Robert TheodorsonLIV Golf travels Down Under to the league’s biggest party of the season in Adelaide!
Last week, new league signee Elvis Smylie won his first league tournament in Riyadh with an incredible final score of 24-under par, besting Jon Rahm by a single stroke.
The all-Aussie Ripper squad looks to make it two in a row on home turf after winning the team competition in Riyadh by a healthy margin. Team members Elvis Smylie, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, and captain Cam Smith are hoping for a repeat of their 2024 Team Championship year when they won LIV Adelaide in a team playoff against Louis Oosthuizen’s Stinger (now Southern Guards).
Top 5 Projected Performers
(1) Jon Rahm
Despite birdies on five of the last six holes during the final round in Riyadh, Rahm came up just short in the capital city for the second time in two seasons. Slow starts during the opening two rounds plagued Rahm last season, costing the 2023 Masters champion a number of would-be wins.
This issue was most noticeable in the major championships last season as Rahm was unable to sink relatively short putts on Thursdays/Fridays with the same frequency and success he regularly enjoys on Saturdays/Sundays.
Should Rahm be able to rectify his early-round putting missteps, he should be capable of winning almost every tournament throughout the season.
(2) Elvis Smylie
With winning comes the pressure and expectations of winning again and again. For Smylie, now the 77th-ranked golfer in the world according to OWGR, a second consecutive victory will be expected from the home crowd.
It is important to note however that back-to-back wins at the individual level has only been achieved once in league history: Talor Gooch in 2023.
(3) Joaquin Niemann
The reigning LIV Adelaide champion was quiet in his first match of the season, finishing T22; 13-under par. Time will tell if history repeats itself in 2026 as Niemann’s so-so performance in Riyadh was followed by winning every other tournament for half the season.
(4) David Puig
2026 could very well serve as Puig’s breakout year into stardom. Currently ranked 87th in OWGR and boosted 5 points by his T4 finish in Riyadh, Puig is looking to climb the ranks quickly and is doing a superb job at it.
Top 10 finishes at the Dubai Invitational, Hero Dubai Desert Classic, and LIV Riyadh make the young Puig one of the most exciting golfers to watch in all competitions this season. A strong showing in Adelaide would elevate his credentials and give him a real shot at competing for the season-long LIV Golf individual championship.
(5) Abraham Ancer
Ancer’s T4 finish in Riyadh paired with his T2 finish from Adelaide last season makes the newest Torque member a smart pick in our final spot. It’s been a while since Ancer’s first and only win back at LIV Hong Kong in 2023, but since that time, he’s had plenty of close calls along the way.
Top Projected Team
Ripper
The home team will be looked upon to not only win but run up the score in spectacular fashion.
Ripper’s victory in Riyadh was a complete team effort and despite the fact that the Australians won the penultimate Team Championship in 2024, this is undoubtedly the best Ripper quartet we’ve ever seen.
Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs are the reigning LIV Adelaide champions. Though they’ll be difficult to dislodge but won’t be nearly as big a threat as Joaquin Niemann’s Torque who were the only team to come even close to besting Ripper in Riyadh. Torque will feature the top three finishers from LIV Adelaide 2025 in Joaquin Niemann (1st), Carlos Ortiz (T2), and Abraham Ancer (T2). Should there be another team playoff in Adelaide, expect it to be Ripper vs. Torque.
Around the League: What You Need to Know Before Adelaide
- The “Watering Hole”, sometimes called the Party Hole at other events, is must-see television. The Par 3 12th is home to LIV’s most raucous hole. Should someone from the field hit a hole in one on the Watering Hole, they can be expected to be showered in beer (in a friendly manner) by fans!
- It’s been a tale of two seasons for Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka since leaving the league. Reed captured his second victory in three weeks at the Dubai Masters while Koepka missed the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a tournament he had previously won before joining LIV.
- Elvis Smylie was the first LIV golfer to receive OWGR points for a LIV individual victory. The OWGR officially awarded Smylie 23 points, moving him into 77th position before Adelaide.
- With his first win, Smylie is all but assured a spot in The Lock Zone as no previous champion has ever finished outside of it since the zone’s inception. Likewise, Brendan Steele will likely be fighting for his career as he hopes to join Harold Varner III who is the only player in league history to finish dead last in a season opener and not be relegated out of the league.
