LIV GOLF ADELAIDE (April 21-23)

LIV ADELAIDE RESULTS:

American Talor Gooch felt the pressure in the final round in Adelaide but held on to score his first tournament win on the LIV Tour.

The 29-year-old led by 10 shots going into the final day at the Grange Golf Club after setting a new two-round scoring record with a pair of 62s.

Gooch battled on the final day and his lead was cut in half with the back nine still to play.

But he steadied with birdies at the 11 ^th and 13^th to post a final round one-over 73, beating a surging Anirban Lahiri by two shots.

Smash GC’s Chase Koepka provided the highlight of the tournament when he aced the par 12 ^th party hole, sparking pandemonium.

Gooch’s RangeGoats team finished second to the 4Aces, the reigning champs who claimed their first win in 2023.

FINAL SCORES

1. Talor Gooch -19 (RangeGoats)
2. Anirban Lahiri -16 (Crushers)
3. Patrick Reed -15 (4Aces)
4. Cameron Smith -15 (Ripper)
5. Cameron Tringale -15 (HyFlyers)
6. Pat Perez -15 (4Aces)
7. Peter Uihlein -14 (4Aces)
8. Dean Burmester -14 (Stinger)
9. Charl Schwartzel -14 (Stinger)
10. Dustin Johnson -13 (4Aces)

AUSTRALIANS

• 4. Cameron Smith -15
• 21. Marc Leishman -11
• 42. Matt Jones -2
• 43. Jed Morgan -1

TEAMS LEADERBOARD

1. 4Aces -47
2. RangeGoats -46
3. Stinger -44
4. HyFlyers -40
5. Crushers -38
6. Smash -34
7. Torque -32
8. Ripper -31
9. Fireballs -30
10. ron Heads -28
11. Majesticks -27
12. Cleeks -24

The LIV Golf Tour touches down in Adelaide this week and the hype-o-meter reading is already dangerously high in the City of Churches.

Coming hot on the heels of the AFL’s Gather round, the LIV Adelaide tournament is shaping to be a freewheeling event both on and off the course.

Here’s how the inaugural Australian LIV event is shaping up.

THE COURSE

An elite 48-man/12-team field will tee it up at Adelaide’s Grange Golf Club, a venue that LIV CEO Greg Norman has a deep affection for.

The Grange is where The Great White Shark landed his first professional win in 1976 and is consistently rated as one of the best in Australia.

It boasts 36 holes split into an East and West course, with the West layout hosting the Australian Women’s Open in 2016 and 2019.

However, the LIV Adelaide tournament will play a composite course this week.

The East course provides the front nine (holes 9,10 and 12-18) while the back nine of the West course will provide the inward nine for the composite course.

CAM SMITH

LIV Adelaide brings together one of the strongest fields assembled Down Under in recent memory and Aussie Cam Smith heads the field.

The current Open champion, Smith’s buy-in to the LIV concept was a critical factor in securing an Australian event this season.

But you sense this week may be more like a working holiday for the world No.5.

Smith had a miserable week at Masters (T34) after getting on the wrong side of the weather and hasn’t been anywhere near the top of the leaderboard so far this year.

He’ll tee it up in Adelaide searching for form but his short game is tailormade for a course like The Grange and he was a winner in his last trip to Australia at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland in November.

THE TOURNAMENT FORMAT FOR LIV ADELAIDE

The LIV Tour is built on the premise of “Golf, But Louder”. If you’re wondering what that means for this week’s tournament in Adelaide, here’s an explainer.

• It’s a 54-hole tournament (LIV is 54 in roman numerals) starting Friday and finishing Sunday.
• A shotgun start means all 48 players are on the course at the same time — each group starts their round on a different hole.
• The shotgun start negates any morning/afternoon bias and play is wrapped up in around four hours.
• There is no cut.
• The tournament features both an individual and team competition, which is unique to golf.
• The three best scores from each team are added together to determine the team winner.
• Teams earn points based on where they finish in each tournament, which is used to rank teams for the end-of-season Teams Championship.
• Tickets have all sold out but there are grounds passes still available to watch the Thursday Pro Am.
• Live DJs will be pumping tunes out on course at the Watering Hole on the 12th tee, which imitates the Phoenix Open’s infamous party hole. 

HOW TO WATCH LIV ADELAIDE ON TV

In Australia, the entire tournament will be shown live on free-to-air TV on Channel 7, 7mate and streamed on the 7Plus app.

