2023 LIV Golf Adelaide Preview, Field, and Picks
The LIV Tour heads to Australia for the first time, as a 48-man field heads to Adelaide for this week's LIV Golf Adelaide event. Tom Jacobs analyzes the field, gives some insight on the course, and makes a pick for this week's event!
Tom Jacobs - April 17, 2023, 11:55 AM EDT
5 minutes2023 LIV Golf Adelaide Preview, Field, and Picks
LIV Golf heads to Australia much to the delight of golf fans down under. It will be a hero's welcome for the likes of Cameron Smith, who plays in his home country for the first time as a LIV Tour member, and as the reigning Open Champion.
The LIV Tour has churned out some surprise winners this season, with Charles Howell III and Danny Lee taking the first two events, but was Brooks Koepka's win in Orlando the week before The Masters, a sign of things to come?
The field for LIV Golf Adelaide features all of the very best players on the breakaway tour, which means Cameron Smith is joined by Masters runner-up and most recent Tour winner, Brooks Koepka, one of the best players in world golf, Dustin Johnson, and the 2021 PGA Championship winner, Phil Mickelson.
Phil Mickelson captured the imagination of golf fans everywhere when adding another runner-up finish at Augusta to his resumé, two years after becoming the oldest winner of a major championship, at Kiawah Island.
LIV Golf Adelaide Start Time and Where to Watch
- Dates: April 21 - April 23, 2023
- Where: The Grange Golf Club, Grange, South Australia
- Where to Watch: CW App (Friday), CW Network (Saturday, Sunday)
2023 LIV Golf Adelaide COURSE
The Grange Golf Club will host this week's LIV Golf Adelaide event, and the composite course will be made up of holes from both the East and West Courses.
LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman was tasked with redesigning the East Course in 2012 and holes from his challenging but aesthetically pleasing design will be used in conjunction with Mike Clayton's West Course. The West Course was most recently used for the Women's Australian Open in 2016 and 2019.
In those two years, the winning score at the Women's Australian Open was -16 and -17 so adjusting for three rounds versus four, we could perhaps expect a -12 winning score creeping up to as low as -15 if conditions suit.
This tree-lined test tips out at just over 6,900 yards and will look to challenge players off-the-tee, whilst the multitude of greenside and fairway waste bunkers can trip up even the best players.
Accuracy over distance is the order of the day on this sandbelt design.
2023 LIV GOLF ADELAIDE PURSE
Just like every other LIV Golf Adelaide Purse, there is $25 million total up for grabs.
$20 million will be split between all 48 players in the Individual Tournament, while a further $5 million is available in the Team event.
The winner of the Individual Tournament will take home a cool $4 million.
The winning team will take home $3 million.
The lowest-finishing player in the field in the Individual Tournament will still win $120,000, as is always the case in this no-cut, all-paid format.
2023 LIV GOLF ADELAIDE PREVIEW
The format remains the same at the LIV Golf Adelaide event this week. 48 players will tee it up looking to win the individual event, whilst 12 teams of 4 will look to contest the team event.
Cameron Smith is the favorite this week in his home country, but it is the 4 Aces who are favored to win the team event.
Smith comes into this week having made the cut at Augusta, without troubling the leaders at any stage. Instead, the best performers at Augusta were 54-hole leader, Brooks Koepka, and the veteran, Phil Mickelson who both finished T2. Patrick Reed finished 4th to add another strong Augusta performance to his CV.
Smith and Koepka lead the way in the betting but not far behind are Joaquin Niemann, Dustin Johnson, and Patrick Reed, who are all expected to challenge.
2023 LIV GOLF PREDICTION
I am going to swerve the favorites this week at the LIV Golf Adelaide event and instead look at the +1600 shot, Patrick Reed.
Cameron Smith has struggled for form and may not be completely fit, and he will no doubt have more media obligations than anyone else as he returns home. Brooks Koepka would have to win back-to-back, and he's also still likely licking his wounds, after a tough Sunday at Augusta.
Like Smith, Johnson and Niemann both look opposable in their current form, but Reed looks to be close to a first win on the LIV Tour.
Reed finished 3rd at the LIV Golf Orlando event a week before The Masters and while he never quite looked like winning at Augusta last time out, he stayed the course brilliantly all week, which is more than can be said for a lot in this field.
Patrick Reed's two top 4 finishes in his past two starts add to his 2nd place finish behind Rory Mcilroy earlier in the year in Dubai, so his form is clearly strong. He can go one better than his runner-up finish at LIV Golf Bangkok in 2022, and win for the first time on his new Tour this week in Australia.
2023 LIV Golf Adelaide PICK
- Patrick Reed +1600 (Bet $100, to win $1700 at Bet365)
2023 LIV Golf Adelaide FIELD, ODDS
Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
Cameron Smith | +1000 |
Brooks Koepka | +1100 |
Joaquin Niemann | +1200 |
Dustin Johnson | +1600 |
Patrick Reed | +1600 |
Charles Howell III | +1800 |
Mito Pereira | +1800 |
Carlos Ortiz | +2000 |
Matthew Wolff | +2000 |
Abraham Ancer | +2200 |
Paul Casey | +2200 |
Golf Odds
