Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf, says he “feels sorry” for those who are skeptical as a record 94,000 spectators attend LIV Golf Adelaide.
In light of the record-breaking 94,000 spectators that attended the LIV Golf League’s most recent Adelaide event, Greg Norman says he “feels sorry” for anyone who has ever doubted the organization.
When American Brendan Steele won the individual event and home team Ripper GC, led by Cameron Smith, won the team event, Norman expressed his emotions in an interview with Australian Golf Digest.
94,000 spectators are said to have attended all three days of action at the Grange Golf Club for LIV Golf Adelaide.
Up from 77,000 at launch in 2023, that is.
Although it is a record for an LIV golf tournament, the record PGA Tour attendance at the 2018 WM Phoenix Open, with 719,179 spectators on the ground for the entire week, is still far higher.
The 69-year-old Australian, however, was thrilled with the most recent figures and the way everything transpired in Adelaide once more.
🚨📊⛳️ #NEW: LIV GOLF reports record attendance for their Adelaide event, with 94,000 spectators over the course of the competition’s three days.
Have seen some comparisons to the Waste Management mentioned, which has pulled between 500-800k fans over the 4 day tournament during the… pic.twitter.com/uyDfa7zq7d
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 28, 2024
Norman told Australian Golf Digest:
“Vindication is not the right word.
“It’s the ignorance of people who didn’t comprehend our intentions at all.
“I genuinely feel bad for them [the doubters] because they now realize how valuable LIV Golf is and want to participate in it.”
Norman, CEO of LIV Golf, continued:
The decades-long support Australia provided me during my playing career is something I will never forget.
“I did it for them, which is why I brought LIV Golf back home.” The people have made their voices heard. In Australia, golf is thriving on both an individual and team level, and they certainly deserve it. I was certain they would back this initiative.
Right now, I’m incredibly proud of myself. Given everything that LIV Golf has experienced in the last 16 months both as a league and what I’ve copped personally… the hatred… this makes it all worthwhile.”
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 27, 2024
The par-3 12th hole at The Grange Golf Club, dubbed “The Watering Hole,” was the scene of some outrageous moments once more.
The hole is played similarly to the well-known par-3 16th on the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, with beer-drinking spectators who boo and cheer depending on how shots go.
Regretfully, on day two, Lucas Herbert’s caddie was hit by a water bottle.
Herbert said:
“He could have been far more offended, but he handled it quite nicely. Asking someone who’s had fifteen beers to aim a water bottle away from someone is probably not easy. Perhaps that is asking for too much.
Regarding the competition itself, Brendan Steele, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, won his first LIV Golf title.
At 18-under par, Steele finished with a 68 to seal a close one-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa.
“This has been incredible, it’s been great,” Steele remarked while on the 18th green.
“I just needed to get back in there and start playing with freedom again; I knew there was going to be hard moments today, regardless of the outcome.”
Jon Rahm, a $600 million signing and the tournament favorite, lost his opening round on LIV Golf once more.
Nevertheless, the former World No. 1 closed with a perfect 64 to finish in T3 two shots back.
This was the Spaniard’s third-best performance on LIV Golf out of six starts.
After losing to Ripper GC, which was led by its captain and 150th Open champion Cameron Smith, in the inaugural team playoff, former Open champion Oosthuizen was even more disappointed.
Combined, Ripper GC and Stinger GC shot 53-under par for the week.
Two players from each team were chosen to participate in the playoffs.
Dean Burmester joined Oosthuizen, and Marc Leishman joined Smith.
On the first extra hole, Burmester and Oosthuizen had excellent opportunities to seal the deal, but they missed their seven-foot birdie putts.
When the South African pair discovered sand on the second extra hole, Smith and Leishman then sealed the deal.
The home crowd cheered loudly when Burmester failed to get his ball out of the greenside bunker.
In 2024, Ripper GC achieved a first with this victory.
Smith called the team’s victory a “dream come true” and “unreal.”
“We’ve been talking about it all year,” he continued.
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