Fantasy Preview and Picks for LIV Golf Adelaide
The 2024 LIV Golf circuit returns to action this weekend, three weeks after Miami and two weeks removed from the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Dean Burmester is coming off his first individual trophy after outlasting Fireball GC captain Sergio Garcia on the second playoff hole, while Legion XIII captured their second team trophy of the season, propelling them to second in the standings behind Crushers GC.
LIV Golf was represented well at Augusta National Golf Club two weeks ago with eight of the 13 players making the cut. Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith and Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau had the best finishes of the group at T6. Legion XIII's Tyrrell Hatton rounded out the top-10 with a T9 finish, which earned him an invitation to next year's tournament as a top-12 finisher. Rounding out those who made the cut were Patrick Reed (T12), Joaquin Niemann (T22), Phil Mickelson (T43), Brooks Koepka (T45) and 2023 champion Jon Rahm (T45).
After playing in the Northern Hemisphere over the first five events of the season, LIV Golf makes its first appearance in the Southern Hemisphere in 2024, traveling Down Under to Adelaide, Australia. The Grange Golf Club held its first LIV Golf event in 2023, and it made a name for itself with its 77,000-plus attendance and was named the World's Best Golf Event by the World Golf Awards for 2023. It was also the start of a magical second half for Talor Gooch, who captured the first of three trophies in Adelaide en route to the Individual Season Championship. 4Aces GC come into this weekend as the defending team champions after putting up a 47-under total to outlast RangeGoats GC and Stinger GC.
LIV Golf Adelaide will utilize Grange's East and West courses to create a composite, par-72 layout measuring 6,946 yards. The greens are firm and fast, so the top putters on the circuit like Smith and fellow Aussie Matt Jones should see success on that front. All but four players in last year's event finished even-par or better, so converting GIR and scrambling opportunities will be crucial for the field. Those in attendance for this weekend's event will enjoy the lovely fall weather, with temperatures expected to hover in the 60s with low precipitation over the three rounds. You can read more about the course here.
With the 2024 LIV Golf season approaching the halfway point, below are my picks for Adelaide.
Captains (2)
This isn't a homer pick by any means for the Ripper GC captain. After withdrawing from the Miami event due to food poisoning, Smith rebounded at the Masters to finish T6 thanks to one-under 71 scores in the first and final rounds at Augusta. In Adelaide last year, Smith used back-to-back six-under rounds to surge to a share of third place with Patrick Reed, Cameron Tringale and Pat Perez. Smith sits in 12th place in the individual season standings with 40.66 points.
DeChambeau extended his streak of top-10 finishes at LIV Golf tournaments to four after a T7 finish in Miami. He carried that momentum to seven-under 65 in the first round of the Masters, which was the best one-round score of the tournament. He cooled off over the next three rounds, but he still managed to finish T6 for his best finish at Augusta National. DeChambeau finished T26 in Adelaide last year, but he went 10-under over the last two rounds. He sits in seventh place in the individual standings with 53.66 points.
Others to consider: Joaquin Niemann (T9 finish in Miami, made the cut at the Masters to finish T22), Jon Rahm (continued his streak of top-10 finishes with a T4 placement in Miami, finished T45 defending his 2023 Masters championship).
Non-Captains (4)
Adelaide last year marked the first of three LIV Golf tournament victories for Gooch, which propelled him to the 2023 Individual Season Championship. He dominated right out of the gate with back-to-back 10-under rounds and won the event by three strokes. Gooch sits in 10th in the individual standings this year and has finished in the top 10 in three of the last four LIV Golf tournaments. The vibes are good for the defending champion at Adelaide.
Burmester has finished in the top-15 in four of five LIV Golf tournaments this season, culminating in a victory in Miami when he outlasted Fireballs GC captain Garcia on the second playoff hole. It was Burmester's first LIV Golf trophy, and it propelled him to third in the individual season standings with 71.84 points, less than two points behind Legion XIII captain Rahm.
Hatton could have very well won his first LIV Golf trophy in Miami, but he had to settle for a T4 finish, his best placement of the season. He used a three-under 69 final round score to finish T9 at the Masters, joining Smith and DeChambeau as the three LIV representatives with a top-10 finish at Augusta National. Hatton is 13th in the individual standings with 35.99 points and has finished in the top-15 in four of five LIV Golf tournaments.
Reed notched his first top-10 LIV Golf finish with a T9 placement in Miami. He followed that up with a T12 finish at the Masters, with his two-under 70 in the second round being his best score of the tournament. Reed finished T3 in Adelaide last year thanks to back-to-back seven-under 65s in the last two rounds, and he'll look to replicate that success this time around.
Others to consider: Abraham Ancer (followed up his win in Hong Kong with a T9 finish in Miami), Paul Casey (T14 finish in Miami after a T2 placement in Hong Kong, sits in eighth in the individual season standings with 52.83 points).
Teams (2)
Legion XIII
The debutant team won its second team event of the season in Miami, beating RangeGoats GC by one stroke. They join Crushers GC as the only teams to win multiple team titles this season, and Legion XIII sit in second place in the standings with 78 points. Captain Rahm has been a big reason for those performances, but this team will be hard to count out when Hatton and Caleb Surratt are pulling their weight.
Torque GC
Torque GC continued their streak of top-five finishes in every LIV Golf tournament this season. Niemann has been a large part of the team's success this season, but Carlos Ortiz has contributed with top-15 finishes in each of the last three events. Torque GC sits in third place in the team standings behind Crushers GC and Legion XIII.
Others to consider: 4Aces (defending team champions of LIV Golf Adelaide), Ripper GC (the all-Australian foursome will look to better their eighth-place finish from last year's event).
Sleepers (5)
Uihlein finished T7 in Adelaide last season. He's also coming off a T3 finish at the Asian Tour's Saudi Open presented by PIF, in which he shot an eight-under 63 in the final round.
Tringale finished T21 in Miami, his best performance since his T17 placement in Mayakoba. He finished T3 at Adelaide last year, with his best score coming in the second round with a seven-under 65.
After a T45 finish in Hong Kong, Wolff bounced back in Miami with a third-place finish, his best performance of the season. He has quietly risen to 11th place in the individual standings with 42 points.
Bland is 22nd in the individual standings with 22.58 points, but he has four top-15 finishes this season and is coming off T8 and T14 finishes in Hong Kong and Miami respectively. He leads the LIV Golf field with a 75.19 percent GIR.
Ortiz has finished T15-T4-T14 over his last three LIV Golf events. He sits in 20th place in the individual standings with 23.42 points, and he has helped Torque GC to top-five finishes in every event this season.
Pick to Win
Smith uses his momentum from Augusta National to take the individual trophy in his home country, while Torque GC ride the backs of Niemann and Ortiz to their first team trophy of the season. Gooch, Rahm, Hatton and DeChambeau round out the top five of the individual event, while Legion XIII and Ripper GC round out the team event podium.
