Adelaide will welcome a bevy of international stars in April after LIV Golf announced a multi-year commitment to bring its events to Australia, beginning in 2023.
At a special gathering of dignitaries and media at Adelaide Oval Monday, LIV Golf chief executive officer Greg Norman revealed The Grange Golf Club – the place where he secured his first-ever professional victory – will now play host to his tour’s first-ever Aussie event.
LIV Golf Adelaide will be held from April 21-23, and promises to deliver one of the strongest international fields Australia has seen in many years. Among the starters will be current Open champion Cameron Smith and fellow Major winners Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Louis Oosthuizen.
Fellow Aussies Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Wade Ormsby will also be among the contingent of stars making a beeline for the South Australian capital as members of the all-Australian Punch GC team.
“Passion for sport is at the core of Australian culture, and LIV Golf is proud to bring its global league to a country deserving of the world’s top competition,” says Norman.
“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. 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.”
Adds Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas: “Securing the first Australian LIV Golf tournament is an exciting coup for South Australia. As Premier, I am determined to lure more major events to South Australia, which means more visitors, more economic activity and more jobs. This is exactly what our economy needs as we emerge from the pandemic, in particular our hospitality sector which has done it tough over the past couple of years. LIV Golf will bring some of the world’s best golfers to SA for an event the likes of which our country has never seen before.”
Grounds passes for LIV Golf Adelaide are available at LIVGolf.com with special ‘Early Birdie’ pricing of $35 for single day passes and $80 for three-day passes. Fans are encouraged to secure tickets now for LIV Golf’s festival-style tournament featuring live music and fan activities for all ages.
One of South Australia’s premier sporting venues, The Grange has hosted major professional events including the West Lakes Classic, where Norman claimed his first professional victory in 1976. A host site for the South Australian Open and multiple PGA events, the club has also welcomed marquee amateur tournaments including the Australian Amateur and Australian Interstate Team Series, as well as Australian Lady Amateur events. Most recently, the club hosted the 2019 and 2016 Women’s Australian Open, boasting record crowds and receiving tremendous fan feedback.
“The Grange Golf Club is excited to host the world’s best golfers at our course,” said club president Nicolle Rantanen Reynolds. “It is recognition of our excellent facilities and our ability to host world-class golf tournaments. We are looking forward to working with LIV Golf and the SA Government to deliver an outstanding event.”
Norman said final rosters for the LIV Golf League will be announced next year, when 12 established team franchises will compete in a global 14-event schedule for an unprecedented $US405 million in prize purses.
Consistent with the 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Series, the LIV Golf League will feature simultaneous team and individual play, with each season culminating in a Team Championship finale. The 2023 league schedule, to be released in the coming weeks, will tee off from February to September and will not compete with the Majors, international team events or heritage events.
The latest announcement follows reports that Norman is on the outs with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf owners. Earlier this week the UK’s Telegraph reported that Norman may be outed as LIV Golf CEO in favour of Taco Bell executive and former TaylorMade CEO Mark King.
However, LIV Golf managing director Majed Al-Sorour issued a stern response to the Telegraph’s report, saying that Norman is not going anywhere.
“Greg Norman is our CEO and commissioner. Any suggestion that changes are being made to Greg’s title or role is patently false,” Al-Sorour said.
