882,000 watched Round 1 on Friday across 7 and 7plus in Australia
15 February 2025 - LIV GOLF STAFF - ADELAIDE, South Australia – Sam Horsfield wasn’t sure of the last time his Majesticks GC produced a top-3 podium finish. Told that it was LIV Golf Boston in 2022, he replied, “Yeah, my memory doesn’t go back that far.”
Since then, 33 LIV Golf tournaments have been played, but now the Majesticks are one round away from ending their record drought – and possibly sweeping both trophies. They enter the final round of LIV Golf Adelaide with a one-shot advantage on the team leaderboard, while Horsfield has a share of the individual lead with Torque GC’s Carlos Ortiz and Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer. That trio is three strokes ahead of the rest of the field, while Torque Captain Joaquin Niemann and Legion XIII Jon Rahm lurk in solo 4th and 5th, respectively.
Sunday could be the biggest day in Majesticks history, with both Horsfield and Henrik Stenson (tied for sixth) in contention. Stenson, a team co-captain along with fellow European stars Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, has the team’s only trophy of any kind, winning individual honors in his LIV Golf debut in 2022 at Bedminster.
“I call them crafty veterans,” said Horsfield, the team’s youngest player. “They've been around the block a few times, and they know how to get it done. I think they're really, really excited. I can feel my phone vibrating in my back pocket, so I'm sure it's them in a group chat.”
They’ll have to conquer The Grange course that has proved quite formidable this week, especially with swirling winds that created plenty of challenges. The stroke average for the field Saturday was more than a half-stroke over par (72.611) and played nearly a stroke higher than the opening round.
The Majesticks were the only team in which all four players shot rounds under par Saturday, with Horsfield shooting a 3-under 69, Poulter and Westwood shooting 2-under 70s, and Stenson contributing a 1-under 71. Their cumulative 8 under total was four strokes better than any other team, and left them one stroke ahead of Rahm’s Legion XIII, the winners last week in Riyadh, and Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC.
The UK-centric lineup believes the new LIV Golf format in which all scores count for every round is beneficial to them. Playing in tricky conditions also should favour a team with three veteran players who possess more than 80 career professional wins.
“Looking back at some of the previous years, I think we've been one of the more consistent teams, but we haven't really had those low rounds getting in there,” Stenson said. “Especially with the conditions being as they are, being tough, then if we can just keep on grinding away and playing solid tee to green, then we should give ourselves some good chances.”
The 28-year-old Horsfield is seeking his first LIV Golf individual win and the fourth since turning pro in 2017. The solo leader after an opening 66, he bogeyed his first hole Saturday and was 1-over for his round at the turn but steadied the ship on the back nine and finished with two birdies to grab a share of the lead at 9 under.
“It was a real tough test,” Horsfield said. “I was really proud of the way that I hung in there and fought.”
His playing partners for the final round experienced LIV Golf success last season, with Ancer winning in Hong Kong and Ortiz in Houston. Ancer also knows what it’s like to win in Australia, having claimed the Australian Open in 2018. His 5-under 67 was the lowest score on Saturday.
“I love this kind of golf,” Ancer said. “I've always loved playing in Australia. Seeing the conditions like this is exciting. It's tough, but it's really good for me.”
Ortiz had three birdies in a four-hole stretch midway through his round en route to shooting 68. He’s picked his battles in the tricky conditions and has also escaped trouble better than anybody else. On Saturday, he was a perfect 7 of 7 in scrambling.
“You really have to be respectful of the golf course, almost play a little bit defensive, and I think I've done a good job of that,” Ortiz said. “I feel like I've taken my medicine when I've been out of play. I've honestly quite played conservative off the tee and into the greens, and I think that's paid off.”
Global Means Global. Ratings for audiences outside America matter. 882,000 tune in on Channel 7 for LIV Golf Adelaide, by Matt Hooper
The action at The Grange was the 2nd most-watched sports event on Friday across Australia
Channel 7 feed of LIV Golf Adelaide was shown on Channel 7, 7mate and 7 plus at different times of the round, and across the various regions of Australia
Coverage of LIV Golf Adelaide Round One was 10th ranked non News programme and 2nd ranked sports programme, behind only Sri Lanka v Australia Cricket match across ALL Australian Networks
3.3% of Australians watched the broadcast on Friday
Audience down by 54,000 on 2024
LIV Golf Adelaide is one of the most-watched events in Australian TV history
Audience for LIV Golf Adelaide Round 1 is more than any single day of 2024 ISPS Handa Australian Open (best was Round 3, with 816,000 viewers)
Audience for LIV Golf Adelaide Round 1 beat the audience for Day 4 of the 2019 Presidents Cup by 598,000 viewers (882,000-284,000)
There will be a full assessment of the LIV Golf Adelaide Australian TV ratings on Monday on shankmedia.co.uk
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