LIV Adelaide 2024 Preview - The Grange Golf Club (April 26-28)

American HyFlyer Brendan Steele was the winner of LIV Adelaide but it was Cam Smith’s Ripper GC who conquered the event.

Steele shot an impressive 18-under-par total to win the individual component of the tournament, beating South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen by a shot.

But the intrigue on Sunday came via the teams contest, which resulted in the very first teams play-off at a LIV event.

The all-Aussie Ripper GC and the all-South African Stinger GC were locked at 53-under at the end of regulation play, a record-low teams total on the LIV Tour.

The four-man, aggregate score play-off saw Cam Smith and Marc Leishman square up against Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester to claim the US$4million team prize.

The teams couldn't be separated first time down the 18th hole at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide. But Smith and Leishman did enough second time round to secure Ripper GC a win on home soil amid a raucous home crowd.

Steele’s 10-under 64 in the second round on Saturday set up his first LIV Tour win.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD

• 1 Brendan Steele -18
• 2 Louis Oosthuizen -17
• T3 Charl Schwartzel -16
• T3 Jon Rahm -16
• T3 Andy Ogletree -16
• T3 Joaquin Niemann -16
• T3 Dean Burmester -16
• 8 Mito Pereira -15
• T9 Abraham Ancer -14
• T9 Brooks Koepka -14
• T9 Matt Jones -14
• T9 Jinichiro Kozuma -14
• T9 Danny Lee -14

TEAMS LEADERBOARD

• 1 Ripper GC -53
• 2 Stinger GC -53
• 3 HyFlyers GC -48
• 4 Torque GC -46
• 5 Legion XIII -42
• 6 IronHeads GC -41
• T7 Cleeks GC -40
• T7 Crushers GC -40
• 9 RangeGoats -38
• 10 Fireballs -35
• 11 Smash GC -31
• 12 4Aces GC -30
• 13 Majesticks GC -11

Fifty-four of the world’s best golfers, and 13 teams, will greet the starter at The Grange Golf Club for the second instalment of LIV Adelaide.

The high wattage tournament was a cracker in 2023 and this year is already shaping up as bigger and better. Bring it on!  

What will the winning score be this year?

16-under seems reasonable. Though if Bryson gets hot (he shot 58 at Greenbrier last year) expect it to nudge the 20s. 44-under for the teams tally should also get the job done.

What are the chances someone replicates Chase Koepka’s ace at the Watering Hole?

LIV executives were understandably hyperventilating after Brooks’ little bro pulled off the perfect shot on Sunday amid an intoxicating atmosphere at the intoxicated party hole. The resulting celebrations and beer cup shower went viral in the most buzzworthy moment of the nascent tour’s existence. Chase (pictured below) got bounced for this season but will someone else pull off the near impossible in 2024? It’s unlikely, but you can guarantee that exact pin position will be used again come Sunday.

Will The Grange make for compelling viewing?

For all the mindless talk recently about Jon Rahm losing his edge because LIV events are played on resort courses (in shorts, too!), seeing new and interesting layouts has been a highlight. Last year, The Grange attracted lavish praise, with its pristine conditioning drawing breathless comparisons to Augusta National. It’s a sandbelt-type course and that alone separates it from every other golf tournament that will be played on a major tour this year. The Grange is particularly easy on the eye given its uniquely Australian vegetation while its never-ending variety of holes and cool green complexes make it compelling viewing. It’s the antidote to LIV Las Vegas.

Can Ripper GC score a home win?

Apart from a bright spot in Hong Kong, it’s been a middlin’ kind of season for the all-Aussie Ripper GC thus far. Cam Smith (pictured below) is a mega talent and despite never really being in the frame at the Masters, he backdoored a T6 finish. Marc Leishman will be invigorated by the familiar surroundings of Sandbelt-style golf this week and is coming off a T4 in Miami last start. Ditto Lucas Herbert, who grew up playing the great Melbourne Sandbelt courses. Things haven’t quite clicked yet for the fourth member of the Rippers, Matt Jones, in 2024. But the truth is, all four are just one swing thought or minor tweak away from tearing it up. It’s conceivable the home ground advantage would’ve been greater if LIV Adelaide was actually LIV Queensland. A crowd of rabid, XXXX-fuelled, Cam Smith-worshipping banana benders must be worth at least 1.5 strokes a round.

