Sunday specialist Joaquin Niemann delivered yet again to reel in Bryson DeChambeau and claim a third victory of the season as Herbert scorched home to finish joint runner-up.
Like he did in Adelaide and Singapore, Niemann fired a brilliant closing 65 as he surged to 16 under and a three-shot triumph over Herbert (61) and DeChambeau (71), with Jon Rahm (68) outright fourth.
Niemann's LIV victory matches Brooks Koepka's tally and earned the Chilean a ticket to the US Open at Oakmont Country Club in June.
Despite matching Rahm's course-record 10 under with eight birdies and a chip-in eagle two on the 11th hole on a day when the average score was above par, Herbert also had to settle for second in the teams' event as his Ripper GC mates let him down.
For all of Herbert's heroics, Smith (72), Matt Jones (74) and Marc Leishman (74) were a combined eight over on Sunday, leaving Ripper GC two strokes adrift of Rahm's triumphant Legion XIII outfit.
"I would love to have snagged one or two more (birdies) there at the end," Herbert said.
"But I still wouldn't take any of the shots back. I hit great shots, committed to what I was trying to do and I feel like I got really rewarded for staying patient through the week."
On a day of wildly fluctuating fortunes, the all-Australian team watched a five-shot lead turn into a six-stroke deficit, then briefly a late two-shot advantage.
But ultimately Ripper skipper Smith's failure to fire down the stretch will likely hurt most.
The 2022 British Open champion started the day just one shot behind DeChambeau but ended with his winless drought stretching to 20 months since his success at LIV Bedminster in August, 2023.
Smith couldn't buy a birdie on the front nine, opening with eight straight grinding pars as DeChambeau also struggled to find his A-game.
Smith's run of 20 successive holes without a dropped shot ended with a bogey on the ninth as DeChambeau hit the turn with a one-stroke advantage over the charging Niemann.
Despite a couple of late birdies, there was no coming back for Smith after he made a mess of the par-4 11th from the middle of the fairway to slip five behind.
The one-time world No.2 eventually tied for fifth at 11 under with Englishman Tyrrell Hatton (68) as the spoils again belonged to Niemann.
With an 18th professional victory, and the signature manner in which he saluted, the 26-year-old is fast becoming the best closer in golf.
Niemann won the 2023 Australian Open with a Sunday 66, three months before Augusta National issued him an invite to the Masters, bucking the trend of the majors exiling LIV players.
But he ranks his latest success as maybe his most special after his mother Pamela, who represented Chile in hockey, travelled to watch.
"I think it's the first time my mum has seen me win, so that's pretty cool," Niemann said, choking up.
Runner-up in last year's season-long standings, Niemann also extended his 2025 lead ahead of next week's edition in South Korea.
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