But the biggest roar of the final day was not reserved for Cam and Co — or for individual winner Talor Gooch — but rather it was for Smash’s Chase Koepka, brother of four-time major winner Brooks, when he aced the ‘Watering Hole’ par-3 12th if front of the packed galleries.

Take a look:

HOLE-IN-ONE FOR CHASE KOEPKA! ?#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/hFyd1qLopw

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 23, 2023

And another insane angle:

Absolute mayhem at the Watering Hole! #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/uoV1vd0Pco

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 23, 2023

That was the second hole in one in LIV Golf History after Matthew Wolff aced in Boston last year.

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Talor Gooch, who joined Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats from the 4 Aces in the off-season, completed a wire-to-wire victory on Sunday at LIV Golf Adelaide, just as his old team captured their first trophy of the 2023 LIV Golf League.

Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces, which had podium finishes in the first three events of the season, produced a sizzling final round in a tight team battle at The Grange Golf Club. With Patrick Reed shooting a 7-under 65, new member Peter Uihlein contributing a 66 and Johnson adding a 67 (Pat Perez shot the same score), the Aces finished with a LIV Golf-record 47-under to win by a stroke over the RangeGoats. The all-South African Stinger took third.

Last year, the all-American 4Aces won four regular-season events and the Miami Team Championship, all on home soil. Their performance in Adelaide was their most dominant, with all four members finishing in the top 10 in points.

“Obviously, it was a great week,” said Johnson, whose team increased their lead atop the season-long points standings to 44 points. “All four guys played well. To get our first win outside the US was nice.”

Gooch, meanwhile, had to endure some tight moments despite entering the day with a 10-shot lead thanks to two consecutive 10-under 62s. A four-hole stretch in which he suffered his first two bogeys of the week, followed by a double-bogey at the par-5 10th, whittled his deficit. At one point, he led by only two shots.

But after his double, he responded with birdies at the 11th and 13th holes to restore some breathing room, then parred in the rest of the way for a one-over 73, leaving him at 19-under for the tournament. That ties the all-time LIV Golf best score for three rounds.

“Golf is just really hard,” said Gooch as he proudly cradled the LIV Golf trophy while wearing the Goat Chain, his team’s nod to winning performances. “It’s hard to put back-to-back days together like I did and even harder to do it three times in a row. I actually played fine out there today. The golf gods, I think, said: ‘We don’t want this first win to be easy on you.’

“Had a couple bad breaks here and there, so it made things interesting, but it was cool to kind of overcome the adversity and dig deep after I made a double on No. 10. It was kind of a point of we’re either going to dig deep and do this or you’re going to stumble coming in. It was cool to dig deep and get the job done.”

Crushers’s Anirban Lahiri shot a 65 to claim second place at 16-under while four players tied for third at 15-under: Reed, Perez, Cameron Tringale of HyFlyers and Cameron Smith, the captain of Rippers, the all-Australian team that were the crowd favourites this week. Reed took third in points via the tiebreaker.

“There’s obviously a want in Australia, I think, for really high-quality golf, and I think the fans here really enjoyed what LIV offers,” Smith said. “There’s no reason why we can’t make it bigger.”

While Gooch is used to celebrating team titles as a member of the 4 Aces last year, he was hoping to celebrate another one with his new team. Although the RangeGoats came up one shot short, the podium finish was their first as a team.

“It was frustrating that we couldn’t get the win for sure, but it was a step in the right direction for us as a team,” Gooch said. “I think it’s just a matter of time before we’re up on that podium.”

Here are some other takeaways from LIV Golf Adelaide

Koepka hits hole-in-one

Chase Koepka celebrates hole-in-one in Adelaide. LIV Golf

Smash’s Chase Koepka recorded the second hole-in-one in LIV Golf with his ace at the 150-yard par-3 12th on Sunday. The celebration was as momentous as the shot.

The 12th, otherwise known as The Watering Hole, is completely circled by stands and fans. When Koepka’s ball rolled in the cup, fans celebrated by showering Koepka with beer on the tee box while he chest-bumped his caddie as well as playing partners Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.