When will Jon Rahm win a LIV event?

You feel this could be Rahmbo’s moment. Claiming a US Open and Masters shows how versatile the Spaniard’s game is and after playing some so-so courses thus far on LIV, an Adelaide sandbelt course like The Grange surely piques his interest. Rahm’s talent advantage generally increases as the courses get more difficult (a profile that fits this week) and after allegedly being ghosted by Patrick Cantlay and Max Homa at the Masters following his decampment to LIV, Rahm’s internal fires will being burning intensely. If the paella in Adelaide is up to scratch, expect Rahm to break through for his maiden win.

Which LIV team has the best merch?

RangeGoats. And it isn’t even close.

Can Talor Gooch repeat or is he off the boil?

Despite finishing runner-up at LIV Las Vegas, Talor’s play in 2024 looks uninspired compared to last year’s brilliant three-win season. The defending champ was traded from the RangeGoats to Smash GC in the off season and made headlines recently for declaring a Rory McIlroy win at this year’s Masters would require an asterisk given he wasn’t playing. While it’s true Talor is one of the best players in the world, the greencoats at Augusta tend not to appreciate such sentiment; it’ll be discreet, but a life ban from Augusta seems the only logical outcome. Can he repeat his heroics at The Grange this year? Talor’s putting was incredible in 2023 and he paid tribute to the green reading skills of his Perth-born caddie Malcolm Baker. If he putts the dots off it again in Adelaide, there’s no reason why he can’t.

Which day is the best to attend LIV Adelaide?

The benefit of LIV’s 54-hole, no-cut format is that all three days of the tournament offer excellent viewing. There’s no need to hustle to the early rounds to guarantee you’ll be able to catch your favourite player, but Friday is fun because the glamour groupings guarantee the big names will be playing together. Saturday creates interest because players tend to attack the course to get themselves in position for a shot on Sunday. Meanwhile, Sundays are electric as the leaders shoot for individual glory and the team component builds to a crescendo. Don’t forget to watch a few groups play the 12 ^th, the famous Watering Hole, and stick around for the glitzy and slightly over-the-top podium celebration on Sunday.

Can Joaquin Niemann be beaten if he’s in the zone?

Despite the nice guy demeanour, Joaquin is a competitive beast inside the ropes. He possesses a wanton desire to win that is matched by his peerless ball striking, an ominous combination that has resulted in two wins for the 25-year-old Chilean this year. Joaquin certainly won’t be treating Adelaide as a working holiday because his desire to be one of the best will again see him as a chief protagonist this week. If he’s in the zone, buckle up and grab the popcorn because it’s fun to watch.

Will the Majesticks ever get on the podium again?

Maybe, but not this week. Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Sam Horsfield somehow snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when finishing fourth in Hong Kong last month but they were 11th out of 12 in Adelaide last year.

Will King Louie be buying another tractor this week?

Quite possibly! Stingers captain Louie Oosthuizen has a habit of splashing out on a new tractor for his farm every time he wins, and his game is trending. A runner-up finish in Jeddah behind LIV’s star player, Joaquin Niemann, showed he still has it. But first he’ll have to beat one of his teammates in Dean Burmester, who is one of the form players in 2024 and won his first LIV event in Miami last start. King Louie’s Stingers team has been on the podium twice in the last three LIV events and Adelaide is about as close as it gets to a homegame for the South Africans.

Will Anthony Kim shoot under par in Adelaide?

He’s not quite a punchline yet but LIV would be hoping AK turns it around soon. His 65 in the final round in Hong Kong was promising but his 21-over total in Miami last start was a total letdown. As a wildcard the pressure is off, but LIV will be hoping the cocky, flashy, bedazzled-belt star of the mid 2000s somehow re-emerges and shoots under par all three rounds this week.

Is it going to be ‘mashed potato’ or ‘get in tha hole’ this year in Adelaide?

Australian golf fans are generally a civilised bunch but at last year’s LIV Adelaide tournament, some baser instincts were clearly at play. LIV tournaments tend to encourage shouting and hollering, which is fine, but it does wear thin after every shot. As much as I hate it, ‘get in tha hole’ seems the slightly more germane option of the two but let's all be thankful Baba Boo-ey isn’t a thing anymore.

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.