Phil Mickelson’s wait for a victory on the LIV Golf circuit continued on Sunday, as his HyFlyers missed out on the team title after finishing third in Adelaide.

Heading into the final round, Mickelson’s men were in contention to collect their maiden LIV title, sitting just one shot behind leaders Torque GC. The all-American team failed to make their move on Sunday though, staggering to a third-place finish behind the Stingers and Ripper GC.

The latter two made LIV history in playing out the first team playoff on the Saudi-backed series, and IT was home favourites Ripper who proved victorious as Cam Smith and Marc Leishman saw off Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester.

For the HyFlyers they were forced to settle for third, finishing five shots behind the leading two teams. For Mickelson it is another opportunity missed, with the six-time major champion still winless on the breakaway circuit since making his high-profile move from the PGA Tour nearly two years ago.

There was some positive news for the HyFlyers though, as Mickelson’s teammate Brendan Steele landed his first LIV win by clinching the individual title in Adelaide. The American held a one-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final 18 holes, and impressed once more by shooting a four-under-par 68 to win the event by one shot ahead of Oosthuizen.

In the aftermath, Steele paid tribute to his captain Mickelson, revealing he played a huge part in helping him get over the line down under. “Yeah, I lean on Phil pretty hard with everything,” Steele said. “With how to hit shots around the green, how to approach things.

“He’s one of the best players ever, and he can give me advice. If he’s going to give me advice, I’m going to take it. I definitely want to listen to him, and he’s helped me a ton with everything from wedge play, short game, mental game. Just instilling confidence in myself, and he’s a big reason I’m sitting up here.”

The Australian crowds poured into The Grange to watch the LIV event this week, with a surge of fans making their way down the 18th hole on Sunday to witness Steele’s winning moment. And whilst he admitted the bumper crowd ramped up the nerve levels, his work in the offseason with Mickelson played a huge helping hand.

“I was terrified over that wedge shot,” he added. To be honest, because it’s like — it’s a really tough shot. I need to get it over the tier but not go into the back bunker. I’ve got 10,000 fans in the fairway kind of right on top of me.Fortunately all the work that I’ve put in over the offseason with Phil in his backyard and all the help that he’s given me, it really paid off with that shot specifically.”