Smith claims LIV London and boost for Open

OPEN champion Cameron Smith secured a timely boost ahead of his defence of the Claret Jug next week by claiming his first win of the year at LIV Golf London on Sunday.

Smith completed a wire-to-wire victory with a round of 68 to finish on 15 under par at Centurion Club in St Albans, one better than team-mate Marc Leishman and Patrick Reed. He fell agonisingly short of leading his Rippers to glory in the team competition however, a bogey at the last dropping them behind Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces.

“It’s a bit of mixed emotions at the moment,” Smith said. “I’m obviously thrilled about the individual win but it

WHEN Gaizka Mendieta, one of the most lauded midfielders of his era, moved to Middlesbrough in 2003 he gave England a taste of the best that Spain had to offer. Now, 15 years retired, he is doing the same in a more literal sense through a string of restaurants offering high-end Spanish cuisine to Londoners.

Mendieta is one of the investors in the popular chain Iberica, which is overseen by Michelin starred chef Nacho Manzano and has branches in Canary Wharf, Marylebone, Fitzrovia and Victoria. He is also a backer of a new paella-focused central London eatery, Arros QD, and a third brand, Mercado Central in Cambridge.

“I saw the business opportunity. I wanted to be involved in something that was real,” Mendieta, who won 40 caps for Spain, tells City A.M.

“I love not only the food but the learning. I try to be involved as much as I can in the projects, from selecting venues, how we design the space – not so much on the chefs – but I like to have input.

“I’ve always been intrigued by business. With food, I was a client of Iberica and over time I got to know some of the shareholders. The opportunity came there and I took it. The food took me to the business, but I love both.”

Mendieta’s restaurants pride themselves on their authenticity. At Arros QD, three Michelin-starred chef Quique Dacosta imports Spanish wood from almond and orange trees and ships over his stock in tins in pursuit of the perfect flavours.

It and Iberica attract a well-heeled crowd of regulars, among them footballers from Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.

“People from Valencia who live in London come and congratulate us. Believe me, for Valencia people to do that means a lot.

“I’ve grown up with paella. I never thought it would be part of my business life eventually, but there you are. When they talked to me about paella, I said ‘hey, wait, I know a little bit about that’,” he smiles.

ADRENALINE

Mendieta’s love of food comes from his background. He was born in the gastronomic hotbed of the Basque Country and grew up in the home of paella, Valencia, where he made his name. Yet the former Barcelona and Lazio player, once one of the world’s most expensive players, had no plan to go into the hospitality trade when his career wound down.

“I invested in real estate, stock markets, the usual but I didn’t know what to do next. That was definitely something I didn’t want to do for the rest of my days,” adds the 49-year-old.

“They used to tell me, ‘there’s noth-

Claret Jug holder regains his winning touch ahead of Major defence in Liverpool next week, reports Frank Dalleres

would have been nice to get up there with the boys. I hit a good putt too.

“It’s good to see Leish playing really good golf, he played incredible this week. It was a gutsy win over the weekend. I definitely didn’t have my best with the driver, there’s still some work to do on that, but I’m really happy with the win.”

Ideal Timing

Smith led by three shots overnight and stayed out in front all day but came under pressure over the closing holes from Reed and Leishman.

Reed’s seven birdies in his last 10 holes lifted the former Masters champion to within two shots of Smith, and Leishman joined him on 14 under with a birdie at the last.

Smith then found a bunker with his approach to 18 and although he produced a fine recovery shot, he missed his par putt to trim his winning margin. Nonetheless, it represents ideal timing just 11 days before he begins his Open defence at Royal Liverpool. Smith has been playing well without winning titles, finishing fourth at the US Open and in the top 10 at the US PGA Championship as well as recording five consecutive top-12s in LIV Golf events.

This win moved him up to second in the individual standings, seven points behind Talor Gooch, a three-time winner this year.

His late bogey denied Ripper a first win in the LIV Golf London team competition and