💥LIV Adelaide - What a Ripper!

LIV Golf’s biggest and best event so far has gone off with a bang in Adelaide as Ripper GC claimed the team event in front of a huge home Australian crowd, whilst Brendan Steele held off some fast-finishing contenders to secure the individual title. LIV CEO Greg Norman was thrilled with how the event unfolded in front of 94,000 Aussies that attended the tournament over 3 days at The Grange Golf Club. Despite some unruly crowd behaviour, particularly in the closing stages, LIV Adelaide has undoubtedly become the target model for LIV events in the future.

You Little Ripper

In scenes that could not have been better scripted for LIV, Ripper GC edged out the South African team, Stinger GC, in a 2-hole playoff that was packed with drama and a boisterous Aussie crowd. This was LIV Golf’s first team playoff and it pitted two great sporting nations against each other. Sports lovers are accustomed to seeing Australia and South Africa square off in Rugby and Cricket, so there was plenty of juice as Cameron Smith/Mark Leishman took on Louis Oosthuizen/Dean Burmester in a sudden death playoff on The Grange’s 18th hole.

On the first playoff hole, the Stingers looked to be in the box seat as Smithy tugged his drive into the trees and left himself with no second shot to the green. He was forced to play around the trees and put his approach into the greenside trap, hoping to get up and down for par. Meanwhile, both of the South Africans found the fairway off the tee and hit their approaches close, leaving them with great looks at birdie. Leishman made a regulation par and Smith secured a wonderful sand save, giving the Aussies an aggregate score of 8. It was all there for the Stingers’ taking, but Louis and Mean Dean were unable to close it out as both of their birdie putts slid past, forcing a second playoff hole.

Back to the 18th tee for all 4 players. Smith and Leishman both hit the fairway with their drives, whilst the South Africans were in the right-hand rough hitting towards the back left pin. Leishman hit a superb approach, flying the ball all the way to the back tier of the green and slamming on the breaks to finish 6 feet from the cup and just short of the treacherous back pot. Smith’s approach sucked back off the front of the green leaving him a lengthy 3rd.

The crowd by this stage was on tilt, with one spectator heckling Burmester to the extent that Mean Dean told him to “shut the f*ck up”!! Both to the South Africans went long and put their second shots into the back pot leading to bogey and an aggregate score of 10. Whilst Leishman missed his birdie putt, he made a tap in par, which left Smithy with 2-putts to win. He missed the first but made the second to claim Ripper GC’s first team victory, which being on home soil made the win all the sweeter.

Man of Steele

Steele clinched the individual trophy finishing one shot ahead of Oosthuizen and two ahead of a charging Jon Rahm who fired a final round 64 (-8) which was one shy of the course record set by Talor Gooch last year. The Man of Steele took his game to a new level, significantly outperforming his current season averages. He hit 87% of greens in regulation (avg. 68%) and 74% of fairways (avg. 56%). Combine that with making 5 birdies in a row in the final round and you have the recipe for success that secured Steele and his team, The HyFlyers, their first piece of silverware.

Other thoughts on LIV Adelaide

The Shank Show was on the ground for all the fun and excitement of LIV Adelaide. Here are our thoughts from seeing the event firsthand:

• LIV Golf tournaments are entertainment events/festivals. They are more than just a golf competition. As a result, the demographic of people who attended is much broader and younger than a typical golf tournament (like the Australian PGA or Australian Open). This can only be a good thing for golf.

• LIV is innovating all the time and looking for new and creative ways to monetise its tournaments. For example, the Flight Deck was a new hospitality option offered this year, allowing spectators to get up close to the pros as they warm up on the range, whilst enjoying the comfort of a fully stocked bar and lounge set up.

• There were epic scenes with the crowd, especially during the playoff. However, some spectators got out of control yelling and making noise in the middle of players’ backswings. This is the double-edged sword of having such a large crowd with so many people “new to golf”. Critics of LIV will say they deserve it given their catchphrase “Golf but Louder”. Either way, the South Africans should be commended for the sportsmanship they showed under pressure during the playoff. Many other players would have totally lost their cools.

• The merchandise for LIV has a lot of improving to do. A lot of the merch is tacky and very expensive for the quality. There of course were some great items (e.g. 4 Aces Boxing Kangaroo New Era Cap), but on the whole, we found little to get excited about from a merchandise point of view.

• We are sick of the “shoey” and it would be too soon if we never saw another one again!! It’s a shame that the shoey is becoming synonymous with being Australian.

• Norman has said that there won’t be a second LIV event in Australia as he wants to remain loyal to Adelaide for taking the early risk in hosting LIV. Whilst we can understand this reasoning, we think it is shortsighted and leaving untapped demand on the table. A second Australian event should be put in the pipeline ASAP. 

🍴Quick Bites

Here are some golf quick bites for you to snack on:

• PGAT and LPGA results - Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have taken out the 2-man team event at the Zurich Classic, whilst Australian Hannah Green has won her 5th LPGA event at the LA Championship.

• PGAT Player Equity details revealed - the much-hyped Player Equity payments, which are supposed to be a key reward and retention initiative for the PGAT as it fends off LIV, have been set out for players. Reportedly, Tiger will get $100m in equity, Rory $50m and the likes of Jordan Speith and Justin Thomas around $30m each. The equity does not vest for many years and pales into insignificance when compared to the cash payments offered by LIV. It’s hard to see how this Equity Plan by itself will prevent further defections, especially from those who are unhappy with their allocation.

• McIlroy returns to the Policy Board - Rors has continued his remarkable series of backflips. Just a week after rumours had him signing with LIV for $850m, he is now set to make a return to the PGAT Policy Board. What this means, no one is really sure. Stay tuned though.

• Norman’s shoey - Greg Norman bowed to pressure and did his own shoey on the podium stage following Ripper GC’s win. Looks like he was smart enough to have a clean shoe rather than ripping a worn one off his foot.

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📅 Schedule for the Week

LIV Golf goes back-to-back this week as it heads to Singapore. The PGAT is off to the lone star State whilst the DPWT takes the stage in China.

Your golfing schedule for the week, and how to watch is below:

• PGAT: The CJ CUP Byron Nelson - TPC Craig Ranch (Texas), $9.5m purse, Friday 3/5 to Monday 6/5 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, Main Coverage starts 6am AEST Friday, Featured Groups from 9.45pm Thursday.

• LIV Golf: Singapore - Sentosa Golf Club (Saudi Arabia), $25m purse, Friday 3/5 to Sunday 5/5 - Coverage on 7+, starts 9.15am AEST Friday.

• DPWT Tour: China Open - Hidden Grace Golf Club (China), $2.25m purse, Thursday 2/5 to Sunday 5/2 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, starts 3.00pm AEST Thursday.

• LPGA: no event

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