LIV Golf’s first foray into Australia proved to be a big hit with fans and players alike, with Cameron Smith drawing a huge crowd and the ‘party hole’ par three providing plenty of thrills and spills.
Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed LIV Golf League promised to be a louder experience than a regular golf tournament, and Aussie fans in Adelaide seemed to bring the loudest crowd yet for the new golf tour.
Holding an event in Australia was always going to be rowdy, and that was certainly the case at the par three 12th hole – dubbed the ‘Watering Hole’ with a stadium complex somewhat similar to the iconic 16th at TPC Scottsdale for the Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour.
Players had their own walk-on music, Phil Mickelson picked Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’, and hit their tee shots while DJs continued to pump out the tunes.
There was also the sight of Australian musician Fisher doing a ‘shoey’ (drinking a beer from a shoe) on the course as his compatriot Smith teed off in front of his bumper following.
“That was pretty cool,” The Open champion said after his round. ”Fisher came out and did a shoey. Everyone was going nuts, so that was pretty funny. I probably hit the worst shot of the day there, but everyone still clapped.”
Smith was blown away by the crowd and the personal support he received, even though he admitted it was tiring to play in that atmosphere and even made him tighten up just a bit.
“That first fairway looked pretty narrow this morning,” he added. “It seemed like everyone was on the edge of the fairway. Yeah, it was a pretty epic day. It was incredible every hole, the support, the support going on to the tee, off the green.
“To be honest, it was pretty tiring. It's nice to have a lot of people that are kind of riding you, but it's also pretty stressful. You want to hit a good shot all the time. I guess it's not kind of as free flowing as what it typically is, but it was a pretty epic day.
“I saw a lot of mullet shirts today. That was good fun. I got like a "Cameron" on the 12th hole, the boys - like Happy, Happy Gilmore. So that was also pretty funny.”
Smith says that the atmosphere and experience sets the new standard for LIV Golf events, but didn’t need it to justify his move across to Greg Norman’s new venture.
“I think for me it was justified before this week, but I think it's a massive boost. I think it gives the Tour a lot of confidence and a little momentum, as well.
“For Aussies, I think this is the benchmark for not only, I guess, Australian LIV Golf, but kind of world LIV Golf. This is probably the best atmosphere, infrastructure, crowds that we've had. It's pretty cool to call that our own basically.”