The CW Channel will broadcast the LIV Adelaide tournament to US viewers.

Play commences with a shotgun start at 11.45am in Adelaide (12.15pm AEST, 10.15am Perth time) on Friday and Saturday. The final day’s play on Sunday will commence 10 minutes earlier. 

THE LIV SEASON UP TO THIS POINT

LIV Adelaide is the fourth tournament in a 14-event schedule in 2023.

LIV Mayakoba kicked off proceedings in February at the El Cameleon Course in Mexico.

Likeable veteran Charles Howell III won the individual section of the tournament and helped his Crushers GC team (Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri) to run away with the team prize.

In March, the LIV circuit travelled to the Gallery Golf Club in Tucson, Arizona, where Kiwi Danny Lee broke through for his first win since 2015.

But it was Fireballs GC (Abraham Ancer, Sergio Garcia, Echio Chacarra and Carlos Ortiz) who combined to claim the team win.

Then just over two weeks ago at LIV Orlando, Brooks Koepka claimed a one-shot win over Sebastian Munoz at Orange County National. Munoz received a consolation prize by winning the teams’ tournament with his Torque GC, along with teammates Mito Pereira, Joaquin Niemann and David Puig.

RIPPER GC

All eyes will be on the all-Aussie Ripper GC team in Adelaide.

Captained by Cam Smith and featuring a team logo inspired by his Queensland Maroons, Ripper GC’s other members are Matt Jones, Marc Leishman and Jed Morgan.

It’s been a lean run for Ripper, which was formed out of the now defunct Punch GC.

The team finished dead last at LIV Orlando, after cracking fifth-place finishes in Mexico and Tucson, but they will be carrying the weight of expectation this week.

If Ripper GC were to win, the podium will be unlike any other in LIV Tour history.

As Jed Morgan said: “We’ll probably set the place on fire! OK, no, probably not do that, but I would say it’s going to be an unbelievable party. Just tell everybody to be there and make a bar tab for sure and just go nuts.”

AND THE BEST TEAM MERCH IS…

Hands down it’s got to be the RangeGoats.

The logo is supercool, with its goat motif and splashy pink base colour.

Captained by Bubba Watson, a player known for his wild ability to shape the ball and unpredictability at pre-tournament press conferences, RangeGoats GC are a new team for 2023.

PHIL AND BROOKS

While Greg Norman didn’t get to pop the champagne in celebration of one of his LIV players winning the Masters, the performance of Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka was probably a break-even result for the Shark.

Brooks or Phil winning the Masters would’ve been a massive promotional opportunity for the LIV, especially considering the Tour already boasts the current Open champion in Cam Smith.

But the runner-up finishes of both Brooks and Phil gave LIV a welcome shot of credibility and the overheated animosity between rival tours seemed to have simmered down at Augusta. 

Brooks has never played in Australia before and Phil hasn’t teed it up Down Under since the 2011 President’s Cup.

But having them, and Dustin Johnson, play in Adelaide — a city starved of elite men’s tournament golf — will be a massive boost for the game in Australia.

THE PRIZE MONEY

The purse for the LIV Adelaide tournament is a whopping US$25 million, by far the biggest for an Australian golf tournament.

$20 million goes toward the individual purse, the other $5 million allocated to the team competition.

The individual winner of LIV Adelaide will pocket $4 million while the winning team will earn $3 million.

The golfer who finishes 48th will still earn $120,000.

THE LIV ADELAIDE FORM GUIDE

4Aces

Dustin Johnson (captain), Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Peter Uihlein

Champions last season, the all-American 4Aces are leading the way again after finishing on the podium at all three events in 2023. Peter Uihlein has finished in the top 10 in all three starts. DJ will have a massive following while LIV villain Reed will be hoping the crowds aren’t as boisterous as they were during his last trip to Australia. He was relentlessly heckled and jeered at the 2019 President’s Cup after being pinged for cheating a few weeks prior.

Torque

Joaquin Niemann (captain), Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira, David Puig

Comprised of three South Americans and one young Spaniard (Puig), Torque won their first team title last start in Orlando. Niemann and Pereira played the Masters, finishing T16 and T43, respectively. Munoz equalled the record for the lowest round in LIV history in Orlando with a 62.

Fireballs

Sergio Garcia (captain), Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra

Winners in Tucson, the Fireballs have been led from the front by Carlos Ortiz’s superb play this season. Ortiz has notched three top 10s, including a runner-up, and Ancer heads to Adelaide after a T39 at the Masters. Chacarra won LIV Bangkok last season.

