PREVIEW: LIV Golf Series – LIV Golf London

What a difference a year makes (or a little over a year).  It would seem the winds of change are upon us, as LIV Golf returns to the venue of its inaugural staging with an entirely different momentum behind it.

I remember the mockery that accompanied last year’s event (I was part of it).  The shotgun starts and gaudy presentation led many to think that the entire enterprise was dead in the water.  The fact that the unflashy Charl Schwarztel won the event only added to that overall feeling.

But people probably underestimated the impact that this type of financial investment would have (just look at what is happening in football right now).  Brooks Koepka became the first active LIV Golf member to win a Major at Oak Hill (adding a real patina of legitimacy to proceedings).  The US PGA Tour then organized a clandestine merger with LIV and the DP World Tour that left the entire golfing world scratching their heads.  Senate testimony awaits but one thing is for sure- LIV Golf isn’t disappearing silently into the ether.

This will be the first time that LIV Golf has returned to a previous venue.  A relatively new course, the Centurion Club is still a bit of a mystery.  It is quite a unique venue in that it has five par 3’s and four par 5’s.  Three of the par 5’s actually come on the back nine (which always creates room for drama).

Most stats suggest that driving will be of utmost importance this week.  Three of last year’s top six finishers ended the week inside the top five for Total Driving.  The fairways are quite narrow and players will need a combination of power and accuracy.  Eventual champion Charl Schwartzel ranked 5^th in Driving Distance and 3^rd in Driving Accuracy last year.  That’s the type of ratio you will want this week.

Players will also need to make lots of important putts on what is quite a formidable layout (Schwartzel finished with a winning score of seven-under-par last year). 

Can Talor Gooch make it four wins out of six starts after his last-gasp heroics at Valderrama?  The American holed a 12-foot putt on the last to hold off a rejuvenated Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke.  In the process, Gooch became the first three-time winner in LIV’s admittedly short history (he also picked up titles in Adelaide and Singapore).

Brooks Koepka continued his excellent recent form with a 3^rd place finish in Andalucia.  You would have to think that those three may figure prominently again.  Dustin Johnson and Cam Smith will also want to make an impact this week as the LIV season starts to approach its conclusion.

There will be six British players in action this week for the huge galleries to applaud.  Of them, I would argue that Paul Casey may offer the most realistic chance of home success.  This week also gives some of the premium players a chance to acclimatize just two weeks before the year’s final Major: The Open Championship.