LIV Golf, the occasionally controversial Saudi-backed gold tournament that promises huge prize money payouts, has announced it will be hosting a tournament in Australia in 2023, with Adelaide being the venue of choice.
The organisers of LIV Golf, which includes CEO and former professional player Greg “The Shark” Norman, have chosen The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide, South Australia, to be the first golf club to host a LIV Golf event. The east course at The Grange was designed by Greg Norman himself, so we can assume that played a role in it being chosen.
However, other golf courses in Sydney and Brisbane were also inspected, although it’s claimed The Royal Sydney Golf Club wanted to play no part in being shortlisted. The state of Victoria also chose not to put itself in the running to be selected, preferring to take sides with the PGA.
The Australian stop on the LIV Golf series will take place from April 21-23, two weeks after the US Masters, and will continue to take place Down Under for the next four years. Australian golfer and British Open winner, Cameron Smith, will more than likely take part, having deferred to LIV Golf from the PGA Tour earlier in 2022. Fellow Australian golfer and LIV Golf player, Marc Leishman, is also expected to take to the course in Adelaide.
Other big names that will be heading to Australia in April 2023 will include Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia. Prize money for the Australian LIV Golf tournament is estimated to be AU$38 million, with the winner pocketing about AU$6 million.
LIV Golf will be the first annual, high-profile golf tournament to make its way to Australia, since the PGA Tour doesn’t make a stop off on our shores. The last major golf tournament to take place in Australia was the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, 2019.
“This is an opportunity to grow the game with generations of Australians while connecting them with star players like Cameron Smith who are building a new platform for golf around the globe,” Greg Norman said of Australia hosting a LIV Golf event.
“There is massive potential for Australia to play a bigger role in this great sport, and I couldn’t be more excited to showcase Adelaide for our league’s debut year.”
LIV Golf was formed in 2019, but the first tournament didn’t begin until 2022. It was developed as an alternative to the well-established PGA Tour, but plays out in a different format. Golfers head out onto the golf course in teams of four, each with a captain, and play for much bigger paycheques. Many consider the greater financial rewards to be the biggest incentive for PGA golfers that have deferred to the LIV Golf series, although many of them dispute this.
Since its inception, more and more golfers have been defected to LIV Golf, many of which are huge names within the sport, including those mentioned above and others such as Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka and Paul Casey.
Read Next