putt on the 13th hole, and neither Dustin Johnson nor Peter Uihlein could do enough to catch him.
Smith won $4 million from the $20 million purse for individual play. “I think I had to prove to myself and other people that I'm still a great player, I'm still out here to win golf tournaments,” Smith said. “I didn't have my best stuff, but I stuck tough and made some putts.” Johnson (70) and Uihlein (69) each made birdie on the par-5 18th hole at Rich Harvest Farms and tied for second, each earning $1,812,500.
Johnson's birdie enabled his team to win for the fourth straight time, which was worth an additional $750,000 for Johnson, Talor Gooch, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez.