The mullet was flowing, the short game was silky and the driver was, at times, wayward. LIV Golf London winner Cameron Smith may be playing in a different league now, but his preparation for the Open Championship bears resemblance to the lead-up to his victory last year at St. Andrews.

On Sunday, Smith bagged a second career LIV victory, this one at Centurion Club outside London. With a final-round 68, the World No. 7 finished at 15 under par and one ahead of countryman Marc Leishman and Patrick Reed.

Smith’s win had similar thrills and spills to some of his performances last season, like the Players Championship, when Smith punched out of trees and into water on the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass but saved a bogey to win by one. In London this week, Smith kept his fans similarly on the edge for all 54 holes.

There were chip-in birdies from impossible spots after errant tee shots, long-range putts poured in with ease and miraculous saves down the stretch on the final day. At the par-5 15th while leading the tournament by two, Smith hooked his drive into trees with such force it looked like he’d need a provisional. He found his ball, and after two solid shots, he burned the edge of the hole for birdie.

? CAM SMITH WINS IN LONDON#LIVGolf @rippergc_ pic.twitter.com/W4yazbDsKe

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) July 9, 2023

At the par-4 16th, Smith made a crucial up and down from short of the green while Reed was snapping at his heels courtesy of seven birdies in his last 11 holes. Smith then reclaimed momentum with a birdie at the par-3 17th.

“This course is so fiddly, it’s tough to play with a lead,” Smith said after his $4-million win. “You’re almost trying to place it in the fairway and on the green rather than just hitting your shots. It can get to you. This is the best the putter has felt for a long time, and I think that definitely saved today’s round.”

At the par-5 18th, Smith couldn’t channel his trademark scrambling after pulling a drive into long rough. Following a layup, he hit an uncharacteristically poor wedge for his third and found a greenside bunker. He then missed the short, but tricky, par putt. A bogey gave Smith a one-shot win but cost his Ripper GC team (Smith, Leishman, Matt Jones and Jed Morgan) the chance to enter LIV’s first-ever team playoff. Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces (Johnson, Reed, Peter Uihlein and Pat Perez) won their sixth team title, a $3 million prize they split four ways.

“I would have loved it,” Reed said of a playoff.

Perez agreed: “Cam hasn’t missed one of those [putts] in his life, so I’m pretty shocked. [Extra holes] would have been cool.”

Bigger picture, the LIV victory is an important shot of confidence for the 29-year-old Smith before defending his Open title at Royal Liverpool in two weeks. The LIV title ends a seven-month victory drought, an odd feeling for a player who won five times in 2022.

Cam Smith takes the top step ?#LIVGolf @rippergc_ pic.twitter.com/IAnChdkIIV

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) July 9, 2023

“I think it’s more of a confidence thing there; just winning again I think is nice,” he said. “It really hasn’t been that long since [winning the Australian PGA Championship in November] my last win, but it feels like forever. Especially the way I’ve been playing the last couple months, I’ve been knocking on the door.”

Smith has been knocking on the door at the majors, too. His fourth place at the U.S. Open last month and T-9 at the PGA Championship were career-best results in those championships. He’s expecting the LIV victory to ignite another run.

“Hopefully it opens the floodgates a little bit,” he said.

The preparation for the 151st Open will be different to last year. Instead of a 68-67 weekend (T-10) at the Scottish Open, he plans to head to Wimbledon during a restful week. But he does, however, hope that the Open result will be the same.

“Probably no golf for me; I’ll hang out in London, see all the sights, and have a good time and relax,” he said. “I’ll be heading up to Hoylake on Saturday, so I’ll have a bit of a longer prep than usual.”

The post Cam Smith wins for first time in 7 months, now sets sights on Open Championship title defence appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

About halfway through his opening round at the LIV Golf London event, Reed found himself in some thick grass left of the fairway at Centurion’s par-5 13th. Generally speaking, even for the best players in the world, high grass like the stuff Reed was hitting out of is going to turn the club over at impact and create a bad left miss.

