LIV GOLF RIYADH

February 7, 2026

Lucas Herbert

Marc Leishman

Cam Smith

Elvis Smylie

Riyadh Golf Club

Ripper GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome the winning team of ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh. With a winning score of 69 under par, we have Ripper GC: The captain Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, and this week's individual champion, Elvis Smylie.

Elvis, you've won on your LIV Golf debut here in Riyadh, finishing 24-under par after a final round of 64 to win by one over Jon Rahm. To come out of the blocks like this, win on your first start, how are you feeling right now? Can you just sum it up?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, I really didn't know what to expect coming into this week. I know golf is a whole different ballgame. You've got to deal with all sorts of conditions. You're playing at altitude a bit here. I obviously wanted to come out and make a statement this week.

Yeah, as soon as that winning putt went in on 18 and I got to celebrate with my caddie Brad, all the emotions just kind of came out, as you could see. I'm just so grateful to be here, and I feel like I'm really in an environment with these boys, as well, to further progress my golf.

Q. Cam, you've mentored Elvis through your scholarship program. You've watched him grow as a player and you've brought him on to Ripper GC this season. As his captain, what sense of pride are you feeling right now to see him winning here this week?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, extremely proud. I knew he was going to come out here and do some pretty great things. To win on debut is pretty great. Probably really great. I probably wasn't expecting that, but no, super proud of him.

I've watched him grow up as a person and as a golfer over the past six or seven years now. Yeah, it's pretty cool to see, and it's pretty cool to see that moment there at the end and the excitement. Just the emotion coming out of him was really cool.

Q. Lucas, you saved your best for last today, finishing tied ninth, 8-under-par round of 64 today, and securing those world ranking points. Was a top-10 finish in the back of your mind when you teed off this morning? Just your thoughts on a strong weekend.

LUCAS HERBERT: Yeah, super proud of the way I came back after a horrible first round there. Very happy to make the cut, finishing in the top 10 there for the world ranking points.

I think about halfway through the second round, I said to Pughey, my goal for the week is top 10. I really felt like if I knuckled down and hit good shots, that was an achievable goal.

I think through maybe eight holes roughly today, I saw my name flash up at tied 10th, and it felt -- that felt really, really nice to actually have gotten there. Then the challenge was to try and keep -- stay in the top 10 but try and keep moving up it throughout the rest of the round, as well.

Yeah, I'm stoked the way I finished the week, and I'm going to take a lot of positives of the last three rounds into next week and the rest of the season.

Q. Leish, we head into Adelaide next week; Ripper GC are the home team. It's going to be a great week for you guys. What are you most looking forward to and how important is it to take this winning form into Adelaide week?

MARC LEISHMAN: I think it's a really big opportunity for us all to move on from -- create momentum from this week and keep it going. Obviously playing in front of the Australian crowds is a highlight of my year. It has been the last few years.

Then we've gone back-to-back before, so I think that's a good goal. I think it's something we should aim for. Looks like we're all playing pretty good golf, especially this fellow next to me.

I'm excited for next week, getting back to Australia, and just the smells and the food and the crowds. The crowds is the big thing.

LUCAS HERBERT: The beer.

Q. Cam, would it have been easy for this team to look ahead to Australia? Obviously that's the biggest tournament on your schedule. You could have easily, like, all right, we'll really ramp it up next week.

CAM SMITH: Yeah, there's no doubt in our minds that Adelaide is the biggest tournament for us. We prepared coming into -- before this week, coming into the season, like it was. I just said out there before that we previously in years past haven't started that great, so it's nice to win, but to just get some momentum going forward into our biggest week of the year.

I can't wait to get there. All the boys are playing great golf. We all feel confident.

It's a golf course that I love. I know Herby and Leish love it, as well. I'm sure Elvis is going to love it. It's very typical Australian golf.

I can't see any reason why we can't compete next week.

