I was admittedly guilty of believing that LIV Golf would slowly fade out of the general golfing consciouness in its second season; as the 'shiny new toy' aura wore off and the PGA Tour spat getting more tiresome by the minute.
However, last weekend's tournament at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide stalled these thoughts, and gave us the clearest view of what this rogue 'party' tour can offer.
The Daily Mail put the attendance at 90,000 over the three days of golf, which was won by Talor Gooch - ahead of Anirban Lahiri and Patrick Reed - who shot a mind blowing 20 under par over the first two days.
The 4Aces GC (Pat Perez, Peter Uilein, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed) came first in the team event, with Range Goats GC and Stinger GC in second and third, respectively.
The Grange GC offered its own version of TPC Scottsdale's 'Stadium Hole', and the beer cups and spray were launched in their masses when Chase Koepka, brother of Brooks, bagged a hole in one.
Cam Smith's signing to the tour was a statement of intent, so soon after he won last summer's British Open, but the weekend's scenes showed just how valuable his signature is, as his home crowd showed up in their droves.
Smith, who finished fourth, capped off the tournament by doing a shoey on the live DJ stage, truly encapsulating the alternative reality for golf that LIV offers over the PGA Tour.
LIV Golf Adelaide Was Lit
CHASE KOEPKA WITH THE ACE AT THE WATERING HOLE!
Madness in Adelaide! #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/m70i1PrURj— LIV Golf Updates (@LIVGolfUpdates) April 23, 2023
More than 60,000 people attended LIV Golf's tournament in Adelaide this weekend:
pic.twitter.com/Dh5UDQHVr3— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 24, 2023
Phil Mickelson is a golf icon. 👍pic.twitter.com/p6EfpQR7ol
— LIV Golf Nation (@LIVGolfNation) April 22, 2023
Harold looks like he hates his decision of going to #LIVGOLF pic.twitter.com/qmoKHMF2Mt
— DrunkByTheTurn (@DrunkByTheTurn_) April 22, 2023
Cam Smith is a rockstar. Look at that crowd!! 👀🇦🇺
🎥 @ccapodcast pic.twitter.com/jSzEWhZcIn— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) April 21, 2023
READ HERE: Cam Smith Seriously Swayed From The Party Line With LIV Golf Admission
I would go as far as to say this is the best event I have ever played,' Smith said after the tournament.
'I'm probably biased a little bit, being from Australia, but this is what LIV Golf is about.
'The crowd is so young. Not only kids, guys in their 20s and 30s all out there, it's hard to say it's not growing the game of golf.
'You've got to wonder how many people are going to pick up the clubs next week and give it a shot.'
'Winning on any tour is hard', said winner Talor Gooch.
'Winning on this type of golf course in front of this type of crowd is not easy,' said Gooch who had huge crowds more reminiscent of a major accompanying him on his walk to the 18th.
'There was a couple of moments where it got shaky, but you knew that was going to happen. You can't go three days on this type of golf course and not make mistakes.'
SEE ALSO: Padraig Harrington Reveals He Turned Down Offer To Join LIV Golf