RELATED: Smith shoots 63, Ripper GC takes round 1 team lead in London

You’d think with that knowledge that fans wouldn’t stand directly in the left-miss zone, but that didn’t stop one spectator from doing exactly that. When Reed’s club predictably turned over and he pulled one low and left, he nearly took said spectator’s head off. In a rare bit of brilliant comedic timing, Reed let out a sheepish “fore” call a few seconds after the dust had settled:

Patrick Reed. ?#DIALED? pic.twitter.com/aEIu3gzxg2

— DIALED GOLF (@DialedGolf_) July 7, 2023

Funny stuff, P-Reed! Nobody actually got hit, and there was no actual time to call “FORE” to this guy standing about 30 yards ahead. He, to steal an iconic “Happy Gilmore” quote, shouldn’t have been standing there. Lesson learned. Even if the man has a green jacket to his name, you’re going to want to stand the hell back when he’s hitting from knee-deep rough. 

Reed, impressively, went on to save par, then played his final nine holes in two under to post a one-under 70. He’s seven off the lead of Cameron Smith, who opened with a bogey-free 63 to take the solo lead.

The post Patrick Reed nearly takes man’s head off at LIV event, delivers hilariously-late ‘fore’ call appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

With his Open Championship defence looming in two weeks, Cameron Smith seems to be peaking at the right time.

Friday’s opening round at LIV Golf London is the latest piece of evidence.

The Ripper GC captain shot a bogey-free 8-under 63 to grab a one-stroke lead over teammate Marc Leishman as LIV Golf made its return to Centurion Club, the host course for last year’s inaugural tournament. RangeGoats GC’s Thomas Pieters is in solo third, three strokes back, while red-hot teammate Talor Gooch is in a three-way tie for fourth with HyFlyers GC’s Cameron Tringale and Majesticks GC’s Laurie Canter.

Thanks to Smith and Leishman, the all-Australian Rippers took the team lead at 13 under, with the RangeGoats at 10 under. The home favourite Majesticks are in solo third at 8 under.

Neither Aussie at the top of the leaderboard competed at Centurion Club last year, but they both looked comfortable on a sun-drenched day outside London.

“Wasn’t much bad stuff in there, to be honest,” said Smith, who posted Friday’s only bogey-free round. “… I feel like I’ve been on this kind of trend for a few months now.”

Smith has finished 12th or better in his last seven starts, including top 10s in the PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Although he’s yet to win in 2023, Smith is building plenty of momentum going into Royal Liverpool.

“I think any tournament that Cam enters, he’s certainly a strong contender,” Leishman said. “I think playing this week is going to help him. The wind is very different, I feel like, in England and Scotland. It’s a lot heavier. Getting used to that is pretty important.”

Thomas Pieters of RangeGoats GC is only three shots back following round one of LIV Golf London. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/LIV Golf)

Smith navigated the first six holes, the most difficult stretch at Centurion, in 1 under. Starting with the ninth hole, he birdied seven of the next nine holes before settling for par on the par-5 18th. He said the big difference Friday was getting more in sync with caddie Sam Pinfold.

“Sam and I worked really nice today, which is probably the first time in a long time where we really stuck it out and actually talked through some shots,” Smith said. “Probably something that had kind of been a missing piece to the puzzle. It was nice to figure that stuff out before another big tournament coming up.”

Marc Leishman of Ripper GC sits in second after the first round of LIV Golf London. (Photo by Richard Washbrooke/LIV Golf)

Leishman has struggled to find consistency this season but started hot on Friday. After a par on his opening hole, the 12th, he birdied six of the next seven holes before reaching the toughest part of the course.

“Happy to finally get a score on the board,” Leishman said. “It’s been a while.”

The two will play in the leaders group on Saturday with Pieters. But the group ahead of them will include the hottest LIV golfer in Gooch, who won his third tournament of the season last week in Andalucía and opened Friday with four birdies in his first five holes en route to his 11th round of the season at his target score of 67 or better.

“It was a good day,” said Gooch, who has won the last three LIV Golf tournaments held outside the U.S. “This golf course is not as easy as what Cam just made it look.”

TEAM COUNTING SCORES

Here are the standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round of the team competition at LIV Golf London. The three best scores from each team count in every round for their total team score. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds win the team title.