“A once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Koepka, who used a 9-iron to record the sixth hole-in-one of his career. “It’s something to always remember. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I can just say that. I don’t know if I can duplicate what I just did out there, but it’ll be really cool coming back here because I know everyone will remember it.”

Last year, Matthew Wolff recorded LIV’s first ace in Boston.

Rippers blown away by home support  in Oz

Huge crowds in Adelaide. LIV Golf

The all-Australian Ripper team moved up in the team standings to finish in the points in eighth place. It wasn’t the result they had hoped at the beginning of the week, but the success of the event and the support from the sold-out crowd all three days left Cameron Smith and team in good spirits.

“I expected it to be huge, somewhat like this,” Marc Leishman said. “I was saying this morning, I’ve had chances to win majors, albeit not in Australia, to have the home crowds like that, that was a highlight of my golfing career, along with all my wins. You can’t separate wins, which one was better than another, because they’re all special in different ways.

“But on the whole, this week was really, really special and something I’ll remember forever, and hopefully we can keep coming back here for years to come.”

Smith shot a final-round 66 to move up the individual standings, finishing just four shots off the lead. He supplied several highlight moments on Sunday, including holing out from the bunker at the 14th.

“Pretty exhausted,” Smith said. “It was a big week to get through, with lots of commitments and the fans. It’s so cool to have those people behind you, but it’s also really draining, as well, having the ovations on every green and tee. Yeah, it was an epic week but a very tiring week.

Uihlein’s two teams, two wins

Peter Uihlein became the first player to win team titles with two different teams. Last year, he was on the winning Smash team that won in Jeddah, and now he’s on the 4 Aces team that won in Adelaide.

“I don’t know if that’s good or not, but yeah, that’s pretty cool,” Uihlein said. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the team this week, and just trying to do what I can to contribute. These are three horses over here, I’m just trying to hitch a ride. It’s been fun.”

Gooch hails Aussie caddie

Winner Talor Gooch said his Australian-born caddie, Malcolm Baker, was a huge help this week. As Gooch conducted his press conference Sunday, Baker was in the back, celebrating by hoisting an Australian flag into the air.

“His green-reading ability out here is incredible,” Gooch said. “I leaned on him more this week than I have in a long time. He was so spot on early on, and it just gave me confidence in him, and I think it gave confidence in himself.

“I made a bunch of putts the last couple days, a bunch of 8-, 10-, 12-footers, and without him, I don’t make as many putts, plain and simple.”

Gooch also cited Baker’s help as his lead shrank throughout the day.

“He did a really, really good job of just not wavering and just being himself and just acting like this is another round of golf, even though it was a huge round of golf for us,” Gooch said. “His constant mentality and emotions, just how he conducts himself in those moments are huge for me for keeping me calm and making things easier than what they feel like they are in the moment.”

The post Your LIV Golf takeaways as Talor Gooch holds on to win in Adelaide — 4 Aces celebrate again, Koepka lands hole-in-one appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“We were curious because of all the build-up, all the hype,” Gooch said. “The expectations were high, right? And it lived up to it every bit. So it was a blast out there.”

Of course, it helps when your scorecard includes a bogey-free round with 10 birdies. Gooch’s 10-under 62 on Friday’s opening round at LIV Golf Adelaide not only gives him a four-shot lead, it also sets a LIV Golf record for lowest round in relation to par. And the 62 ties the record-low score by any LIV golfer.

“It’s the days that you work hard for,” said Gooch, who missed just one fairway and one green.

The all-European Cleeks also had a day worth celebrating, as they grabbed the lead at 16-under thanks to Richard Bland’s 66 and the 65s from Graeme McDowell and Bernd Wiesberger. Those three played in the same group, as all non-captains were grouped with their teammates for the first time.

“Obviously fun to kind of all play together for the first time in the first round,” McDowell said. “I feel like we kind of pushed each other along and had a good time.”

As for the all-Australian Rippers GC? It was certainly a day to remember in terms of atmosphere, but the results left them with plenty of work to do. They are tied for 11th at four-under, with Captain Cameron Smith producing the best score, a three-under 69.