Q. Herby, what were you telling yourself Wednesday night?

LUCAS HERBERT: I think I struggled the back end of last year with some technique stuff, and I've figured that out. I've done some really good practice and some good testing in the off-season. I came into this week feeling like my game was in a really good spot.

I guess I didn't overanalyze Wednesday too much, which is kind of tricky to do when you have the worst score in the field for the day.

But I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that I was playing a lot better than that, and I felt like just sort of set myself little goals each day. First day was try and get it back under par, and then halfway through the second round I sort of looked at Pughey and said, my goal for the week is top 10. I reckon I can get back to the top 10.

I think through eight-ish holes today it flashed up as top 10. I was super proud of that. I guess it validated Wednesday night, not hitting the panic button.

Q. Leish, you obviously got off to a really fast start today, but really all four of you guys got off to a fast start. When you're out there, do you have kind of a sense of, like, we're all playing really well and we've all gotten off to this fast start?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I'm a leaderboard watcher, so I knew how the boys were going. I could see the team score. I knew what Elvis was doing, obviously. I could see Herby flying up the leaderboard, then from the team score I could work out what Cam was doing.

Unfortunately I didn't have my best stuff today, but that's the cool thing about team golf is that if you don't have your best stuff, you're still fighting for your other three teammates and the caddies and all the team that help you all week.

Yeah, it's a pretty cool thing about LIV; even when you don't have your best stuff or individually you're not playing for a win or a top 10, you've still got plenty to play for. I enjoyed that about today or tonight.

Q. The previous four years you guys wouldn't have had a chance to win this tournament, but because we had the fourth round you had a chance to rally. Is it nice to have that extra round to kind of find that form?

LUCAS HERBERT: I was thrilled about it. I was nowhere near it, so yeah, very happy.

I think it's a good part of the challenge. I know I certainly enjoyed the 72 holes this week. I thought it was a thorough test of golf, and I think Elvis can feel really proud winning individually, as well, over 72 holes knowing that he outlasted everyone with his best and potentially with one round or two rounds maybe where he didn't have his best stuff, too.

Q. Cam, did you give the team an extra pep talk?

CAM SMITH: No. No. These guys work hard. They're so easy. I've got the best team. They just do their own thing, and I trust what they do. It showed this week. I didn't have to say much this week, really. Everyone was playing good. The only thing you're going to do is mess it up, so just stay out of the way and don't say anything and shut your mouth, pretty much.

Q. Elvis, were you aware of what was going on, especially down the stretch? You were up by three and then all of a sudden here comes Rahm. Did you have a sense that, hey, I can't take my foot off the gas?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, without a doubt I couldn't get complacent. I knew guys behind me were making birdies, especially Jon. I actually didn't know that I had to two-putt the last green. I thought I would have had a two-shot lead going into 18. But as soon as I was walking up the green I saw that I only had one, so I'm like, I've got to clutch up here and make sure I get this up-and-down.

As much as I look at the scoreboards, I feel like it still doesn't really impact, like, stress or nerves or anything. I still feel like I do a really good job with going through my routines, and I rely on executing great shots, and ultimately that's what I did coming down the stretch.

Q. I was going to ask you what you thought the biggest weapon you had this week. You led the field in driving accuracy. You were putting really well. Was there one aspect that you feel like really contributed the most to your win?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, my putting, without a doubt. I actually changed putters. This is the first week that it's been in the bag. The guys at Scotty Cameron over in America were able to build me up just a normal blade. I've been using a center shaft putter for a couple years now, so it's nice to just see something different. The team at Scotty Cameron have been great at putting it together, and yeah, it's amazing when you see something new, it kind of frees you up a little bit, and I felt like that's what it did for me this week, and everything looked like a bucket for me, which is nice.