1. RIPPER GC (-13): Cameron Smith 63, Marc Leishman 64, Matt Jones 73
2. RANGEGOATS GC (-10): Thomas Pieters 66, Talor Gooch 67, Bubba Watson 70
3. MAJESTICKS GC (-8): Laurie Canter 67, Ian Poulter 69, Henrik Stenson 69
4. HYFLYERS GC (-6): Cameron Tringale 67, James Piot 69, Brendan Steele 71
5. STINGER GC (-5): Branden Grace 68, Dean Burmester 70, Louis Oosthuizen 70
T6. CRUSHERS GC (-4): Anirban Lahiri 68, Bryson DeChambeau 70, Paul Casey 73
T6. FIREBALLS GC (-4): Abraham Ancer 68, Sergio Garcia 69, Eugenio Chacarra 72
8. 4ACES GC (-3): Patrick Reed 70, Peter Uihlein 70, Pat Perez 70
T9. SMASH GC (-2): Jason Kokrak 69, Chase Koepka 70, Brooks Koepka 72
T9. CLEEKS GC (-2): Richard Bland 68, Martin Kaymer 71, Bernd Wiesberger 72
11. TORQUE GC (E): Joaquin Niemann 69, Mito Pereira 71, David Puig 73
12. IRON HEADS GC (+6): Kevin Na 72, Sihwan Kim 73, Danny Lee 74

The post Smith shoots 63, Ripper GC takes round 1 team lead in London appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

For the first time in its young history, LIV Golf returns to a host course.

Centurion Club was the site of the inaugural Invitational Series tournament in 2022’s beta-test year. Now it’s back as the venue for LIV Golf London, the ninth event of the 2023 LIV Golf League season.

Many things have changed in the last 13 months between events. Of the 48 players in last year’s field, just 23 will tee it up this season. That includes individual winner Charl Schwartzel and third-place finisher Branden Grace, two of the three members of Stinger GC that swept the individual podium and – obviously – LIV Golf’s first team title.

The par-71, 7,068-yard course yielded few low scores last year, as just nine of the 48 players finished at par or better last year, with Schwartzel winning at 9 under. It may very well be as difficult this year.

After getting a look at the course’s first 10 holes, Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith said: “I think there’s a really, really good mix of extremely tough holes where you’re grinding to make par and then also some holes where you get a wedge in your hand and you’re looking at making birdie.

“As long as that theme continues, I think it’ll be a good test. I think those first four or five there in the trees are quite tough, and once you get through there, I think you’re looking at birdies the whole way in.”

With that in mind, here are the picks for our top five players and top four teams at this week’s LIV Golf London.

FIVE PLAYERS

1. TALOR GOOCH. The season-long points leader and winner of the last three LIV Golf tournaments played outside the U.S. The RangeGoats GC star keeps making statements with each victory. He’s No. 1 until further notice.

2. BRYSON DECHAMBEAU. Came so close in Andalucía to ending his two-year drought. He just needs to tidy up a few things, but no doubt he’s trending in the right direction. Will be interesting to see how he navigates Centurion’s woodlands holes.

3. DUSTIN JOHNSON. His win in Tulsa is his only top 5 points finish of the season, but a return to Centurion should be a positive, having finished 8th here last season. Plus, the 4Aces GC captain is probably tired of seeing his former teammate at the top of the podium.

4. CAMERON SMITH. Like DeChambeau, he was not a LIV Golf member last year when the inaugural event was played, so he’s unfamiliar with Centurion Club. But the Ripper GC captain obviously knows how to win in the UK and will look for a good result going into his Open title defence.

5. BROOKS KOEPKA. His three LIV Golf podium finishes this season – including the win in Orlando – have come in warm weather. But it was chilly in Rochester, New York when he won the PGA Championship, so the Smash GC captain should be just fine.

OTHERS CONSIDERED: Branden Grace finished third in the Stingers’ individual podium sweep last season, and he’ll seek a bounce-back week after a non-points finish in Andalucía … Five Englishmen are in the field, and the best bet for a good result is Majesticks GC’s Laurie Canter, who played well in qualifying for the Open on Tuesday … If David Puig can as well in the first two rounds as he does on Sunday, he could give Torque GC its first individual champ … Smash’s Jason Kokrak has produced five straight top-12 finishes, the most recent one without a practice round.

Image supplied

FOUR TEAMS

1. TORQUE GC. Like Gooch with the Individual rankings, it would be foolish to pick against the only three-time team winners this year. But only Puig has seen Centurion Club.

2. CRUSHERS GC. None of the current Crushers were members of LIV Golf playing in London last year, but the course may be well-suited for its veteran ball-strikers.

3. 4ACES GC. Dustin Johnson’s teammates are completely different from the ones he drafted going into London last year. The Aces are at the top of the point standings for now, but their lead has been shrinking.

4. RANGEGOATS GC. Bubba Watson’s team comes into London with five consecutive podium finishes. Yet they’ve only managed to convert one of their four individual titles into a team trophy.