Stinger

Louis Oosthuizen (captain), Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Dean Burmester

Let’s call it a home game this week for Stinger GC in Adelaide. The all-South African team has spread the load in 2023, with Grace, Ooosthuizen and Burmester all recording top five results. However, a question mark remains over Oosthuizen, who withdrew from the Masters with an unspecified injury.

Crushers

Bryson DeChambeau (captain), Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III, Paul Casey

Captain DeChambeau has been in a worrying form slump but Chucky Three Sticks (Howell III) is ranked No.1 in the individual standings. Lahiri sat out Orlando for personal reasons but is back in the team this week and tuned up at the Asian Tour’s International Series in Vietnam where he notched a runner-up finish on Sunday. The only question mark is the team name. Bryson is mega long and qualifies as a Crusher. But Lahiri, Howell III and Casey are some of LIV Golf’s shortest hitters.

Smash

Brooks Koepka (captain), Matthew Wolff, Jason Kokrak, Chase Koepka

Brooks Koepka is the hottest player in LIV Golf right now. A superb week at the Masters followed his win at LIV Orlando, highlighting what he’s capable of when injury-free. Brooks deserves to be favourite this week, despite never playing in Australia previously. Wolff has been consistent and if Kokrak and Koepka’s little bro, Chase, tag along, a Smash team win won’t surprise.

Iron Heads

Kevin Na (captain), Danny Lee, Scott Vincent, Sihwan Kim

The Iron Head’s only point-scoring finish this year came at Tucson, when Lee holed a huge putt off the green to earn his first win since 2015. Na withdrew from the Masters midway through the first round due to illness and Kim is badly out of form — at all three LIV events this season his score counted towards the team total. Adelaide might be the circuit breaker Kim needs and Zimbabwe’s Vincent will take confidence after seeing his brother, Kieran, win on the Asian Tour in Vietnam last weekend.

Ripper

Cameron Smith (captain), Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Jed Morgan

The home ground advantage this week could be a springboard for Ripper GC. The all-Aussie team finished at the bottom of the leaderboard in Orlando last time out. Cam Smith hasn’t yet recaptured his Open-winning form yet, but he did win the Australian PGA Championship in his last visit home in November. Jones has been a birdie machine this season, making a total of 43 in the first three events to rank third on tour.

Cleeks

Martin Kaymer (captain), Graeme McDowell, Richard Bland, Bernd Wiesberger

Captain Kaymer returns from injury this week and will lead from the front to reverse the fortunes of the Cleeks. England’s Laurie Canter filled in for him last start and finished 14th but is on the bench this week. Wiesberger has been the weak link, never finishing higher than 36th in his three starts this season. Is it too late for the Cleeks? Kaymer back in the team is a big bonus and dependable veteran Bland will find his rhythm eventually.

Hyflyers

Phil Mickelson (captain), Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale, James Piot

The Masters was a breath of fresh air for Hyflyers captain Mickelson, who lit it up on Sunday with a final round 65. He finished joint second and it was exactly what he, and the LIV Tour, needed after a lean run of results. Steele will be hoping his Hyflyer teammates will help him out in Adelaide: he finished fifth and third at his first two starts in 2023.

Majesticks

Ian Poulter (captain), Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield

The team of English gents, and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, finally got on the board in Orlando. The Majesticks finished sixth to post their first point-scoring finish of the year and will be hoping it continues in Adelaide. Westwood has won in Australia but it was a while ago — he beat LIV CEO Greg Norman in a play-off at the 1997 Australian Open at Metropolitan.

RangeGoats

Bubba Watson (captain), Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, Thomas Pieters 

The newly-formed RangeGoats have finished in the points at all three starts — albeit eighth, the final point scoring position, each time. Talor Gooch has been the most consistent RangeGoat, finishing 14th, 15th and 18th in all three starts this season. Bubba Watson is third in driving distance this season on the LIV Tour, averaging 316.6 yards off the tee. If you’re thinking about barracking for the RangeGoats, get in early because they have the best merchandise of any LIV team — it’ll sell out quickly.

Written by Jamie Martin Jamie Martin is currently locked in a battle to keep his handicap hovering around the mid-single digits. Despite his obvious short-game shortcomings, Jamie enjoys playing and writing about every aspect of golf and is often seen making practice swings in a mirror.