Planning is already underway to accommodate even more than the 35,000 guests who witnessed the best field assembled in Australia outside of the Presidents Cup shoot the lights out on a record-breaking first day of the LIV Adelaide event at The Grange.
Three of the four Australians, including Cam Smith, who was followed by what appeared to be a third of the massive crowd, were among the 80 percent of the field who shot under par, resulting in this year’s lowest aggregate LIV score.
Jinichiro Kozuma of Japan, who is rated 545th in the world and has not finished inside the top 40 in five LIV events this season, was a surprise leader after nearly matching 2023 winner Talor Gooch’s opening round of 10-under on the first day.
Kozuma shot a nine-under 63 with seven birdies and an eagle, but his low score was the norm rather than the exception, with the entire field, including 13 major champions, shooting 263 birdies to finish at 141-under. It was 60 shots better than last year’s first day.
Cam Smith’s bunker play is world class 🔥
The Watering Hole would have gone crazy if he holed this…#LIVGolf @LegionXIIIgc pic.twitter.com/uqGT7yVkE5
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 26, 2024
While some continue to question the depth of talent in the LIV playing ranks, despite the addition of Masters champion Jon Rahm, there was little doubt about the quality of the game, with a spectacular birdie tally and the potential of more to come.
“I think if the wind stays the way it is, and with the rain we got yesterday, I think it definitely sets up the golf course pretty gettable,” said Carlos Ortiz, who recorded an opening eight-under 64 to finish second.
“It’s just one of those golf courses that if you’re in good position you can be a bit aggressive.”
The ground staff’s plans for a normally solid and fast layout were dashed by early rain on Wednesday, and officials’ hopes for a scoring surge were shared by nearly the entire pitch.
Only ten of the 54 players finished above par, including Australian Lucas Herbert, who struggled to match his enthusiasm for his first LIV Adelaide experience with a one-over 73.
Smith, who was confronted with a swarm packing an extra grandstand set up on the first tee, needed five holes to get his first birdie and finished with a four-under par to trail Kozuma by five strokes.
His Ripper GC teammates Matt Jones, who nearly aced the 14th, and Marc Leishman both birdied the crowded “Watering hole,” shooting rounds of 66 and 67, respectively, to put the all-Australian team in fifth place on the leaderboard.
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INCHES FROM A JONESY ACE!!!
Wow, @mattjonesgolf, what a shot!#RipperGC #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/uWrZEhrszr
— Ripper GC (@rippergc_) April 26, 2024
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The Australian quartet had chatted at length before the event about how determined they were to win, and they had changed their off-curse work in the lead up to be at their best for the large local crowd.
Mexican Abraham Ancer, one of four Australian Open champions in the tournament, hit one of the shots of the day, holing his second shot from the fourth fairway for a slam dunk eagle to finish his round.
Last year’s overall attendance for the three days of competition in Adelaide was just under 77,000, a figure that will be surpassed this year, with 70,000 predicted over the next two days alone, bringing the three-day total close to 100,000.
That number will increase again in 2025 for the event that the LIV players unanimously think is the “most anticipated” of their season.
In instance, the four-day Australian Open in Sydney last December drew over 110,000 spectators, a 12% increase over the previous year, as fans flocked to watch the world’s greatest players.