OTHERS CONSIDERED: Stinger GC won by 14 strokes last year; the South Africans may very well win again but duplicating the margin is a big ask … Majesticks GC co-captain Ian Poulter promises his team will finish on the podium at some point this season. Why not this week at their “home” event?

The post Power Rankings: 5 Players, 4 Teams for LIV Golf London appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Bryson DeChambeau will have a familiar face on the bag this week. You might also call it a surprising one, too.

No Laying Up reported Tuesday night that DeChambeau’s former caddie Tim Tucker will be working for his old boss at the LIV Golf London event, with DeChambeau’s agent confirming the move to Golfweek.

Tucker was DeChambeau’s loop for all eight of DeChambeau’s PGA Tour wins, including his triumph at the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot. However, Tucker famously left DeChambeau on the eve of the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic, a tournament that DeChambeau was the defending champ. Tucker later said a combination of things led to the split, including that DeChambeau can be “very demanding” of his caddies.

But later in 2021, Tucker said he made “a big mistake in my timing” with the split, adding he harboured no animosity towards his former employer. Earlier this year Tucker told Golf Digest that he and DeChambeau still kept in touch after DeChambeau left for LIV Golf. “Yeah, absolutely,” Tucker said. “I got a Christmas gift [for DeChambeau], which a friend of mine made. I talk to him all the time.”

Tucker, who runs a luxury-shuttle service at Bandon Dunes, has hopped on several bags since departing DeChambeau. He is currently with Kurt Kitayama, working for him earlier in March when he won his first PGA Tour title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The reunion between DeChambeau and Tucker is expected to be short-lived, as DeChambeau’s regular caddie Greg Bodine is attending to a personal matter and will be back with Dechambeau later this month at the Open Championship. Tucker is scheduled to return to Kitayama’s bag at next week’s Genesis Scottish Open.

Though DeChambeau has not won in more than two years, he has shown signs of revival with his play, finishing T-4 at the PGA Championship in May and T-20 last month at the US Open. He also finished second at last week’s LIV Golf event in Spain.

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For the second time during the LIV Golf League season, teammates will play together as groups in the opening round of a tournament.

Threesomes were announced for Friday’s first round of LIV Golf London at Centurion Club. All non-playing captains will be grouped as teams, while captains from various teams make up the remainder of the groups.

The only exceptions are Majesticks GC co-captains Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter playing with teammate Laurie Canter as an all-England group starting on the 18th hole. The third Majesticks co-captain, Swedish star Henrik Stenson, will start on the opening hole with Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith and Stinger GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen.

The first time groups were arranged by teams came in the opening round of LIV Golf Adelaide in Australia. In the second and third rounds, groups are determined by the individual leaderboard. In the first 15 regular-season tournaments in LIV Golf’s history, no group in the second or third round has consisted entirely of one team.

The Majesticks’ English trio should get plenty of hometown support, as will the other Englishmen in the field – Crushers GC’s Paul Casey, who starts on the 13th hole with teammates Anirban Lahiri on India and American Charles Howell III; and Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland, who starts on the 16th hole with Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.

Along with the captains’ group on No. 1, the other captains’ groups include:

• HyFlyers GC’s Phil Mickelson, 4Aces GC’s Dustin Johnson and Smash GC’s Brooks Koepka starting on hole No. 2
• Fireballs GC’s Sergio Garcia, Torque GC’s Joaquin Niemann and Cleeks GC’s Martin Kaymer starting on hole No. 3
• Crushers GC’s Bryson DeChambeau, RangeGoats GC’s Bubba Watson and Iron Heads GC’s Kevin Na starting on hole No. 4

Shotgun start for Friday’s opening round is 2:15 p.m. local (9:15 a.m. ET).

The post Teammates grouped in opening round of LIV Golf London appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

LIV Golf’s broadcasters weigh in with their picks for the individual and team winners at this week’s LIV Golf London, the ninth event of the 2023 LIV Golf League. (Experts listed in order of latest standings.)

TROY MULLINS

INDIVIDUAL
Bryson DeChambeau – His finish last week at Valderrama gives him some great momentum — and motivation – to win his first LIV event this week on his way to another major at the Open Championship.
TEAM
RangeGoats GC – I hate to pick against the 4Aces — and please don’t tell them I did — but I have a great feeling about the RangeGoats on Centurion this week.