Q. For Cam and Marc, obviously the first four years you played with Jonesy. I'm sure it was a tough decision in the off-season. But something like this, Elvis comes out, wins, does that help justify the decision, or do you look at it like that? How do you process all that?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, I mean, it was an extremely tough decision to look elsewhere. Jonesy has turned into one of my best mates over the last four years out here. He's a great guy. He's a legend. I still love him.

It does make it feel a little bit better. But it's still one of the hardest things I think I've ever had to do, which is -- yeah, it was pretty brutal.

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, obviously it was a tough decision for Cam. Like he said, he's become one of our best mates. I'd say Jonesy would say he hasn't played like he's probably wanted to play over the last couple of years, unfortunately.

Like anything, teams progress, and I think, with all expect to Jonesy, it's progressing in a good way. Elvis proved himself this week, and hopefully we can continue to do that.

Q. Elvis, who are the people that got you to this point, family members, mentals, coaches?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Well, yeah. The first two people that stand out to me are my mom and dad. They both played professional tennis back in the day, so they know what it's like succeeding at a high level in professional sport. They've been with me every step of the way.

Obviously my brother-in-law and my sister were out here this week, as well, supporting me, which is great. Tony Meyer, our performance manager for the Ripper team, I've known Tone since I was 12, 13 years old, so he's been with me every step of the way.

Then yeah, I've got a few people back home. Ultimately it doesn't just take one person to get me where I am; it requires a village.

Then also learning off these guys, I feel like I have so much to gain, and I'm really looking forward to the journey that I have out here on LIV.

Q. Cam, how good do you think Elvis can become?

CAM SMITH: I don't think he's got a decision to make. I think he's already decided. I think Elvis wants to be one of the best players in the world. He proved it this week.

The crazy thing is I still think he's got a lot of improving to go, which is pretty scary, really, for the rest of us, because he waxed us this week.

I genuinely think he can be the best golfer in the world. He's got all the tools of the trade. He just needs to keep doing what he's doing and knuckle down. He's got the mentality. He showed it out there today. He's got the grit. He's a Queenslander, so that comes with it.

He has to decide where he goes from here, and I think it can only go one way, and it's better.

Q. On your own game, obviously not the year you were hoping for last year. How do you think you started 2026?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, the game feels really good. Towards the end of last year, I felt as though I made some steps back in the right direction, played really well at the Aussie Open and was in contention. I feel like that's kind of the momentum or -- I just needed something to click and switch, and that for me felt like that was that tournament.

It kind of sucks, to be honest, to have another couple of months off after that. I would have loved to have kept playing competitive golf. There was just not much to play in.

But worked out over the off-season, worked on my body, and just played a ton of golf, whether it be with mates or by myself, really, going out there, hitting shots.

It's feeling really good. It's going in the right direction. Yeah, I'm happy.

Q. Cam, what does this win mean to you guys in preparation for going back home and trying to be back-to-back winners? And Marc, Lucas and Cam, summarize Elvis as a player and as a person in one word.

CAM SMITH: Yeah, it's massive for us to come here and win, like I mentioned before. We typically haven't got off to the greatest start, and it's definitely a part where we've lacked in years past. It's good to do that.

It's nice to be playing good golf heading into our biggest tournament next week and our home event. Yeah, it's massive. I can't wait to get down there.

Q. And if you could describe Elvis in one word.

CAM SMITH: Oh, geez, one word? One word is hard.

MARC LEISHMAN: I'll say determined.

CAM SMITH: Yeah, determined.

MARC LEISHMAN: He's very determined when he gets under a bit of pressure.

LUCAS HERBERT: Mature.

Q. We just heard the announcement of LIV coming back again to the kingdom here in Riyadh. Will we see you guys again trying to win it here in Riyadh and be back-to-back winners?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Definitely.

CAM SMITH: We love it here. We won; we love it.

MARC LEISHMAN: I'm definitely planning to be here next February.

ELVIS SMYLIE: Also, Appletiser is one of my favorite drinks, so if we can try and celebrate with that again next year, that would be great.