“It was a pretty epic day,” Smith said. “It was incredible every hole, the support going on to the tee, off the green. To be honest, it was pretty tiring. But no, it was a really good day. I’m looking forward to doing it again over the weekend.”

He’ll need some low scores to catch Gooch. The RangeGoats member was four-under when he reached the par-4 fourth, then reeled off five consecutive birdies. With two par 5s in his remaining three holes, Gooch couldn’t help but think of shooting 59. “I for sure wanted to be the first 59 on LIV,” he said. “That would’ve been a cool history book to have.”

He made par on the first par-5, the ninth, then birdied the par-5 10th to get to 10 under. He’ll gladly take that and the four-shot lead.

“If anyone says they’re not surprised at 10-under, they’re lying to themselves,” Gooch said. “Ten-under is never an expectation of what you think is going to happen.”

Bland and Stinger’s Dean Burmester are his closest pursuers after shooting 66. Five players are another shot back, including LIV Golf Tucson winner Danny Lee of Iron Heads.

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ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT

When: April 21-23, 2023
Where: The Grange Golf Club, Grange, South Australia
Competition: 54 holes of stroke play
Field: 48 players/12 teams
Purse: $25 million ($20 million individual, $5 million team)
Winner’s share: $4 million (individual), $3 million (team)
Local tee time: Shotgun start for Rds 1-2 at 11.45am, Rd 3 at 11.15am.

KEY STORYLINES

Cameron Smith. LIV Golf

The LIV Golf League makes its first appearance in Australia with record-breaking attendance expected each round at The Grange
Ripper, the all-Australian team captained by Cameron Smith (born in Queensland) along with teammates Marc Leishman (Victoria), Matt Jones (New South Wales) and Jediah Morgan (Queensland), see their first team victory in front of the home crowd
Smith, the reigning Open Champion, won in his second LIV Golf start last season. His most recent worldwide win was the Australian PGA Championship in November
For the first time at a LIV Golf tournament, tickets will be available to the public for Thursday’s Pro-Am round
By winning LIV Golf Orlando, Smash Captain Brooks Koepka became LIV Golf’s first two-time winner
The Spanish-speaking Torque, fuelled by LIV Golf newcomers Sebastián Muñoz and Mito Pereira, claimed their first team title in Orlando
Defending team champions, the 4 Aces, captained by Dustin Johnson, lead the team standings with three consecutive podium results (2nd in Mayakoba, 2nd in Tucson, 3rd in Orlando)
Crushers’s Charles Howell III, the winner in Mayakoba, remains atop the Individual Champion standings by four points over 4Aces’ Peter Uihlein
The 18 LIV Golf members who played in the Masters will be in the 48-man field at The Grange, including top-4 finishers Phil Mickelson (T2), Brooks Koepka (T2) and Patrick Reed (T4)

ABOUT THE COURSE

The Grange Golf Club, Grange, South Australia
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,946
The Grange’s two internationally rated courses (West and East) will be used as a composite layout for LIV Golf Adelaide
Holes 9-10 and 12-18 of the East course, redesigned by LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman in 2012, will provide hole Nos. 1-9 for the composite course
The back nine of the West course, redesigned by former Australian pro Mike Clayton, will provide hole Nos. 10-18 for the composite course
The East course has been ranked among Australia’s top 50 courses and was the site of Norman’s first professional win in 1976
The West course hosted the 2016 and 2019 Women’s Australian Open and is a quintessential sand-belt layout
Rough has been growing since early February to provide defence off the tee, while firm and fast greens also will challenge players

HOW TO WATCH

United States: The CW Network airs the LIV Golf League in 100 per cent of US markets.
Friday: Live on The CW App and LIV Golf Plus
Saturday and Sunday: Live on The CW App and LIV Golf Plus. Tape-delayed on The CW Network (1pm-6pm ET).
Global: Broadcast in over 160 international territories Live and On-Demand, free of charge, via LIV Golf Plus. Available for download on iOS, Android, FireTV, and on LIVGolfPlus.com. Also airing on 12 international broadcast partners.

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