DAVID FEHERTY

INDIVIDUAL
Talor Gooch – Who in the world wouldn’t pick Talor Gooch? Certainly not me.
TEAM
RangeGoats GC -– I am consistent in picking my RangeGoats, who make me look good as often as they don’t. 

SU-ANN HENG

INDIVIDUAL
Brooks Koepka – His game is in great shape and came close in Andalucia. Centurion requires strategic planning and who can do that better than Koepka?
TEAM
Stinger GC – Why not have Stinger GC be our first defending team champion?

ARLO WHITE

INDIVIDUAL
Cam Smith – He’s back on British soil after his incredible victory in the Open Championship last summer. Cam will be determined to emulate those Australian Cricketers – that he taunts me about – by beating the English and the rest of the field!
TEAM
Stinger GC – They are back at where it all began. They have three of the four players who claimed victory in our inaugural competition, plus the excellent Dean Burmester. The South Africans love this course and will repeat as champions.

DOM BOULET

INDIVIDUAL
Brooks Koepka – Going to go with Koepka to win the individual. Didn’t play here last year but a long course that favours a good driver of the ball.
TEAM
RangeGoats GC – RangeGoats going to win their second event this week.

JERRY FOLTZ

INDIVIDUAL
Brooks Koepka – One of the best at finding success on difficult courses, Koepka’s third-place finish at Valderrama sets him up for a victory at a stern Centurion Club.
TEAM
Crushers GC – Now that captain Bryson DeChambeau is playing well again, he is prepared to lead the Crushers to their first win since Mayakoba.

HOW THEY STAND

Here are the standings for our LIV Golf Experts after LIV Golf Andalucía. Each prediction received the individual and team points awarded to their respective picks.

EXPERT: Overall Points, Last Event
Mullins: 217, Johnson 11, 4Aces 12
Feherty: 201, Garcia 8, RangeGoats 24
Heng: 150, Smith 7, Fireballs 4
White: 140, Smith 7, Fireballs 4
Boulet: 122, Garcia 8, Fireballs 4
Foltz: 114, Garcia 8, Crushers 16

The post Expert Picks: LIV Golf’s broadcast team predicts the London winners appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

GolfDigestME.com
LIV Golf has unveiled initial details on the array of fan activities taking place June 9-11 at Centurion Club, site of the first-ever LIV Golf Invitational Series tournament. All General Admission tickets will be all-inclusive of the unique activations that will engage fans of all ages in celebration of the game of golf.

Gates will open at 11am all three days of tournament play in advance of the 2pm shotgun start, so guests can enjoy and take part in all of the interactive activities onsite. Grounds passes will allow fans to walk the course, view the tournament from select viewing platforms and grant entry to the Fan Village. This immersive area will celebrate the spirit of London with Covent Garden-style street performers and a food and drink festival atmosphere inspired by the best of Borough Market. A specially designed Kids Zone will also engage youth with children’s entertainers, face painting, soft play equipment for climbing, crazy golf putting challenges, and educational activations based on STEM lessons.

Also in the Fan Village, LIV Golf’s Performance Centre will feature professional coaches who will offer tips as guests test their skills on simulators and putting area. Meanwhile, gamers can deploy in the Metaverse Tent, where Esports and virtual reality exhibits will take fans inside the game through friendly competition.

As part of the shotgun start, fans will enjoy an air show featuring The Blades aerobatic team, while London black cabs will transport the field of 48 players to their respective starting holes.

“LIV Golf is about more than just hosting a new golf tournament. It’s about creating an event experience,” said Greg Norman, CEO and Commissioner of LIV Golf. “We want players and fans to feed off a unique energy rarely encountered through this game, while engaging new audiences that will help golf grow. From intense competition on the course to entertainment that caters to fans of all ages, there will be something for everyone at Centurion.”

The event will also incude ‘Apres Golf’ entertainment from local artists and DJs and open admission to the Birdie Shack hospitality. At the conclusion of play, free concerts will play each day, with headline acts to be announced in the coming weeks.

Aligned with LIV Golf’s mission to grow the game and provide more fun and entertainment for all fans, special ticket offers are available for select groups, including complimentary tickets for those fans 15 and under when accompanied by a paying adult.

There will also be complimentary tickets for for HM Armed Forces members and guests, while students, teachers, medical professionals and key workers can take advantage of a 25 per cent discount offer percent off single-day or three-day grounds passes.

Tickets available at tickets.livgolf.com. For discounts, email discounts@livgolftickets.com.

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